Regina, SK – Mitacs research interns shared their work in a brilliant display of talent at the Saskatchewan Legislature. Their projects represented a broad array of Saskatchewan industry sectors including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, protein extraction, advanced engineering technologies, luxury retail, and veterinary medicine.
The Mitacs interns approach Saskatchewan business challenges from their own research areas of expertise including environmental studies-geography, marketing, physiology, and a host of engineering disciplines including civil, environmental, mechanical, mining, and software.
All the projects showcased help people in Saskatchewan, across Canada and around the world, delivering innovation via applied research.
The projects highlighted include:
- Hillberg & Berk— Stephanie Pankiw, MSc student, Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, investigating consumer response to corporate-social-responsibility advertising messages within the luxury-retail, jewellery sector.
- Information Systems Management (ISM) Canada — Samantha Kerr, PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Regina, analyzing the spatial and temporal variability of the hydroclimate of the Canadian Prairies and how climate change affects agriculture land value.
- Keyleaf — Dr. Muhammad Asif Manzoor’s work as a post-doctoral fellow at University of Regina works on improving the efficiency of protein extraction using machine learning models.
- Nutrien — Victor Oknokwo is an MASc student at the University of Regina. He is developing a new algorithm to advance potash mine safety as part of his control systems and automation studies, and creating realistic earth models
- Orano — Post-doctoral Fellow Ali Motalebi Damuchali studies industrial wastewater treatment, soil and groundwater remediation with a focus on biological techniques.
- RMD Engineering —Samantha Steinke followed her passion for research, beginning an MSc in Biomedical Engineering with Dr. Julia Montgomery, Assistant Professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). She focuses on equine rehabilitation and biomechanics; she is working with RMD Engineering on an innovative harness and lift system that could save injured horses.
- Seedmaster — Behnam Nasirian, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of Regina, works on the design and development of control and navigation strategies for the Dot platform.
- Uctupus — With a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Farid Bahiraei researches advanced thermal management systems design, hardware programming, and wireless sensor networks for Internet of Things applications.
“Mitacs’s internships provide invaluable private-sector research collaboration and work experience for Saskatchewan students. They also help Saskatchewan companies to innovate, grow, and create jobs,” said Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs. “These talented research interns address business challenges with innovative solutions, driving economic development for Saskatchewan. The interns themselves develop advanced skill-sets through the training and business experience they acquire.”
Over the past year, Mitacs provided over 200 internships throughout the province. Since the Mitacs- Saskatchewan Government partnership commenced in 2008, together we have provided more than 700 internships, working to advance Saskatchewan’s economic growth and prosperity.
Quick facts:
- Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions.
- Working with 60+ universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.
- Open to all disciplines and all industry sectors, projects can span a wide range of areas, including manufacturing, business processes, IT, social sciences, and design.
- Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, the Government of Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Prince Edward Island, the Government of Quebec, and the Government of Saskatchewan.
- For information on the impact of Mitacs internships, see the Longitudinal Survey of Accelerate Program Interns.
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Photo caption:
From left: Mitacs’s Zsuzsa Papp and Alejandro Adem with the Honourable Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education, and Ernest Yee.
