Innovative Projects Realized

Digital Strategy Internship with Clearday Communications

With a large percentage of our clients cancelling live Clearday workshops, including those that count towards professional designation credits (CPAs and lawyers), we’ve had to shift more of our services and sessions online. The success of these online sessions prompted us to consider other ways we can provide convenient learning and development services for our professional-designation clients.

Problem: Other professions need to earn professional credits each year. Sometimes their employers provide training that earns them credits, but many have to source their own accredited training. They are busy people who need a good selection of learning, on-the-go.

We would like to conduct a competitive analysis, assess the viability of, and then develop a business and operations plan, for a podcast and accompanying app that provides professional designation credits for other professions for a membership fee. There would be a wide selection of content at the client’s fingertips. All of the material on the app would be accredited by the governing body. An app like this exists for accredited sessions for CPAs (newly released).

An IoT Hot Cold Sensation Device

This project is to research and develop a portable hot-cold sensation diagnostic device which will be used to test and record the degree of hot and cold sensation on patient’s limbs. Traditional method uses test tubes filled with warm water or cracked ice and water for testing. Temperature less than 5oC and greater than 45oC elicit painful responses in addition to temperature should be avoided. The proposed device not only integrates the key sensory testing tool, but through its electrical components, it provides method to conduct reproducible tests. It has the potential to be a disruptive technology. With the predicted growth and its potential to standardize neurological examinations and thus revolutionize the clinical industry, the device will become more prevalent in hospitals and private practices. This will help Clinisys further impact the local economy though the creation of employment opportunities, and the development and retention of highly qualified personnel that will ultimately lead to increased investment in Alberta.

Performance of cavity nesting birds breeding on reclaimed mine tailings: An individual life-history approach

This study will assess the behaviour, physiology and reproduction of individual birds breeding on reclaimed mine tailings, and will provide a robust measure of the effectiveness of reclamation efforts on the Highland Valley Copper operating area. By examining a range of life-history traits in two ecologically distinct species, and comparing birds breeding on reclaimed mine tailings to those on land that has not historically been exposed to mining operations, we will also be capable of identifying individual measures of quality or reproductive investment that most closely track environmental disturbance. This may become the basis for future cost-effective impact assessments in all industrial sectors engaged in resource extraction, as individual responses to environmental disturbance can provide an “early warning” of future population declines.

Industrial Research Intern Aleo Canada

Like many other industries, the manufacturing industry is struggling with increased operations costs and decreased efficiency due to COVID-19 preventive measures. In this project at Aleo, we will do a detailed analysis of these issues faced in the different manufacturing industries and leverage the latest technology to address these challenges. This project will create value both for the partner organization and Canada. The increased production efficiency at reduced cost will help the Canadian economy to bounce back quickly. This project will bring new clients and revenue for Aleo. It will also help Aleo to enhance its market presence and grow its business.

MBA – Bookkeeper & Grant Research Intern (BSI)

The Bookkeeper will provide support for the finance department and assist in various research activities for the different bookkeeping needs of Zones and grant development:
• Assistance for the finance department with general administrative and fiscal duties
• Prepare, review and manage record-keeping for ASBA and the Zones
• Conduct grant research to identify potential funding sources
• Prepare research on Zone level bookkeeping procedures
• Compilation of a feasibility report outlining the procedural steps in Zone bookkeeping
• Data Entry
• Other duties to be performed as required

EOLC – Resilience and Recovery

Beyond the immediate disruption to healthcare systems, the COVID-19 pandemic is also causing major disruptions to the regional economy and labour market. In Eastern Ontario, this shock to the $85 billion/year economy and 570,000-strong labour market is already very serious, with potential debilitating consequences for the prospect of a rapid economic recovery (Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada, April 2020). The factors enabling a region to bounce back rapidly after economic or labour market shocks of this magnitude remain poorly understood. The objective of the project is to answer the following questions:
1. What does the academic literature tell us about factors creating resilience in a local/regional economy and labour market?
2. What are the mechanisms by which entrepreneurship and innovation confer greater resilience to a regional economy and job market?
3. What indicators might be used to assess resilience factors, especially entrepreneurship and innovation, and their contribution to a resilient economy?
4. How can those indicators be combined into a “resilience index” to assess and track the level of resilience of a regional economy and labour market?
5. What recommendations can be made to preserve or increase the degree of resilience in the regional economy?

Optimization of an Engineering Information Retrieval System using Topic Models and Knowledge Graphs

The oil and gas industry is in the top five largest sectors in the world in terms of dollar value, generating an estimated $3.32 trillion in revenue annually. It is estimated that 40-60% of workforce in the oil and gas industry will retire in the next five years, so preserving the knowledge stored in documents is an important objective. The industry partner (WESI — Waterford Energy Services Inc.) has been developing a document management system to support this objective. In this project we focus on enhancing IR system for historical well reports by exploring different topic modelling and ontology building approaches. Topic modelling (TM) has a wide range of applications in domains such as social media, microblogging data, historical documents, biomedical data, etc. However, the practice has shown that there is no “one-fits-all” algorithm. Standard models usually do not perform well in domain- specific settings and our goal is to evaluate and develop recommendations for best-fitting TM algorithms for the well reports.

Biobased Mask Filtration Material

This proposed project seeks to develop a bio-based alternative, made from Canadian wood pulp, to the current petroleum based non-woven filtration materials used in face masks. The waste issue associated with petroleum based disposable face masks is becoming a significant issue in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the need for disposable masks is a tremendous business opportunity for PPE companies like Supermax, the development of a bio-based alternative has the potential to transform them into a market leader for socially and environmentally responsible masks. Canada’s supplies of personal protective equipment will depend on the sourcing of local materials and the manufacturing capabilities of its local companies. A bio-based material utilizing Canada’s vast pulp fiber supply, and thereby supporting an industry hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, will give further benefits the Canadian economy, and importantly the environment.

A pilot study of the ARTpreneurs web application for fostering entrepreneurial intent in young artists

This research project will use a participatory action approach to studying the impact of the ARTpreneurs Web App as an affordable, accessible, and relevant digital tool for educating young artists in Nova Scotia in the development of entrepreneurial thinking and the basic business skills they need to build businesses and careers on their existing creative and community assets.

Leveraging lessons learned from the front lines to inform policy and practice in hospital and community healthcare settings in the context of COVID-19

Among the many significant effects of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), Vancouver General Hospital’s (VGH) Department of Psychiatry has observed the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of patients and providers. These circumstances have created unprecedented demand for decisive and rapid action to avert hospital admissions related to mental health, maximize efficiency within hospitals in the context of physical distancing requirements, and improve wrap around care in partnership with community-based psychiatrists and family physicians. The pandemic has also forced a swift adoption of telehealth technologies, transforming care provision to reduce person-to-person contact while continuing to support patients during this critical time.
The Mitacs intern will join our team of healthcare providers and researchers to conduct a series of virtual focus groups with psychiatrists and family physicians providing care in VGH outpatient settings during the pandemic. The intern will help analyze and compile the findings into a report submitted VGH’s department of Psychiatry and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority leadership, and prepared a publication for an academic journal.

Explorations into the mechanism and potential of the antiviral activity of BOLD-100 as a treatment for COVID-19

BOLD-100 is a promising new drug that initial studies have shown has potent activity against the SARS-CoV-2 (the cause of COVID-19) in cell culture experiments. Before being able to start clinical studies with BOLD-100, additional research into the mechanism of action is required, plus testing the safety and efficacy of BOLD-100 in animal models of COVID-19. The purpose of this project is to utilize a range of cell culture and animal models to test BOLD-100 against COVID-19 to better understand the drug. Additionally, investigations will look at other viral diseases that BOLD-100 might be utilized in. The results of this project will help define the potential of BOLD-100 as an antiviral drug for use in COVID-19 and beyond, and accelerate it’s development.

Mitchell Thompson – Morowat Global

We are now looking for ways to diversify our business, specifically in a more sustainable industry. We are looking to enter Hemp producing and processing but still need significant research on the industry in General. Hiring a Co-op student will help us significantly in further researching the market to see if the industry is worth entering.