This was our first time using Riipen and Fadwa, our project lead, did a fantastic job taking our ideas and working independently to research our needs. She listened deeply and was able to provide us with an environment scan and analysed programming gaps in our community that we can now use to better serve families with young children. Thank you Fadwa!

The team did an excellent job surveying the landscape on DEIB to provide critical context to our work and results, and developed insightful and instructive recommendations. The roadmap and recommendations they developed were well written and researched, and captured Riipen's voice and ethos throughout.

This program took my business to the next level!

Great ways of attending and advising careers

My group provided me with useful information that helped my business.

Great experience.

Easy to setup the project, post and get candidates.

Ritisha was an amazing asset to our team! We hope to work with her again :)

This project creates a win–win opportunity: students gain real-world experience, build true professional skills, while companies and startups benefit from fresh talent and valuable support. Programs like this bridge the gap between education and practice, making learning impactful for both students and the economy.

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Stanley was very responsive to feedback and eager to learn. I wish him the best in his future endeavours

This has been my most successful experience to date! The skill and quality of work from these students was nothing short of exceptional!!!

Level Up is a great program to get involved in.

We’re grateful for the contributions of our summer student, who supported our team with dedication and professionalism. Their efforts added real value to our work, and we wish them continued success in their future endeavors.

Good program and Riipen team.

Riipen platform and resources were extremely useful. One student was not committed to working diligently while the other student had very good work ethics.

The program itself is very well designed and provides a great opportunity to connect with students. My only concern, based on my experience, is that there can sometimes be a lack of motivation and responsibility from the student side. Since the funding does not come directly from the employer, it may reduce accountability and effort compared to a regular paid position. Setting clearer guidelines and expectations for student responsibility and communication could make the experience even stronger.

Working with the Level UP July 2025 cohort was a strong, value producing experience. The team engaged quickly, clarified scope, and maintained steady communication. They delivered a clear gap analysis against our requirements, proposed practical solutions, and produced an MVP that aligned with the target outcomes. Highlights • Requirements and gap analysis that informed decision making • Thoughtful architecture recommendations for the web platform • Working MVP across front end and back end with clean handoff notes • Effective use of SQL including hierarchical and recursive queries • Comfort with Java services and the Progress database stack • Solid documentation including a runbook, deployment guide, and a concise presentation The students were dependable, responsive, and professional. We would gladly work with a Level UP team again.

Great program

Overall, it has been a positive experience, as half of the project for my Etsy store is almost complete. The student involved was reliable and trustworthy, and worked as diligently as I did to complete the work. Thank you!

Excellent program.

Overall, it was a great experience with the students!

LevelUp needs to stop changing "rules" and program requirements. Set your rules and guidelines, keep them for 12 months, then revisit/adjust if needed. The constant changes are discouraging and exhausting to keep up with.

If you find a student you are prepared to hire, this is a low risk way of testing them out.

Taanish Ahmed played a key role in enhancing the functionality and design of our website, particularly through his work on images and payment features. His contributions were reliable, effective, and added significant value to our project.

Thank you for the match-making with the two Thompson River University health-care students. They have been conscientious and contributed greatly to our 'Personal Health Index' project.

Riipen provides a great opportunity to hire student talent. It helps us accelerate the product development cycle, and we truly appreciate it.

It was helpful to have assistance for the marketing aspect of my business, including bringing in new ideas for social media.

SEEDA has found working with the Level UP Teams from the Riipen Level UP July 2025 Cohort to be an exceptionally positive and productive experience.

Our students were fantastic to work with this summer.