Projets novateurs réalisés

Computational design of catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction using quantum and electronic structure methods 2026

The reduction of CO2 to value-added products is critical towards the reduction of carbon emissions and eco-friendly fuel production. Two dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have proven as effective catalysts for reactions involving CO2 reduction, but a better understanding of how the catalytic activity, reaction mechanism, and to a greater extent the CO2 adsorption is affected by defect engineered TMDs is needed in order to develop more effective catalysts. Through density functional theory modeling, quantum computing, and multiscale quantum embedding we aim to develop a computational framework for investigating CO2 adsorption and reduction in order to enhance catalyst design.

Marketing & Communications Intern

Our organization is currently facing a strategic growth challenge related to brand visibility, digital engagement, and member/client acquisition in an increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving communications environment. While we maintain day-to-day marketing activities such as event promotion, email communications, and basic social media management, we lack the dedicated capacity to analyze performance data, modernize our digital marketing approach, and implement new tools and strategies that would position us for long-term growth. Hiring a marketing intern through this project will allow our organization to move beyond transactional marketing tasks and focus on strategic innovation. The intern will support initiatives that would otherwise not be possible due to resource constraints.

A key improvement priority is strengthening the connection between our marketing strategy and our in-house printing and production capabilities. Our printing department plays an important role in delivering branded materials, publications, and promotional assets; however, there is an opportunity to improve workflow efficiency, brand consistency, and the strategic use of print within integrated marketing campaigns. Currently, much of our effort is focused on meeting immediate production needs rather than optimizing processes or exploring innovative approaches that combine digital and print communications.

Optimisation de l’expérience client avec l’utilisation de l’IA dans la plateforme web Kara Analytix

Kara RH est une entreprise spécialisée en intelligence d’affaires appliquée à la gestion des ressources humaines. Sa solution web, Kara Analytix, permet aux gestionnaires d’accéder à des tableaux de bord RH intelligents pour optimiser la prise de décision, améliorer la performance des équipes et favoriser la rétention des talents. Dans une optique d’innovation, l’entreprise souhaite intégrer un ou une stagiaire pour développer des fonctionnalités basées sur l’intelligence artificielle (IA) qui viendront enrichir et personnaliser l’expérience utilisateur sur la plateforme. L’innovation visée Le projet vise à concevoir, prototyper et intégrer des solutions IA orientées client telles que : · Un moteur de recommandations personnalisées (ex. : suggestions de KPI, visualisations pertinentes selon le profil utilisateur), · Un assistant intelligent pour aider à l’analyse de rapports ou à la navigation, · Une fonctionnalité de résumé automatisé des tableaux de bord. Principales tâches du stagiaire · Analyse de l’expérience utilisateur actuelle (UX audit, points de friction, entretiens). · Identification des opportunités d’intégration de l’IA (benchmark, faisabilité). · Développement d’un prototype fonctionnel basé sur une API IA (ex. : Azure OpenAI, modèles de classification ou génération de texte). · Tests utilisateurs internes et documentation des résultats. · Propositions concrètes d’amélioration de l’interface ou du processus. Méthodologies et technologies utilisées · Méthodologie agile en mode collaboratif (sprints, revues de code). · Développement web dans un environnement Microsoft (.NET, Azure). · Intégration d’outils d’IA via API REST ou SDK. · UX Design, et gestion du versionnement (Azure Devops). Ce projet offre une opportunité concrète de développer une solution innovante alliant IA, UX et performance RH.

Light-Generated Alternative Fuels: Towards a Sustainable Hydrogen Photoreactor

Net Zero Atlantic is a non-profit organization, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that is seeking to advance a sustainable and inclusive transition to a carbon-neutral Atlantic Canada through the provision of credible and objective data and support services. In service of this objective, Net Zero Atlantic leads applied research projects designed to help inform Atlantic Canada’s transition to net zero emissions. There are still significant knowledge and technology gaps that must be identified and addressed and the Emerging Concepts and Technologies (ECT) Research Program will make R&D investments to foster early-stage genesis of novel technologies in the region, and to evaluate the suitability of technologies emerging from other jurisdictions for application in the region. The economic potential for current emerging technologies in Canada is significant. By the 2060s, the market for netzero solutions for the steel, cement, and chemicals sectors, for example, could reach almost $100 billion USD per year. The outcomes of the project with be leveraged by NZA ECT program to support Nova Scotia’s net zero emissions goals.

Business Development & Outreach Intern

This project will support the growth of Take Care, a physician founded SaaS platform that prepares users (and really their families) for aging, sudden illness and end of life. This project focuses on improving how individuals and families move from starting to completing important planning for aging, illness, and major life transitions. While advanced care planning tools exist, follow-through remains a persistent challenge—particularly in emotionally complex areas where people often delay or disengage.
Through a collaborative internship, Take Care is developing and testing a more structured, human-centred approach to engagement that connects partner onboarding, user onboarding, and ongoing support into a cohesive system. Our goal is to not just sell copies of Take Care, but to support families in completing it so our good work is achieved and our impacts can ripple outward.

L2M-AI-Driven Hot-Embossed Visible-Wavelength-Metasurface Platform for Dual-Modality ctDNA Based Multi-Cancer Screening

This project will evaluate the commercial readiness of EarLIX’s hot-embossed metasurface biosensor platform designed for rapid, low-cost multi-cancer screening using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). The intern will conduct structured interviews with healthcare stakeholders, analyze adoption barriers, and refine the business model, pricing strategy, and regulatory pathway. In parallel, the project will assess intellectual property positioning and freedom-to-operate to support future scaling and investment decisions. The expected benefit to the partner organization is clear: reduced market uncertainty, evidence-based customer insights, and a validated commercialization strategy. These outcomes will directly guide product positioning, clinical integration, and funding strategy, accelerating EarLIX’s transition from a research-stage technology toward a deployable diagnostic solution.

L2M – BIM-RISE: An Automated BIM-Enabled Workflow for Sustainable C&D Waste Management and Environmental Impact Assessment

This project will validate and demonstrate BIM-RISE, an automated BIM-enabled workflow that supports more sustainable construction and demolition (C&D) waste management and environmental assessment. Using information already available in building models, BIM-RISE will produce early, decision-ready estimates of expected material quantities (e.g., concrete, metals, wood, gypsum) and organize them into practical end-of-life streams. It will then compare realistic recovery scenarios such as conventional demolition, selective deconstruction, and recycling/reuse-oriented strategies and report clear indicators for each option, including diversion potential and environmental impact estimates (e.g., carbon-related proxies) to show the trade-offs between alternatives. The project will incorporate industry-informed assumptions (such as recovery rates, waste factors, and local handling constraints) and apply the workflow to a pilot case to confirm usability, credibility, and relevance to real project conditions. The expected benefit to the partner organization is faster and more consistent early-stage waste planning, improved ability to evaluate diversion and environmental outcomes before decisions are locked in, and clearer reporting that supports sustainability targets, compliance needs, and better project decision-making.

Defining and Computing True Clinical Trial-relevant Causal Estimands in Simulation Studies

Simulation studies are widely used in pharmaceutical research to evaluate operating characteristics of statistical methods proposed for regulatory analyses. Central to such studies is the ability to compare against a known “truth” implied by assumed the data-generating mechanism. In practice, however, this advantage is often limited than assumed, as the target is not a simple function of data-generating parameters. This challenge is well illustrated by oncology trials in which patients randomized to control are allowed to switch to the experimental treatment after disease progression. Regulatory analyses in such settings often targets questions concerning what the treatment effect would have been had switching not occurred, however this is not a simple number that can be derived explicitly from parameters of the data-generating model.
Simulation studies are thus often used to try to determine the “truth” up to some reasonable level of precision. However, when the relationship between the type of treatment effect, the assumed data-generating mechanism, and the numerical procedure used to compute the “truth” are not explicit, simulation results may conflate approximation error with estimator bias, leading to potentially misleading conclusions.
This project will develop more precise approaches for determining “truth” in the context of longitudinal data.

Triboelectric nanogenerators-new materials development (AB+EC)

Clean electricity is energy that is both sustainable and non-polluting. Such sources of energy are ideal for mitigating climate change. For the full benefit of clean energy generation to be realized, sustainable practices must be integrated into the development of clean technologies. This requires using materials that are both renewable and recyclable. These can indeed offset the otherwise large carbon footprint of clean energy generating technologies. The project will endeavor to integrate sustainable materials that are also compatible with electricity generation by mechanical actuation. Elastomers that are ideally suited for such actuation will be developed exclusively from renewable materials with the advantage of being compostable. The project will evaluate how renewable materials can be compounded to maximize electricity generation without sacrificing sought after elasticity. The capacity of the elastomers to generate electricity by mechanical actuation will also be evaluated. A major benefit of the project will be zero polluting technology for generating electricity that can be recycled by composting.

Designing and Validating Scalable Ecosystem Adoption Frameworks for a Multi-Sided Sports Technology Platform

This project will design and test scalable ecosystem adoption frameworks for a Canadian sports technology platform. Through structured market research and pilot experiments, it will develop repeatable go-to-market models that support multi-stakeholder growth across North America.

Le régime juridique nigérien des investissements étrangers au prisme du développement : une analyse critique et transversale inspirée du régime canadien

Malgré ses ressources naturelles abondantes (uranium, or, pétrole), le Niger, pays d’Afrique subsaharienne reste confronté à un taux d’extrême pauvreté de 52 % et peine à attirer des IDE. Ceux reçus, concentrés dans le secteur extractif, sont très volatiles et peu bénéfiques pour l’économie, un paradoxe dû à un cadre juridique peu contraignant, de faibles exigences de durabilité, des politiques de contenu local inefficaces, des incitations déséquilibrées et un environnement juridique international asymétrique. À l’inverse, le Canada, grâce à des réformes de sa Loi sur l’investissement conciliant attractivité économique et protection des intérêts nationaux, est un exemple d’équilibre entre ouverture et souveraineté. Il se place comme l’un des pays où les IDE contribuent le plus au développement économique. Malgré les disparités socioéconomiques entre les pays, ce modèle offre des pistes d’inspiration pertinentes pour le Niger. Il en est de même du Brésil, 1er destinataire des IDE en Amérique latine. Acteur clé de la facilitation des investissements à l’OMC, le Brésil est un exemple emblématique incontournable pour la recherche sur les IDE. Le projet propose une analyse critique du régime nigérien des IDE, inspirée de ces cadres et vise à identifier les meilleures pratiques pour proposer des réformes contextualisées au Niger.

Health Research Assistant

The internship will be a single internship for July Health – a digital health startup on a mission to fill the gap in diagnosis and care for women’s chronic hormone conditions. July Health delivers telemedicine services across Canada with a medical team that includes registered dietitian, social workers, and nurse practitioners. As a growing virtual healthcare company, they are looking towards improved approaches to evidence gathering to support rigorous evaluation of clinical outcomes, patient experience, and the effectiveness of their integrated, patient-centred care model.
The health outcomes analysis project is aimed at filling this area of need within the company. The position will include remotely conducting patient experience surveys, gathering qualitative and quantitative data, analyzing clinical outcomes, and developing and publishing a clinical health outcomes report demonstrating the efficacy of July Health’s integrated “anti-dismissal care model” and support in further improvements, within the company and through stakeholder collaboration.
The goal of this internship with July Health is ultimately to demonstrate how integrated, virtual, patient-centred care models can improve health outcomes and care experiences for women with PCOS. By strengthening the evidence base for digital healthcare delivery, this project will support July Health’s growth and scalability while contributing to improved responsiveness, and effectiveness within the system through patient-centred evidence gathering and collaboration.