18 PARALLEL GENETICS in Canada

Team 28 Poster

Team Reflection

During our time learning from and collaborating with Parallel Genetics, we gained invaluable insights into the Canadian agricultural industry, particularly the dairy sector. Through structured interviews with the owner, our group developed and posed questions that allowed us to understand the purpose and motivations driving their farm, as well as their contributions to sustainability within Canadian agriculture.

Parallel Genetics focuses on high-quality genetic breeding programs for show animals and specialized heifer development, with guidance from veterinarians and animal nutritionists. Their barn’s unique design enables individualized care for each animal, enhancing overall health and dairy productivity. Already committed to sustainable practices, Parallel Genetics continually seeks further improvements in environmental responsibility. The farm has identified two primary Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 15, Life on Land. To advance these goals, they actively implement practices that promote environmental health and resilience, while exploring additional strategies for sustainable agricultural development. This project provided our group with a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of sustainability and the Canadian dairy industry. We developed valuable skills, especially in international collaboration, and maintained effective communication beyond our weekly meetings, which contributed to the success of our teamwork. Overall, we found this experience highly engaging and are excited to apply our new skills in our future academic and professional endeavours.

The first couple weeks of class prepared us for the project, we found coming from the University of Guelph with weekly readings and check-ins created a weekly routine. With previous projects working with things like Canva, Zoom, Google Classroom and more this made things work well. We collectively found this project very important which helped greatly with the effort we put into our work. We viewed this project as a way to gain connections, learn about different cultures or businesses and become published. We wanted to succeed in this and gain an understanding of different innovations.

Going into this project we all knew about the SDG’s but this helped us see how smaller companies are able to make an impact. Taking it week by week we had to get acquainted, then decide on the company, split tasks and pear help. As much as we all did our work we relied on each other’s help. Especially with our project being written in English 4 of the 6 English is not their first language. Inturn the Canadians were also in charge of proof reading and advising on how it flows. One note was for the poster making it more visual with photos so that was edited even with a difference in opinion.

The issue we thought we would face was a language barrier, coming to a conclusion on a business and making sure we could communicate with time differences. We were able to get in contact fairly easily as we chose the easiest way to text over WhatsApp, everyone had it and no one had to go on their computer to answer. Next, was our weekly meetings where we decided on Zoom, everyone had it and found that it would be better than phone calls or Google meetings. One person took the role of submitting the weekly doc into the Classroom so that every week they were responsible for it and wouldn’t get confused. Also, changing schedules we found that having a set time and day every week then the day before sending a reminder text to make sure it works and no one’s time is wasted.

We shared tasks by the countries, each country, each two took on tasks. Saudi Arabia did the poster and they were able to communicate easily with language. Then, Spain did the writing portion for the Website. Lastly, Canada did the reflection part and one did all the submitting. We found that the sentences would be more coherent and we would be able to talk without any issues with time, language or websites. One thing we did find tricky was the formatting as each country seemed to have a different outline of what to do or when the due dates were. As well as having different assignments or exam schedules, priorities and dates were different. We found that having our own dates set before the due date to make sure time barriers and everyone’s schedule would work better.

We definitely took a lot out of this project – the Spain and Saudi Arabia girls were really excited to work with this company as it’s not something they have in those countries. At the beginning of this when picking a company we said for everyone to explain the company everyone picked. The next question when picking to make it far – whatever company gave consent and had consent to do an interview would be the one we went with. The duo from Saudi Arabia were passionate about their companies as they were very sustainable. To make it far though Lily’s Parallel Genetics was the only one that gave consent and overall picked that one for convenience. Luckily, everyone spoke English and texted in English to make communication very easy.

Overall, what a great experience we had doing this project as we had our weekly meetings and quickly learned to navigate collaborating remotely, as well we learned a great amount from each other’s diverse cultures. This project provided all of us with a unique work experience that we can further apply in our future workplace. We learned how to build off of each other’s ideas and work efficiently towards our final product.

Individual Reflections

Hannah 

For the past 4 weeks, I was able to work with five girls from Saudi Arabia, Spain and Canada as we examined this amazing company. As someone who is attending a Canadian university heavenly weighted in agriculture, this business was a great fit. A large challenge I thought we would face is timing and language barriers as we have a wide range. Yet we instantly got to work found a steady day and time for zooms and were able to message all the time. It was interesting to hear their takes on the business as it was not something they would have in their countries. Everyone was able to join virtual meetings weekly where we were able to talk and better communicate about the business and tasks

From the business side of it, this was a great pick, as the business doesn’t always have to be office work but actually hands-on. This was one of the only businesses that were willing to communicate with us making it a lot easier to get information. I also found it very interesting that Guelph is a vet and agriculture school. This was a great pick for us. I was able to not only expand my knowledge of cattle but also see what great work this company does. It’s very innovative and especially with all the assumptions of mistreated animals it was good to see what they do.

Lily

Working on this project has been an extremely valued experience, providing the opportunity to explore sustainability within a specific industry. Collaborating with an international team offered a unique learning experience, where engaging actively in calls and text discussions fostered a high level of involvement in our teamwork as well as our deliverables. Initially, I was concerned about managing the challenges of different time zones and schedules, but our team operated smoothly and efficiently throughout the entirety of the project. We coordinated seamlessly across time zones, with everyone contributing to our approach to the project.

I am truly grateful for this opportunity, as it allowed me to strengthen my collaborative skills and learn from my peers. Conducting interviews with Parallel Genetics was especially rewarding, as it provided an insider perspective on the agriculture industry. Observing such a distinctive operation and its commitment to sustainability was an eye-opening experience. I thoroughly enjoyed conducting the interviews, where I witnessed the farm operations firsthand and felt inspired by the passion and dedication of the team in providing the best care for their cattle.

Over the entirety of working on this Aim2Flourish project, I have experienced countless learning opportunities that improve my understanding of sustainability in the work environment, and how important it is to use the sustainable development goals as a working guideline. I look forward to continuing my knowledge on the topic of sustainability and continue to apply my experience in my academic and business career.

Maria

This opportunity to work with other universities around the world has really broadened my mind. At first, I thought it would be very difficult, not being able to meet in person with my teammates since we don’t live in the same place, and my past experiences working on projects through video calls had been very challenging. Additionally, there was the difficulty of having different time zones. To my surprise, it has been an incredible experience; not only have I been able to learn about companies from other parts of the world and the methods they use—which I would never have known about if not for this project—but I have also learned a lot about other teaching and educational methods that I’m not used to. I firmly believe that I have developed many skills that will benefit me throughout my career, skills I will apply continuously. These skills will not only serve me in my future professional life but will also be invaluable in settings like meetings with people from different parts of the world.

Marta

The Aim to Flourish project has been a great experience that I have been lucky to be part of for the last couple of months. It has given me the chance to work with a diverse group of international students from all around the world which has broadened my perspective and taught me how to efficiently do team work. Our focus has been Parallel Genetics, a company dedicated to implementing sustainable environmental practices in its business model. During the whole process, we had weekly meetings that were a vital component in tracking our progress and ensuring that we achieved all the deliveries effectively. The first step was interviewing the owner of the farm. This interview was much more than an opportunity to gather valuable insights of their work, but also a chance to truly get to know the meaning and motivation behind their innovation. In second place, we had to elaborate a story based on the information we had gathered. This was Maria’s and my part. It allowed me to get to know on a deeper level the underlying principles of innovation. And last, designing a poster was an exciting challenge, and a good way to mix creativity with informational clarity. Overall, the Aim To flourish project has increased my awareness for the importance that sustainability in the business world has nowadays. Moreover, it has allowed us to get educated on the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the Responsible Consumption and Production and Life on Land. The lessons learned will no doubt influence my future studies and when my time comes to be an entrepreneur, I will base my work on one of these goals.

May

In the “Aim to Flourish” project, I initially faced challenges in understanding the project requirements, so I sought help from my classmates to gain clarity. I also encountered some difficulties during the first meeting with my team members. We forgot to exchange phone numbers during our introductory session with our instructors, so I had to reach out to my teammates via email to gather everyone’s contact information. After that, we established a weekly meeting time and I took the initiative to create Zoom rooms each week, sharing the links through our WhatsApp group. This structure allowed us to make significant progress together. At first, I thought this experience might be difficult due to my limited training in English, the physical distance, cultural differences, and the time zone differences among my team. However, this unique experience showed me that I can communicate fluently when it comes to achieving a goal. I also managed to effectively coordinate with my team, and we successfully agreed on convenient times for our meetings. During this project, I was responsible for designing the poster using Canva, which was quite enjoyable, especially since our story and interview centred around cows, which made the project content feel unique and engaging.

Layan

At first, I did not expect that things would go so easily that things would become complicated and that one of the students in my group would not communicate with us or that we would not agree with each other. However, through my experience of cooperating with students from universities around the world, it became clear that communication has become much easier than before and we can get to know and cooperate with people from different countries. However, there were also several difficulties that we faced, including the time difference, which affected the time of our meeting, but we tried to choose a time that suited everyone and that they were able to be present without pressure. Also, communication at the beginning was difficult because I did not have the full ability to understand and practice the programs used because some of them were new to me, but with practice, the matter became easier.