Innovative Projects Realized

Rethinking public transit networks using a climate justice lens

Public transit offers both a relatively low GHG-to-passenger ratio and affordable options for local travel in comparison to personal vehicle travel, thusly presenting as a key area for making progress toward climate change mitigation and social justice. Working with stakeholders in the Greater Victoria Area, this project will identify, map, and examine three different new regional transit network scenarios, which respectively align with objectives around (1) climate change mitigation, (2) social justice, and (3) climate justice. Key outcomes of the project will include an analytical framework, toolset, and process for analyzing and remapping transit networks in ways that align with climate and social justice objectives.

Charlotte Knight – Kerby Centre

We have spent the last six months developing a framework for collecting data on the impact our organization has on the community it serves. As part of our project our student will have completed the following:
Outcome 1: Create tracking documents, surveys, and analysis process for data collection
Outcome 2: Participate in annual review of how programs and services reflect community needs. help create surveys and focus groups as needed. Research trends in the needs of those over 50 in today’s world.

Precious Akpoguma – WEC

Women’s Economic Council is a nonprofit that works to support women in community economic development. The Portraits Project is part of the 50-30 Challenge and will feature stories of women working in leadership roles or on their path to leadership roles. It will showcase the challenges, barriers and how they reached the role they have.

Maintenance Software Development Enhancement

The cornerstone of North American Construction Group(NACG) is the fleet of heavy equipment management. It is imperative that NACG are diligent in keeping it in top shape and operating without un-scheduled failures. To that end, NACG have a system within ERP for creating and maintaining maintenance schedules. The business has identified a bottleneck and potential vector for error in the current software and has requested it is modified to better suit the business need. The interns will work on this project within the team to provide solutions and sharpen their skills.

Analyse comparative du financement des politiques d’innovation et cartographie de l’écosystème québécois d’innovation

Le projet d’analyse du financement des politiques d’innovation et la cartographie de l’écosystème québécois d’innovation se devise en deux axes :
– Axe 1 : Le projet de recherche vise ainsi à analyser les budgets déposés par les gouvernements du Canada et du Québec en mars 2023 sous la perspective du financement public de l’innovation. En utilisant une analyse comparative, il s’attardera à documenter l’évolution des initiatives existantes, les nouvelles initiatives engagées et à analyser les tendances plus générales de chaque gouvernement en matière de financement public de l’innovation.
– Axe 2 : L’objectif du projet est donc de développer des outils « cartographiques » permettant d’illustrer et de positionner la diversité et le positionnement, dans l’espace et en termes de secteurs de développement, des divers projets structurants d’innovation au Québec. Des méthodes et logiciels d’analyse de texte et de cartographie pourront être utilisées pour mener à bien le projet de recherche.

Crooked Branch Orchard – Growth into Sustainability

Established in 2018 and located in the community of Jamestown on the Bonavista Peninsula, Crooked Branch is a small, high-density orchard, nestled close to the ocean. Growing Nova Spy, Crimson Crisp and Liberty apples in the warm microclimate of upper Bonavista Bay, it is co-owned by John and Valerie Barron and is currently the only commercial orchard in the area. The sales strategies were grassroots and included roadside stands, farmer’s markets, and direct sales from our Facebook page. Crooked Branch need a sales and marketing strategy, a website with online sales capabilities, and help with developing a customer base. With the internship support, it is expected to expand Crooked Branch’s business and generate revenue in the shoulder season with an agri-tourism venture which is popular in other parts of Canada. This can increase Crooked Branch’s impact with community outreach activities

Bounce Health MBA-SEE internship – Bounce Health Innovation Advanced Marketing Initiative

As part of this role, the individual will introduce automation technology into marketing, gather data and develop a data-driven decision-making process related to marketing activities for social enterprise. A vital aspect of the role is to assist small med-tech social enterprises and start-ups that the company works with so
that the company can provide examples of how the start-ups may approach their marketing initiatives by embracing new technology and analyzing their data.

Strengthening opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation in NunatuKavut

Like many Indigenous communities across the north, NunatuKavut Inuit communities are facing diverse impacts of climate change. For example, Inuit have been describing impacts to changing sea ice conditions. Sea ice is critical to coastal and inland communities in this region, with notable impacts on health, traditional education, food security, etc.

This project will assist NCC in the development of a NunatuKavut Inuit climate change framework (a tool that will later assist NCC in their efforts to inform a climate strategy for NunatuKavut). Prior to the development of a climate strategy however, NCC requires assistance with proposal development to secure opportunities to engage in this work. As one example, an Inuit program titled SmartICE, helps communities address sea ice safety by monitoring ice thickness and other ice-related climate conditions. The project intern will work on securing funding and developing the application for SmartICE.

Deep Surface AI Security Operations Program

As of February 2023, DSAI has achieved HIPAA compliance, and will be deploying its product in several clinics throughout the United States. As this is the first time DSAI will be holding live patient data, a need to bolster its current security operations program. The intern will work closely with DSAI’s compliance and software development teams to implement improvements to improve the company’s security posture.

Développement de composants photoniques novateurs par inscription de réseaux de Bragg volumiques.

Les lasers émettant des puissances élevées servent aujourd’hui à toutes sortes d’applications, et encore plus particulièrement dans les industries de pointe. L’arrivée des systèmes laser opérant par compression d’impulsions étirées et amplifiées dans les dernières décennies a permis de multiples développements dans de nombreux domaines où la demande pour des lasers à puissance crête élevée est requise. L’objectif de ce projet est de produire un compresseur d’impulsions pour ce type de système étant hautement résistant aux effets thermiques en utilisant l’inscription de réseaux de Bragg volumiques dans le verre de silice. Le développement de ce type de composant pourrait permettre d’atteindre des puissances laser crêtes et moyennes plus encore élevées par rapport à ce qui est présentement utilisé. Ce projet est avantageux pour TeraXion, qui se spécialise dans le développement et la commercialisation de composants photoniques à base de réseaux de Bragg, car celui-ci lui permettra de développer de nouveaux produits à forte valeur ajoutée.

Implementation of Imaging Solutions for Agri-Biotechnology

The costs of manually sorting seeds and plants for commercial clients and international export is costly and at risk of human error. Correspondingly, 2020 Seed Labs requires cost-effective, custom solutions to enhance automation in their seed sorting and plant selection workflows. Across diverse sectors, image analysis combined with machine has provided a wide-range of benefits. Here, we propose to capitalize on these technologies to address biotechnological challenges unique to 2020 Seed Labs by utilizing successfully implemented workflows developed by the partner academic labs. In addition, we will develop a new image analysis workflow that utilizes diffracted light to reveal unique features of seeds and plants to address 2020 Seed Labs challenges. Collectively, this project aims to assist 2020 Seed Labs find enhanced efficiencies in their production workflows by reducing human intervention in critical process central to their operation.

Development of a climate change adaptation plan and flood risk readiness assessment for communities in Northwest New Brunswick

This project aims to develop a climate change adaptation plan for rural communities located in Northwest New Brunswick within the jurisdiction of the Northwest Regional Service Commission following the ICLEI process and informed by engagement with citizens and decision-makers.
We will also assess flood-readiness of communities within the jurisdiction and apply inclusive approaches to consultation. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will be applied using a wide variety of existing data.