Employers must read and adhere to these conditions to participate in Riipen Labs. Riipen reserves the right to remove or suspend participants for violations.
1. Eligibility Requirements
To participate in Riipen Labs, I confirm that my organization meets all of the following criteria:
Is a not-for-profit, public sector, or private sector employer.
Is registered and operating in Canada with a valid business number.
Is not a publicly funded post-secondary institution.
Is not a financial sector institution with 500 or more employees.
Is not a member of the House of Commons or Senate.
Does not engage in partisan political activities.
Is not a federal, provincial, territorial, or municipal government entity.
Riipen reserves the right to verify eligibility at any time and remove any employer that does not meet these requirements.
2. Riipen Labs Participation Requirements
By participating in Riipen Labs, I agree to the following:
Program limits and account integrity
Participate in a maximum of one project per cohort.
Maintain only one active employer account per organization.
Not attempt to bypass program limits through multiple accounts or entities.
Ensure all participating organizations are verified and approved by Riipen.
Fair use and conflict of interest
Not request, accept, or receive any payment, fee, or financial benefit from students.
Understand that student participation is assigned and managed by Riipen
Program structure acknowledgement
Understand that Riipen Labs is a structured, low-touch program:
Students are not employees or contractors of the organization.
Direct management of students is not required or permitted outside defined interactions.
Riipen facilitates the project experience and student coordination.
Enforcement
Understand that violation of any participation requirements may result in immediate removal from the program, cancellation of projects, and restriction from future participation in Riipen programs.
3. Project Requirements
Participation in Riipen Labs requires adherence to the structured project format outlined below
Project Setup and Expectations
Provide a clearly defined project scope aligned with the Riipen Labs format.
Understand that student work is intended to support learning and workplace readiness, and is not a substitute for professional consulting services.
Employer Involvement and Time Commitment
I agree to:
Attend and host the scheduled kickoff call at the pre-determined time set by Riipen.
Be available for any pre-scheduled Q&A or touchpoint sessions, if applicable.
Not engage in ongoing or ad hoc communication with students outside of these defined interactions unless explicitly directed by Riipen.
Not assign additional work, change project scope, or directly manage student teams.
Project Execution
Ensure that all project activity takes place within the Riipen platform.
Not request or require students to:
Complete work outside the platform
Use paid tools or incur expenses
Perform work beyond the defined project scope
Understand that:
Students work in teams and manage their own collaboration.
Riipen oversees student progress and milestone completion.
Project Completion and Deliverables
Review the summarized report of student findings provided by Riipen within 6 weeks of the end of the project.
Complete the required employer exit survey to provide feedback on the experience.
Understand that individual student management, grading, or hour validation is not required.
4. Student Payment Eligibility
Student payment is administered solely by Riipen Networks Inc.
Students are considered workers of Riipen for the purposes of this program.
Students must complete all required milestones, deliverables, and timelines to be eligible for payment.
Riipen reserves sole discretion in determining student eligibility for payment.
Employers have no authority to influence, approve, or deny student compensation.
5. Prohibited Behaviour
The following actions are strictly prohibited and may result in removal from the program:
Attempting to directly manage, supervise, or reassign student work outside of the defined program structure.
Contacting students outside of scheduled sessions or requesting direct communication.
Requesting additional work beyond the defined project scope.
Requiring students to use paid tools, software, or incur any costs.
Using the program to replace paid roles, contractors, or operational work.
Collaborating with known individuals (friends, family, employees) within the student cohort.
Creating duplicate accounts or attempting to bypass participation limits.
Misrepresenting project scope, expectations, or organizational information.
Riipen reserves the right to investigate and determine violations at its sole discretion.
6. Data Collection, Use and Sharing
By participating in this program, I acknowledge and agree that:
Riipen may collect, store, and use my personal and organizational information for program administration, eligibility verification, reporting, and evaluation.
This may include contact information, company details, and participation data.
Riipen may share relevant information with its funding partner, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), for reporting, compliance, audit, and evaluation purposes.
Information may also be used in aggregated and anonymized formats for internal reporting and program improvement.
All data will be handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws.
Participation in the program is conditional upon consent to this data collection and sharing.
7. Respectful Behaviour Agreement
I agree to:
Conduct all interactions with professionalism, respect, and integrity.
Refrain from harassment, discrimination, hate speech, or abusive behaviour.
Support a safe and inclusive environment for all participants.
Understand that violations may result in immediate removal from the program.
Accept that Riipen’s determination of misconduct is final.
8. Acknowledgement
By participating in Riipen Labs, I acknowledge and agree that:
I have read and understood all program requirements and expectations.
I understand that Riipen Labs is a structured, low-touch program with limited employer involvement.
I accept responsibility for fulfilling my role within the defined program structure.
I understand that failure to comply may result in removal from the program and restriction from future participation.
I understand that Riipen reserves the right to enforce all terms of this agreement at its sole discretion.