An Indigenous-led research team at the Sanyakola Foundation, situated in Port Hardy, B.C. has initiated a multi-faceted, collaborative effort to recover Kwak’wala. Led by Sara Child, a professor of Indigenous Education at North Island College, the Sanyakola Foundation is undertaking work that involves Kwakwaka’wakw Elders and Knowledge Keepers and is engaging a younger generation in its work. 

Sophie Charron’s childhood interest in the queens of Europe drove her to pursue a master's degree in Medieval Studies. Working under Professor Shami Ghosh at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies, Charron’s highly original research focuses on the queens and noblewomen of medieval Bohemia.  

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, food insecurity issues were only exacerbated for Nisga’a members living on Coastal Ts’msyen Territories in northwestern BC, Prince Rupert, and Port Edward communities.

Even before the crisis, there were pressing challenges in addressing food security. For the past three years, the North Coast Innovation Lab, a place-based initiative by Ecotrust Canada, and the Gitmaxmak’ay Nisga’a Society, a social enterprise that supports members of the Nisga’a Nation living in Prince Rupert, collaborated on a Mitacs-funded project.

When we think of using technology to translate, clunky Google Translate phrases come to mind. Therefore, when it comes to carefully translating a story from one language to another, using technology may be a stretch. Add the nuances of cultural context to the equation, and the task becomes an even more complex challenge.

Also known as Wachusko weesti, the Muskrat Hut project aims to design a sustainable, locally sourced four-season prototype unit that comprises a composting toilet, shower/sauna, heat source, energy source (solar and wind), and a kitchen area.

Karthik, an undergraduate student at National Institute of Technology in Hamirpur in India, has joined Associate Professor Andrew Park this summer for a 12-week Mitacs Globalink research internship. He’s helping to develop an algorithm that can accurately and precisely identify the most likely location of a potential sniper attack on a public gathering.

Mitacs internships facilitate connections between university students and non-academic partners across Canada. Partner organizations get the immense benefit of high-quality, rigorous research support and access to ground-breaking knowledge from academia—which may be inaccessible otherwise. Highly-skilled students get to apply their research expertise beyond their academic settings, while also building important skills and connections that serve them after graduation.

The issue has attracted researchers from multiple disciplines, including Danielle Benesch, who is examining how perceptions of free will could impact our response to the overdose crisis. Danielle, a Mitacs intern from the Universität Osnabrück in Germany, has studied free will and decision-making for years. She travelled to Canada this summer to work on a project, supervised by Professor Eric Racine of the Université de Montréal, to research the relationship between perceptions of free will and addiction.  

Mahboubeh Asgari, a postdoctoral fellow studying at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, is hoping to address these questions during her two-year Mitacs Elevate fellowship with ARC Programs, a community agency based in Kelowna, BC, and the Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC).