What is Riipen? It’s your key to work-based learning success.

Whether you are an educator, employer, or student, the benefits of work-integrated learning (aka work-based learning or WBL) are well known. What’s less clear is how you can take advantage of them.

Starting a WBL program can be challenging—you’ll need a network of professional, academic, and student contacts, user-friendly technology to manage and monitor communications, projects, and deliverables, knowledge of in-demand skills, and more. Enter Riipen.

What is Riipen? In a nutshell, Riipen is an experiential learning platform that connects educators and employers, matching them with students to complete real-world industry projects. Below, we’ll share what that means for each stakeholder and how it can help you meet your WBL goals.          

Educators: An easy way to implement experiential learning.

While classrooms provide ideal environments for students to learn academic theory and practice their skills in a controlled manner, they don’t allow students to experience an authentic workplace. The real world is messy, with imperfect data and challenging team members, so your students need to learn how to apply their skills in less-than-perfect circumstances to be career-ready.  

Experiential learning gives students this opportunity. Yet many educators lack ready access to a network of employers seeking students to work on real-world projects and don’t have the time or resources to develop one.

Riipen enables educators to integrate experiential learning into their courses by facilitating matches with pre-vetted employers. Educators post experiences they would like their students to have on the platform, and Riipen matches them to their database of employer projects. The platform then lets educators review the matches, communicate with employers, assign students to projects, and monitor the projects, all from a single location. It’s that easy.

Dr. Chunfu Jeff Cheng, Chair of the Business Department, Community of Aurora, integrated Riipen into coursework to empower his students. “Experiential learning, especially through platforms like Riipen, allows students to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems, which significantly enhances engagement, skill development, and career readiness,” he explained.

Employers: A streamlined process for hiring talented students.

For many organizations, internships and co-op programs provide an appealing talent solution for short-term projects. Motivated students with the right skills can bring a fresh perspective and be less costly than hiring a full-time employee or consultant. But if your organization doesn’t have connections with academic institutions, it can be difficult to find good candidates.

Enter Riipen. A platform that connects talented, motivated students eager to gain professional experience with employers looking to grow their business. How do they connect? Simple. Employers use our platform to publish a project description that includes qualifications, like a computer science major who knows Java, and students apply. In addition to hiring, Riipen allows employers to manage projects and payments from a single platform.

‍Stevan Earl, Information Manager, Central Arizona–Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research, ASU, is a satisfied user. “This was a very helpful tool connecting students with experiences, and is a most welcome alternative to posting on job boards, word-of-mouth, etc,” he said. “End-to-end management of student employment from interviewing to hiring, project management, managing payments, through project completion in one platform was wonderful.”  

Students: An opportunity to gain real-world experience

In today’s competitive job market, employers are looking for candidates with hands-on experience who can hit the ground running. But how can students gain that experience if they don’t have a job?

Riipen addresses this problem by partnering with employers seeking student help with real-world projects. Our vast employer network encompasses small businesses, nonprofits, and international organizations that require assistance with a range of tasks, including social media management, website development, business case creation, and more.

Students come to Riipen directly or through their academic institutions, where they can review project scopes and qualifications and apply within the platform. Some students even apply to multiple projects, building a portfolio of experiences that will help them find a job. Plus, we have various programs students can grow with to connect with employers; whether they start with Riipen Labs, grow to Level UP, or advance to FuturePath, there's something for everyone.

Ramandip Singh, a student from Calbright College, benefited from Riipen. “This is a great way to get experience with real world work and companies,” he shared. “For the newcomers [who] have no experience, this is definitely a great start to add their experiences in resumes to stand out for employment.”

Now that you understand what Riipen is and how you, as an educator, employer, or student, can benefit from our innovative platform, take the next step by visiting riipen.com.  

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