Innovative Projects Realized

Réalisation d’un capteur de gaz à base de l’oxyde de Zinc

Les capteurs de gaz à base d’oxydes métalliques connaissent un engouement croissant pour les applications industrielles, militaires et environnementales. ZnO est un oxyde métallique semi-conducteur à large gap direct possédant de nombreuses propriétés physico-chimiques qui sont nécessaires pour les capteurs de gaz de type oxyde métallique. La plupart des capteurs disponibles actuellement sur le marché montrent des limites de sélectivité de gaz réduisant ainsi leurs performances dans certaines conditions de températures et d’humidité. Ici, nous proposons un capteur inspiré du nez électronique qui montre plus de tolérance aux conditions thermiques et hygrométrique. L’utilisation d’un réseau de ZnO nanofils obtenu grâce à la technique hydrothermale sur un substrat en céramique tubulaire permettra de rajouter des électrodes sur les extrémités de chaque nanofils. Ceci permettra d’atteindre un nez électronique sélectif. Ceci vise à offrir la possibilité de concevoir des capteurs d’une large gamme de gaz polluants à faible coût et plus performants.

Intern – Product Manager

NTWIST is a company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Since 2018, NTWIST has provided Artificial Intelligence solutions to the industrial sector to achieve Industrial Excellence. However, the company is under a transition period which response to its recently renewed purpose: to reduce 100 million tonnes of GHG while improving $1 billion in revenue for our industrial partners in the next five years by using digital technologies. This purpose place NTWIST’s value proposal at the intersection of two major business matters, digital transformation and energy transition.

This transition provides an outstanding opportunity for the company to achieve the next level of consolidation and value creation for our stakeholders. In parallel, this evolution also comes with some significant challenges: adopting a new business model and creating a scalable and fundamentally repeatable platform(s)/product(s) that uses digital technology to increase revenue and reduce GHG in the industrial sector.

The Intern – Product Manager position will be a fundamental part of tackling these challenges. This project will help NTWIST undertake the transition with a well-defined strategy that contributes directly to the implementation and success of the company’s purpose.

Animer et documenter un processus de concertation intersectorielle pour implanter un réseau de cuisines collaboratives pour une sécurité alimentaire dans la région du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean

Les enjeux touchant l’alimentation sont nombreux et interreliés (insécurité alimentaire, gaspillage alimentaire, manque de connaissances relatives à la conservation et la transformation des aliments). Pour faire face à ces enjeux, la concertation et la coordination des acteurs du secteur alimentaire sont primordiales : producteurs, transformateurs, épiciers, restaurateurs, commissions scolaires, organismes de soutien alimentaire et d’autres doivent travailler en collaboration. Les actions sur la sécurité alimentaire comportent des défis de mobilisation des acteurs, de coordination et de complémentarité des services, notamment pour la collecte des denrées, le transport de la nourriture, la transformation et le conditionnement, l’entreposage et le transfert de connaissances. Tous ces défis seront à relever dans la mise sur pied d’un réseau de cuisines collaboratives au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Cette démarche vise à assurer l’accès à des aliments frais et peu coûteux pour le plus grand nombre de personnes dans la région. Dans ce projet, la stagiaire accompagne les partenaires de la démarche pour créer et définir les outils et mécanismes d’animation, et définir des stratégies de mobilisation dédiées aux acteurs potentiels pour l’agrandissement du réseau de cuisines collaboratives.

Business Analyst

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Évaluation du projet MAINtenant ensemble

La violence conjugale est une problématique sociale et un problème de santé public important au Québec et ailleurs dans le monde. Afin de mieux répondre aux demandes d’aide en augmentation sur son territoire, le service de police de la MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais a développé le projet d’intervention spécialisée MAINtenant ensemble en 2021 et elle souhaite l’évaluer. Pour ce faire, un stage d’évaluation d’implantation est prévu.
Les retombées du stage pour l’organisme partenaire sont :
1) d’améliorer la trajectoire de service et les orientations de MAINtenant ensemble;
2) d’effectuer une reddition de compte fondée sur des constats scientifique;
3) d’être en mesure de contextualiser l’évaluation ultérieure des impacts du projet;
et 4) de faire connaître ce projet innovant à la communauté québécoise et canadienne.

Product Development to Scale Low Carbon Business Intelligence

Acuicy Inc. is an early-stage, pre-seed startup based in Halifax. Acuicy is an innovative business intelligence platform that provides tailored, data-driven insights, helping managers identify and deploy the most capital-efficient clean technology solutions for their company (acuicy.com). Acuicy leverages the power of business intelligence, climate science, and economics to provide effective decarbonization strategies and delivers custom business cases with ROI calculated for various strategies.

Initial work has been led by the Co-Founders to identify the market gap and need for this type of platform, define the product, and outline the business plan. This project will help the Co-Founders address our core challenge at this early stage which is the need to move quickly into product development with the goal of completing the Minimum Viable Product in the next 4 months.

Development of a new, globally-applicable approach for quantifying reef island evolution in 3D, and analyses of Caribbean reef island evolution

Low lying coral reef islands are considered among the most vulnerable landforms to the impacts of climate change. Currently, an incomplete understanding of reef island evolution and morphology (island evolution is typically analysed in 2-dimensions), and lack of data for reef islands in the Caribbean is limiting predictions regarding how these landforms will respond to future environmental change, e.g., rising sea-level. This project will develop a standardized approach to quantify the 3D evolution of coral reef islands. We will then use this approach to (a) analyse Caribbean reef island evolution in 3D over a range of time periods (weekly, monthly, and annual); (b) identify and measure key morphological characteristics of the islands; and (c) investigate the linkages between island evolution and wave processes on the surrounding reef platforms. The project will produce the first data ever recorded for Caribbean reef islands; and a new, 3D reef island modelling technique, which will be globally applicable and will provide important insights into the capacity of reef islands to adapt to future environmental change.

Community-led growth and business strategy

We are looking to work with an experienced masters student who can serve in a Marketing Innovation Specialist role, which will include Marketing Operations, Business Operations, User Research, and Business Development. We are in the process of raising our seed round so we can build out the commercial features of what will be our SaaS product. We will conduct several pilot projects over the Spring, Summer, and Fall. This intern will be integral to us scaling up operations by implementing tools & processes so we can gear up for a larger sales effort in Jan 2023. The company’s founders have significant experience in community building and are well set up to grow the company through a community-driven, product-led, go-to-market strategy. The purpose of this project is to further formalize this strategy through market research, experimentation, and process automation.

Online Aboriginal Business Incubator

Online business incubation is a rapidly growing field. For many First Nations entrepreneurs who live in remote locations away from large cities, these online incubators allow access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable. While online incubators are becoming more prevalent, the majority of business incubators still operate through face-to-face methods. As such, there is a need not only for more developed online business incubators, but also online business incubators designed specifically for use by Aboriginal entrepreneurs. This internship will examine successful iterations of face-to-face mainstream incubators, face-to-face Aboriginal incubators, and online mainstream incubators in order to determine in what areas each perform well and where each might need improvement. This research will be consolidated and used in the construction of the first accepted online Aboriginal business incubator. Nesika Management Ltd. provides financial and business management in order to allow Aboriginal entrepreneurs to achieve prosperity and self-reliance in their entrepreneurial ventures. This new online business incubator would contain important tools and resources for Aboriginal entrepreneurs to build successful companies, and subsequently help Nesika to achieve their stated aims.

Prediction of preterm birth in twin pregnancies using machine learning

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of death in twin pregnancies. A variety of parameters, such as cervical length, maternal medical history, demographics, and obstetric characteristics all have been shown to affect the risk of PTB. However, the relationship is not obvious. Early prediction of PTB in these pregnancies can assist physicians in identifying those patients who may benefit from preventive interventions and closer monitoring. This project aims to use machine learning to create an algorithm that predicts which twin pregnancy is at a risk of PTB. This algorithm is expected to benefit clinicians in managing twin pregnancies by identifying patients who may benefit from preventive interventions. In addition, accurate detection of preterm birth is a prerequisite for any future attempts to develop such new interventions.

Venture Studio Fellowship

This role is a critical and multi-faceted position. The intern will be an active contributor to the venture-building and studio asset allocation process. At the heart of FutureSight is a four-phase venture lifecycle – which systematically moves opportunities through ideation, validation, formation, and growth stages. New ideas are rigorously screened, market-tested, and validated before a venture is formed. Based on the intern’s strengths, they will rotate between the Studio fellow track or the EIR fellow track. As a Studio Fellow, they will support the studio team on operations, recruitment, capital raise & deployment, and investor relations. As an EIR Fellow, they will support a venture founder in testing business ideas and supporting co-creation activities.

Predicting productivity in UpBeing app users

It is no secret that people strive to be more productive in their personal and professional lives. Productivity applications have made life easier for people by enabling them to meticulously monitor their output in numerous domains. Even so, there remains the problem of how one can most effectively use all this knowledge in order to improve oneself. In the current project, I will work with UpBeing to determine how productivity can be measured and which factors contribute to improved personal productivity. The findings from this research will help UpBeing to improve its application for product launch.