Projets novateurs réalisés

Integrated Innovation Project: Digital Marketing, AI, and U.S. Expansion

Collins Executive Search (CES) is a small, specialized firm focused on executive-level placements across industries. While the firm has a strong reputation in Canada, its limited digital presence—including an outdated website, minimal social media activity, and no structured digital marketing—has constrained growth, particularly in the U.S. market.

This project has five key components:

1. AI-Driven Process Innovation:
AI tools such as Power Automate and Power BI will be integrated into CES’s CRM system to centralize client data, automate routine administrative tasks, and generate actionable insights. These enhancements will improve efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and enhance the client experience. AI will also be applied to candidate sourcing and screening to streamline workflows and increase productivity.

2. AI-Enhanced Outreach:
AI-powered email marketing platforms will segment audiences and personalize outreach based on user behavior, improving engagement rates. AI chatbots will be deployed on the website to offer real-time support for candidates and clients, improving user experience and lead conversion.

3. Digital Marketing Strategy:
The intern will develop a digital marketing strategy that includes an audit of CES’s digital footprint, target audience profiling, SEO improvements, social media campaigns, and content creation to enhance visibility and build brand authority.

4. Website Revamp:
The CES website will be redesigned for modern usability, including intuitive navigation and SEO optimization. AI-enabled features like chatbots and analytics dashboards will support user engagement and continuous improvement.

5. Strategic U.S. Expansion Plan:
Through market research, this project will identify high-potential U.S. regions and industries. The intern will deliver a roadmap covering regulatory considerations, service localization, and targeted outreach to support CES’s US expansion plans.

Effects of Mobile Technologies on Emergency Response

Workplace incidents usually need to be reported and it is important to ensure that they are resolved in a timely manner. To understand the procedures involved in an emergency response to a workplace incident, we have started investigating the existing practices of the McGill University Safety office by interviewing their personnel. We focused our investigation on chemical spills that occur in the workplace, and found potential areas of improvement in their practices. These potential areas of improvement can be addressed by mobile sensing. Therefore, we intend to develop a mobile application to provide the first responders with instantaneous and ubiquitous access to the requisite information in the lab or adjoining labs in order to improve context awareness and lab safety. Our proposed solution needs to be designed, implemented, and tested with users before being deployed as a tool to assist in this use context.

Oak Table Development

JustCity Oak Table (Oak Table) is a non-profit organization in Winnipeg that operates a community outreach center that provides marginalized community members with hospitality, advocacy, and culturally relevant support. Serving between 100 and 150 guests daily, many of whom are Indigenous, experiencing homelessness or coping with mental illness. Oak Table provides individuals with a safe space, healthy meals, supplies, and a sense of community. This program will provide Oak Table with support in their everyday functions, increase community engagement and assist in delivering and planning events for the community.

Communications and Networking Internship for The Heartwood Healing Centre

The proposed project is to aid the Heartwood Healing center, a therapy center that supports individuals affected by childhood sexual abuse. The project aims to grow the centers communications efforts by enhancing its online engagement, hosting community events and forming new partnerships with other organizations. By expanding their reach and collaborations, the project will allow Heartwood to sustain its operations and continue serving those affected by trauma effectively.

Inclusivity in Action: Building an Accessible Brand

Main activities: For over 65 years, Bellwoods has supported adults with physical disabilities to live independently. We offer affordable, wheelchair-accessible housing across Toronto, as well as community-based home services. Bellwoods’ staff support clients with daily living activities, including light chores, hygiene, and meal prep, empowering those with disabilities to live independently. The intern will join Bellwoods’ communications department, which leads strategic internal and external communications.

Challenges: Bellwoods does not have formal brand guidelines to inform inclusive communications and design. Without these guidelines, we do not have templates to help us adhere to the inclusive branding standards set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), such as print sizes, high-contrast colour palettes and screen-reader compatibility. Right now, Bellwoods spends significant time and energy working to create consistent, inclusive communications materials on an ad-hoc basis. We lack brand recognition and struggle to consistently connect with our staff and clients.

Optimization and scale up of seaweed preservation and biorefinery, and validation of bioplastic compostability

The partner, PhyCo, is a marine biotechnology startup specializing in the development of sustainable, seaweed-based bioplastics for agricultural applications. The company collaborates with the Verschuren Centre for product development, including seaweed bioprocessing and extrusion methods for seaweed-derived biomaterials. The main activity of the partner involves exploring proprietary biorefinery (multi-step extraction) technologies, developing bioplastic formulations, and transitioning benchwork methods to scalable processes. Additional activities include the analytical analyses, pilot-scale trials, development of seaweed preservation methods (at ambient temperature), and biodegradability assessments. The partner aims to achieve efficient extraction of valuable seaweed biomaterials using environmentally friendly, energy reduction methods while minimizing operational costs. These biomaterials must integrate seamlessly into a twinscrew extruder with ease and consistency. Formulation optimization is required to mimic polyethylene in terms of mechanical properties (e.g., flexibility, tensile strength) to meet market demands, and with rapid biodegradation in a home-compost, preventing residual microplastics. The project is anticipated to yield significant economic and environmental benefits, including the development of innovative, eco-friendly plastic alternatives, increased scalability of production processes, and reduced carbon footprints (GHG emissions). It will support the partner in creating jobs and market reach. The collaboration will contribute to advancements in industry bottlenecks (with seaweed processing), biomaterials science research, improving patent potential, and commercial capabilities.

Demande SSE | Azer Khelifa

Ce projet vise à explorer comment des agents d’intelligence artificielle (IA), enrichis par des bases de connaissances externes (RAG), peuvent automatiser ou améliorer certaines tâches en marketing numérique. En combinant raisonnement, outils numériques et données, ces agents IA deviennent de puissants assistants. L’objectif : démontrer leur utilité concrète, tout en adoptant une approche responsable face aux enjeux éthiques et environnementaux liés à l’IA. Ce projet permet aussi de développer des compétences de pointe en IA générative et en conception de systèmes intelligents.

Dual Cobalt/Photoredox Catalyzed Synthesis of Urea-Type Containing Heterocycles

A key goal in modern organic chemistry is the development of efficient synthetic routes to access industrially relevant structures starting from highly abundant feedstock chemicals, while minimizing the use of expensive rare-earth metals for catalysis. This project aims to synthesize urea-type containing heterocycles, which are a common structural feature found in many biologically active compounds, through the combination of cobalt and organophotoredox dual catalysis. The starting materials for this transformation are easily accessible, allowing for a variety of previously difficult to access compounds to be achieved in a simple one step procedure. Success of this project could result in this methodology being applied on a larger scale in an industrial setting. By collaborating between the University of Toronto and Kyoto University, the transfer of knowledge between two internationally renowned institutions could result in further advances in the scientific community through the mutual sharing of expertise.

Improvement of process control in a PHK based dissolving pulp production process

AVN uses a sophisticated Distributed Control System (DCS) to monitor and control the process. The mill is equipped with a data historian system which captures continuous and discrete process data from the DCS and manual tests. The effectiveness of process monitoring and control has evolved over the years. But at many stages of the process, operators’ and engineers’ interventions are still required to control the process. Now AVN is looking at the next level of process monitoring tools to take quicker corrective actions for both short term and long term process drifts. The scope of this project is to identify process drifts by automatic signals or flushing capabilities icons/color codes in the dashboards and SPC (statistical process control) charts for the operators, engineers and managers to take corrective and preventive actions right away to mitigate the loss. The scope would also involve incorporating new automatic controls into the DCS wherever possible.

Analyse de l’impact du Programme de remboursement des médicaments sans promoteur de la CDA-AMC sur les décisions de remboursement et de négociation à l’APP

Ce projet vise à évaluer l’impact potentiel du programme de remboursement des médicaments sans promoteur de l’Agence des médicaments du Canada (CDA-AMC) depuis sa création, tout en analysant les conclusions des négociations avec l’Alliance pharmaceutique pancanadienne (APP). Avant l’introduction de ce programme, de nombreux médicaments étaient difficilement accessibles aux patients canadiens, car les promoteurs ne soumettaient pas de demande de remboursement à la CDA-AMC. Cette absence de soumission pouvait résulter d’un refus ou d’une incapacité à le faire, en raison du coût associé à cette démarche et du faible retour sur investissement attendu (p. ex., médicaments destinés à des populations restreintes ou en fin de cycle de vie). L’organisme partenaire, Merck, souhaite mieux comprendre ce mécanisme de soumission et ses implications dans l’écosystème pharmaceutique canadien. Ce programme a le potentiel d’influencer le processus de soumission sponsorisé par l’industrie, un élément clé pour Merck, qui réalise plusieurs soumissions chaque année grâce à son vaste portefeuille des produits. Ultimement, il mettra en lumière un nouveau programme d’accès aux traitements pour les patients canadiens et aidera Merck à orienter son approche pour les années à venir.

Inuit Mental Health Workers: Strength, Resilience, and Retention

This project investigates the workplace experiences of Inuit frontline mental health workers in Nunavut, where systemic barriers and high suicide rates underscore the need for culturally grounded care. Despite their vital role, Inuit workers often face burnout, racism, and insufficient support. Through partnerships with local organizations, this study will interview Inuit mental health professionals to identify challenges and solutions for improving retention and job satisfaction.

Using a community-centered approach, the research will produce actionable recommendations to create trauma-informed, culturally responsive workplaces. Findings will be shared with policymakers, healthcare organizations, and Inuit communities to drive systemic change. The project aligns with national reconciliation efforts and aims to strengthen mental health services by supporting Inuit workers.

Led by a researcher with deep ties to Nunavut, this work prioritizes Inuit perspectives and collaboration at every stage. Outcomes include reports, presentations, and academic publications designed to benefit both workers and the communities they serve. By addressing workplace inequities, this project seeks to enhance the sustainability of Inuit-led mental health care and improve well-being across Nunavut.

Converting colour memory to a spatial format to benefit behaviour

This project explores how the brain transforms visual information, like colour, into spatial formats when storing it in memory. Using functional MRI (fMRI), we will study how these transformations happen and which brain areas are involved. This research builds on previous studies using EEG, but fMRI will provide a clearer picture of the brain regions responsible for these changes. The findings could improve our understanding of how memory adapts to task demands and may have applications in neurorehabilitation and brain-computer interfaces. The collaboration between the University of Toronto and the Ernst Stru¨ngmann Institute will strengthen international research connections, enhance expertise in neuroimaging, and provide valuable hands-on training in advanced fMRI analysis.