Inside the world of pediatric mobility and assistive robotics | Co-operative Education

Rawan Miznazi (she/her) is a fourth-year Health Sciences student in the Faculty of Health. Rawan shares her experiences at and , where she worked hands-on with patients. Her time at Trexo Robotics sparked a passion for research into the social and cognitive impacts of assistive robotic devices on children, leading her to pursue an undergraduate thesis in the field.

Rawan's co-op journey:

Work term one: Rawan’s first co-op was at , a pedorthic clinic in London, Ontario, where she worked as a pedorthist assistant. She assessed patients for orthotics, created custom orthotic solutions, took patient histories and provided compression socks based on pain evaluations.

Work term two: For her second co-op term, Rawan joined in Mississauga as a customer success co-ordinator intern. She worked closely with engineers and families of children with mobility impairments, assessing suitability for assistive robotic devices and conducting clinical visits and demonstrations.

Q & A with Rawan:

What did you find most rewarding about your co-op term at Trexo Robotics?

“The most rewarding part of my co-op term was interacting with the kids who came into the office.”

“It was an interesting dynamic because most of the office functioned like a typical workplace, with people working behind computers but there was also a designated area where the Trexo device was demonstrated and families would come in to see it and interact with it.”

Rawan walking beside a child in a mobility aid.

“That hands-on aspect was something I really appreciated. Many of the children who visited had limited mobility or spent long periods sitting and didn’t often use their legs. Over time though, the device helped shape their posture and even their social engagement. While it didn’t create a complete transformation, it still brought noticeable improvements. Seeing how the device impacted both the children and their families was incredibly rewarding and definitely the highlight of my time there.”

Rawan standing in front of a poster on the impact of robotic assistance devices on children with disabilites.

Did you find there was an adjustment period at the beginning of your co-op?

“There was definitely an adjustment period when it came to working with more engineers. At the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, there's a strong engineering presence, and I knew that joining Trexo Robotics, a robotics company, meant I’d be surrounded by engineers.”

“In the Faculty of Health, our courses don’t usually involve much technical work or collaboration with engineering students, so I was nervous at first about my lack of technical skills but the orientation was great. We actually dissected a robotic leg like you would dissect a cadaver, opening it up to see all the internal components. Even though I didn’t fully understand everything at first, I picked things up quickly thanks to a really supportive manager and team.”

“Everyone was incredibly welcoming, which helped a lot. Eventually, I was even able to help parents troubleshoot technical issues with the devices, like wiring concerns, something I never thought I’d be doing. I learned so much from that experience and I’m really grateful for it.”

What did you find most challenging?

“I think because I was not used to working a regular nine to five, I would say that would probably be the most challenging. Just adjusting to a lot of working behind the desk and a lot of documents and emails and that aspect of a job.”

“My previous experiences were more in clinics and interacting with patients. Although there was an aspect of that here, it was also reaching out and talking to patients via emails and taking as much information as you can for legal purposes. So, I think that was a bit of an adjustment, but it was okay towards the end.”

Two people playing catch with a child in an assistive device.

Do you think that this job informed what you want to do for a career?

“Yes, definitely. It showed me that I do want to give back and help and it informed my decision to hopefully still go to medical school one day. It also introduced me to research, which I didn't expect to get from the job.”

But I think that's the thing with co-op, right? It's very different for everybody. Some people have a more conventional experience. They do all their co-op jobs and one of them might shape their interests. For me, I did two and the last one that I did introduced me to an aspect of research that hasn’t been looked into much, which was the social and cognitive impact for children.

Rawan Miznazi

“So that's the main takeaway that I got from my experience, and here I am almost three weeks from submitting my thesis report.”

Do you have any advice for other co-op students?

“I would say be very open minded when you're going into co-op because everybody's experience is different.”

“People might do all five co-op terms and be really happy with that. Others might do one or two and already take the lessons that they wanted to take from co-op. Others take a term and then take a break and then go back. So, it's very different for everybody and it's really up to you what you make of the experience.”

What's next for you?

“Other than submitting this thesis, I’m working on wrapping up other courses and getting ready to host my parents in Canada for the first time.”

“I’m also actively applying to jobs after graduation and exploring different opportunities. I'm also actively applying to jobs after graduation and just figuring out life after that.”