Ten BC graduate student interns and their partner companies came together to exhibit the results of their Mitacs-Accelerate internships to the CEOs and venture capitalists of British Columbia’s technology community who were attending the BC Innovation Council’s A Dialogue…Building and Sustaining BC’s Technology Ecosystem.
The highlight of the Exhibition was a tour with BC Premier Christy Clark, who met with the interns and companies and heard how the intern’s research was being translated into new and improved products and services while helping to boost the BC economy.
Mitacs-Accelerate internships on display included:
- Andreas Wagner from UBC’s Department of Chemistry who helped to improve the effectiveness of a natural repellant for bed bugs with SemiosBIO Technologies Inc.
- Hanbo Li from SFU’s School of Engineering Science who streamlined manufacturing processes at Toyo Pumps
- Heather Holliday from UBC’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences who partnered with Malaspina Labs Inc. to create hearing aid technology that improves speech understanding in noisy environments
- Tim Gjernes from SFU’s School of Engineering Science who optimized a slurry pump design with Toyo pumps using computational fluid dynamics
- Caleb Shortt from the University of Victoria’s Department of Computer Science who created a secure mobile messaging system for use by the healthcare industry with SmartPager Systems Inc.
- Allen Bevans from SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology who helped Kibooco implement an online interactive platform where children can create their own story books
- Megan MacGillivray from UBC’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences who partnered with Sidestix Ventures Inc. to design new ergonomic crutches to help people with disabilities or injuries with mobility
- Yonas Weldeselassie from SFU’s School of Computing Science who helped McKesson Medical Imaging Group improve image quality of CT scans while reducing patient radiation exposure
- Hossein Dehghani from SFU’s School of Engineering Science who partnered with Mobisafe Systems Inc. to develop an airbag safety system for wheelchairs
- Shekooh Behroozian from UBC’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology who researched the medicinal qualities of naturally-occurring clay with Kisameet Glacial Clay Inc., then helped them develop a range of antibacterial soaps and gels
Mitacs thanks the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia for their support of the Accelerate research internship in this story. Across Canada, the Accelerate program also receives support from Alberta Innovates, 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, the Government of Saskatchewan and Research Manitoba.
Do you have a business challenge that could benefit from a research solution? If so, contact Mitacs today to discuss partnership opportunities: BD@mitacs.ca
Mitacs
Mitacs empowers Canadian innovation through effective partnerships that deliver solutions to our most pressing problems. By driving economic growth and productivity, we create meaningful change to improve quality of life for all Canadians.
