The two internships proposed in this application are for research and feasibility project coordinators for the North Coast Innovation Lab (NCIL) in Prince Rupert, BC.
In addition to research and feasibility around potential projects that will a) grow the local economy for fish and marine products, and b) enhance coworking and resource sharing, the internships will also explore, at both systems and ground levels, how social innovation strategies of economic development and community building can be applied in the rural, northern and coastal context.
Ultimately, the NCIL hopes to spark a systemi

PUBLIC is an innovative print periodical with a 25 year history exploring the intersection between art, design, technology and contemporary culture. This Mitacs fellowship will develop the journal’s open access interactive web platform, PUBLIC:PORTAL, using information visualization and design to showcase the journal’s cutting-edge collaborative and cross-disciplinary work. This project designs and tests graphical user interfaces and information visualization strategies in order to investigate the ways that abstract and complex information can be conveyed through intuitive design.

Dyes which are either sourced directly or derived from naturally-occurring products are of growing interest in the cosmetics industry. Sourcing chemical dyes or their close precursors from natural products can significantly reduce the environmental impact of manufacture by reducing the number of derivatization and purification steps. The industrial partner, Inkbox Ink, currently uses genipin, a dye precursor derived primarily from extracts of the gardenia fruit, in their semi-permanent tattoo technologies.

While often imagined as "great equalizer," recent research affirms that students from mariginalized and racialized backgrounds are particularly affected by educational inequity. Nowhere is this more evident than Jane and Finch in northwest Toronto where Success Beyond Limits (SBL) has been working toward addressing these longstanding barriers. By employing the SBL Graduation Model - a combination of wrap around supports and mentoring throughout secondary school, SBL has worked toward addressing barriers marginalized students face in schooling.

This research is based on the recognition that heat pump technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, while providing space heating, space cooling and domestic hot water. Both internationally and in the Ontario context, a lack of industry knowledge and capacity has been noted to be a barrier to the uptake of heat pump technologies.

The Opportunity Equation is a multi-year research project that explores trends, dynamics and causes of income inequality in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The project aims to produce a comprehensive portrait of the changing income distribution and income gaps among key socio-demographic groups in the City of Toronto, York Region and the Region of Peel between 1980 and 2015. It looks beneath aggregated measures on inequality to investigate how much of an income gap exists among various socio-demographic groups and how these gaps change over time.

This project involves in depth interviews of HR/line managers as well as skilled migrant employees in 3 organizations. Our focus is on understanding current issues and challenges related to inclusion and integration of skilled migrants locally. Our goal is offer actionable practical suggestions in terms of how identified challenges may be addressed in the future. Specifically, we are interested in providing advice around better inclusion practices and in depth understanding of current issues from multiple perspectives.