Projets novateurs réalisés

Westmount Dental Lab Innovation

The project aims to improve the digital denture production workflow at Westmount Dental Lab. The intern will analyze current processes, identify inefficiencies, and develop standardized procedures to improve quality.

Reimagining Land-Use Planning: Black Agrarian and Food Futures in Colombia

This project hopes to better understand how land-use planning mechanisms can be reestablished for the benefit of traditional Black lands in the Alto Cauca region of Colombia. Using spatial data derived from community-based research processes, this research hopes to support the development of innovative planning processes aimed to highlight Black land rights in Colombia. This research will support larger efforts of the national government to recognize traditional Afro-Colombian and Indigenous land rights, particularly in promoting their respective political autonomy as well as providing financial support to maintain traditional practices, ways of living, and relationships with the physical environment. Afro-Colombian and Indigenous use of alternative governance strategies, collective land ownership, and traditional ecological knowledge are widely acknowledged for their substantive benefits towards the conservation of forests, ecosystems, and biodiversity. This work will support 18 Black Community Councils, scholars at the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, and the NGO Funecorobles, all of whom have been collectively working together to better understand how Black land rights in Alto Cauca could be better realized. Research findings will be disseminated with local planners through workshops aimed towards the final stages of the project, in hope to sensitize planners to the limitations of current statutory planning processes.

Exploring Artificial Intelligence applications and considerations in Patient Health Education

The RBC Patient and Family Learning Space (PFLS) at CAMH provides free mental health, substance use, and recovery information to patients, families, caregivers, and the public. PFLS offers workshops, webinars, easy-to-understand health information, and help with navigating the mental health system. It operates both as a physical space and an online learning hub, working with CAMH teams and community partners to improve access to information and reduce barriers related to health literacy and social factors.

As PFLS grows, there is a need to improve how educational materials are created, updated, and shared. Right now, many processes—such as making information easy to understand, translating materials into different languages, and adapting content into formats like videos or audio—are done manually. This takes significant time and staff effort, and makes it harder to keep materials current and accessible to diverse communities.

This summer project will support PFLS to develop and test new, improved ways to create and share mental health education materials, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. AI can help translate content, adapt materials into plain language, and create different formats more efficiently. However, careful review is needed to ensure information remains accurate, culturally appropriate, and trustworthy.

The project will be carried out by two interns, providing them with valuable hands-on experience in public health, mental health education, knowledge translation, and emerging digital tools. Under supervision, interns will help review existing materials, explore AI tools, and contribute to developing clear guidelines and workflows. This project will strengthen PFLS’s ability to provide high-quality, accessible education while also building workforce capacity and supporting the next generation of public health professionals.

Menopause Symptoms and Cogniton: Real-world evidence from reproductive health tracking applications

This project at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health addresses a defined evidence gap in women’s brain health: despite women comprising roughly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s disease cases, there is limited scalable, person-centred data on how specific menopause symptom patterns and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) exposures relate to cognitive outcomes. In partnership with two major reproductive health tracker apps, Clue and Natural Cycles, the project will use large-scale app-based data to identify data-driven menopause subtypes based on symptom co-occurrence using clustering methods, and model how these symptom clusters, symptom frequency/severity, and MHT type and route (e.g., estradiol vs. progesterone; pill vs. patch) predict cognitive complaints such as brain fog, forgetfulness, and difficulty concentrating. Findings will directly inform feature-engineering and risk-modeling strategies for a larger lab initiative to develop a female-specific Alzheimer’s disease risk calculator drawing on 350,000+ participants across multiple aging databases. The expected benefit to CAMH is the development of reproducible analytic pipelines, empirically derived menopause subtypes, and predictive models that strengthen its capacity to build targeted prevention tools, improve early risk identification in midlife women, and enhance Canada’s leadership in data-driven women’s health research at the intersection of science and industry.

Integrated Renewable Energy Sharing and Decentralized 5G Infrastructure for Sustainable Rural Development

Reliable electricity and internet access are essential for basic services (healthcare, education, emergency response) and economic opportunity, yet many rural and off-grid communities, including some Indigenous areas, still lack both. Thus, this research project investigates how rural and off-grid communities can access more affordable and reliable electricity and broadband by planning energy and connectivity together rather than separately. It proposes a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy-sharing network in which households equipped with solar PV, small wind turbines, and battery energy storage (BESS) can share electricity locally. At the same time, the same local clean energy also supports decentralized telecom service through 5G small cells. A series of analyses will be conducted to show that integrating renewables, storage, and decentralized telecom can reduce energy costs, increase self-sufficiency and resilience, cut reliance on fossil fuels, and support social and economic development (e.g., education and local businesses). The analysis will be developed to examine the roles of equipment prices and battery capacity in economic viability.

Epigenetic Control of 3D Chromatin Architecture During Embryonic Development

This project explores how chemical modifications to DNA and histone proteins influence the 3D structure of the genome during early embryonic development. Working at RIKEN in Japan, Iqra Wardak will learn molecular biology and computational genomics techniques to study how epigenetic marks regulate gene activity and cell identity. The project combines experimental training with analysis of next-generation sequencing data to understand how chromatin organization shapes developmental processes.

Modélisation et intégration numérique d’un tube vortex dans un système HVAC – Applications énergétiques

Ce projet de recherche vise à rendre les systèmes de chauffage, ventilation et climatisation (HVAC) plus économes en énergie en intégrant un dispositif innovant appelé tube vortex. Ce dispositif peut produire simultanément de l’air chaud et de l’air froid à partir d’un fluide comprimé, sans utiliser de pièces mécaniques mobiles. Le stagiaire étudiera, à l’aide de simulations numériques avancées, comment intégrer efficacement ce tube vortex dans un système HVAC afin de réduire la charge du compresseur, diminuer la consommation d’électricité et améliorer la performance globale du système. L’objectif est de valoriser une partie de l’énergie déjà disponible dans le circuit, plutôt que de la perdre, ce qui permettrait de réduire les coûts d’exploitation et les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. À terme, ce projet pourrait contribuer au développement de systèmes de climatisation et de chauffage plus durables, plus fiables et mieux adaptés aux exigences énergétiques actuelles.

AI-Powered Technical Documentation Workflow – Atlas Automation

This project addresses Canada’s construction skilled trades labour shortage by developing AI-powered documentation automation that enables existing workers to accomplish more without increasing headcount, directly supporting Canada’s productivity agenda. It also advances digital transformation in the trades sector by applying AI technologies to building automation—an industry critical to Canada’s energy efficiency and climate goals. By streamlining documentation processes that support building automation installations, the project accelerates deployment of energy-efficient building systems, with workflows that could serve as a model for similar automation initiatives across Canada’s construction and engineering sectors.

Using Extended Reality for a Digital Twin of a Hydrogen Pipeline Test Facility

This project aims to develop an immersive digital twin system to enhance the safety and monitoring of hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. By integrating real-time sensor data with virtual and mixed reality (XR) interfaces, the research provides operators with intuitive spatial visualizations for proactive risk assessment and structural health monitoring. The collaboration benefits the University of Calgary by advancing its immersive analytics research and the Federal University of São Paulo by providing a high-stakes industrial application to validate advanced software engineering and human-centered design models. Ultimately, this research contributes to a safer transition to clean energy through cutting-edge interactive technology.

Vers une agriculture durable territorialisée : diagnostics régionaux des bonnes pratiques pour les grandes cultures

Terre à table / Foodbridge travaille au développement de filières durables afin d’insuffler la transformation des systèmes alimentaires, de la production jusqu’à la consommation, en s’appuyant sur un maillage d’acteurs engagés à résoudre les défis socio-environnementaux liés à l’alimentation. Ce projet de stage vise à soutenir les actions de l’organisme en réalisant une analyse territoriale et cartographique de certaines filières agricoles stratégiques selon les régions, notamment l’orge brassicole ainsi que les grandes cultures (maïs et soja), afin d’orienter les prochaines actions de Terre à table. En propulsant les actions de cet organisme vers les besoins prioritaires et en diffusant les bonnes pratiques déjà expérimentées, ce projet contribuera directement à la transition vers une agriculture plus durable au Québec et en Ontario, avec des retombées positives à l’échelle nationale.

Biodiversity Mapping Project: Collecting field data to improve land cover classification.

The Biodiversity Mapping Project (BMaP) aims to generate refined mapping tools to address key data gaps and improve how lands and habitats are planned for, managed, and protected in the eastern Georgian Bay region. Indigenous communities, municipalities, conservation organizations, and land managers currently rely on land-cover and habitat maps that are outdated or too general to accurately reflect conditions on the ground, especially for Species at Risk. Through this project, an intern will work closely with the Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere (GBB) and regional partners to collect high-quality, field-based habitat data that confirms where important habitats occur, with a focus on reptile nesting and overwintering areas. This information will be used to create updated detailed, high-resolution habitat maps that better reflect real conditions across both public and private lands. The project will benefit the partner organization by providing reliable, field-verified, standardized data to support conservation, land-use management decisions, and stewardship efforts, while also strengthening collaboration among local organizations. At the same time, the intern will gain hands-on experience in applied environmental research and conservation mapping with real-world impacts to contribute to the long-term protection and management of sensitive habitats.

2026 Circle CVI – RA/QMS internship

As a medical device manufacturer, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc. (Circle) operates within a regulated industry and must maintain a robust Quality Management System (QMS) to support global market access and lifecycle compliance. As the organization expands and maintains its regulatory footprint across multiple jurisdictions, the volume and complexity of jurisdiction-specific regulatory compliance requires in-depth intelligence, such as submission pathways, classification rules, reporting timelines, and any unique regulations. With regulatory frameworks evolving globally, maintaining a structured, current, and accessible regulatory intelligence index has become an increasingly strategic priority for the RA/QMS team.

The improvement priority addressed by this project is the gathering, consolidation, and enhancement of Circle’s regulatory intelligence framework to better support global expansion, compliance activities, and cross-functional decision-making. This project focuses on foundational infrastructure improvements that strengthen long-term efficiency, consistency, and knowledge management. In addition, this project requires applied expertise in regulatory affairs, quality systems, and an understanding of medical device regulations on the global stage, combined with strong research and analytical skills to interpret these regulations and translate them into structured outputs.