Innovative Projects Realized

Physiological Data Analysis and Credibility Assessment

The subject of assessing credibility is not new. What we are proposing in this project, on the other hand, is novel. It has been shown in various context that assessing credibility is extremely difficulty. In this project, we take a data-driven approach, relying on fundamental knowledge of neural physiology and data collected by NuraLogix, our industrial partner. The idea is simple, lying is stressful and it triggers uncontrollable neural activities that lead to subtle changes in physiological processes, which can be measured and analysed. Working with scientists at NuraLogix, we aim to address the following question: How to improve the performance of current analytic methodologies and detection methods by using newly developed techniques such as machine learning? The outcome of this project could lead to the development reliable algorithms that can be integrated into existing tools developed by NuraLogix but also new insights into this fascinating area.

VOYO Brand Management and Consulting

The internship is a marketing intern role at a consulting and brand management firm that specializes in marketing services in Canada, unlocking China and design thinking workshops. My responsibilities include: 1) develop content on multiple social platforms, in both English and Chinese, to showcase how VOYO’s design thinking methodologies helped clients succeed in both Canada and China and to establish VOYO as design and innovation driven business strategists and brand managers; 2) assist with new project launches utilizing skills learned in MBA (business design, innovation, etc.)

Avasta

In this role, the student will be exposed to leading-edge concepts in financial measurement, data analysis, brand marketing measurement and business valuation in an intangible asset economy.

The student will be working remotely, focusing on integrating finance with third party research and marketing data, while also being a part of Avasta’s Customer Analysis & M&A advisory teams as required. The student will also have the opportunity to use top project management & data visualization platforms including Notion, Smartsheet, and Miro.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The student will be working under the direction of Avasta’s founder and other senior members of the organization. During the work term, the student will be engaged in analysis of corporate re-structuring, M&A, all while applying Avasta’s unique expertise in measuring the transaction and strategy impact at the customer level.

Workforce Planning Project

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to the job market. Employment services organisations, including Kingston Economic Development Corporation (our partner organisation), indicate that the growth of businesses and economic activity is seriously hampered by the inability to hire qualified employees. To alleviate the mismatch between demand and supply in the labour market, it is imperative to develop the ability to (a) rapidly detect trends, such as shifting demands in specific regions or types of jobs, or new types of positions or skills, and (b) better communicate to job seekers accurate information about the skills and jobs in demand, to facilitate their rapid reskilling. The purpose of this project is to create a platform enabling the regular and rapid analysis of job demand data scraped from various online databases already in place. The platform will enable answering the following questions: What skills are employers in Kingston and Eastern Ontario looking for? What skills do the jobseekers in Kingston and Eastern Ontario have? Where can the skills be found and where are they needed? What rapid skills development opportunities are available to job seekers that will quickly align them with the needs of the job market?

SB Quantum

This internship will help SBQuantum move from an innovative scientific idea to a commercial venture. It supports a Canadian SME and Canada’s execution of quantum expertise as SBQuantum are a part of Canada’s nascent quantum industry. However, for this industry to be successful we need the help of business experts in order to navigate the many challenges start-ups face. This will support Canada as the home of quantum excellence and allow us to identify local use cases to keep the IP in Canada. Additionally, several of our applications are in mining so this internship will help us identify how to turn a novel technology into a solution increasing safety and efficiency in that industry.

Goodpin – Executive Apprentice (2)

Pretty standard CURRENT STATE analysis. Then strategic planning around how our company will deliver in the new COVID reality – FUTURE STATE. Then a GAP ANALYSIS between the two, so we can understand the necessary efforts to make that transition fully. This internship will provide a efficiency in multiple key business functions, which are critical to the success of Goodpin throughout the pandemic including: integrating services with clients digitally, creating and activating digital marketing materials, building connections and making sales, operations, and administrative functions. Most importantly, this internship will provide a fresh, innovative perspective on the situation we are all facing, and produce new ideas.

Goodpin – Executive Apprentice (1)

Pretty standard CURRENT STATE analysis. Then strategic planning around how our company will deliver in the new COVID reality – FUTURE STATE. Then a GAP ANALYSIS between the two, so we can understand the necessary efforts to make that transition fully. This internship will provide a efficiency in multiple key business functions, which are critical to the success of Goodpin throughout the pandemic including: integrating services with clients digitally, creating and activating digital marketing materials, building connections and making sales, operations, and administrative functions. Most importantly, this internship will provide a fresh, innovative perspective on the situation we are all facing, and produce new ideas.

Natural Health Products to Manage Cancers of Dogs

More than half of Canadian households have companion animals such as dog or cat. However, cancer has become the leading cause of death in dogs. Currently, available treatments have limitations and compromise the quality of life of dogs. Adored Beast Apothecary wishes to develop unique natural health products to prevent and treat cancers of dogs. The objective of the proposed research project is to develop optimized processes to generate safe and efficacious anti-cancer natural products using a sustainably grown phytoplankton strain. The specific objectives of the project are to identify the natural compounds present in the new product, assess whether the products have antioxidant activity to prevent cancer as well as to treat cancer. The intern (a postdoctoral fellow) will examine both cancer preventive and treatment properties of the new natural health products using cultured mammalian cells. The expected result will become useful for the Adored Beast Apothecary to file a patent application, plan for experiments using animals, and progress with business development plan and commercialization.

Le processus décisionnel dans le cadre de la détermination du statut de réfugié

es autorités compétentes pour statuer sur une requête d’asile ont pour tâche de déterminer si la personne qui demande l’asile revêt effectivement la qualité de réfugié au sens de l’article 1 A de la Convention relative au statut des réfugiés.
Le projet de recherche consiste à examiner, sur la base de décisions administratives et judiciaires, le processus décisionnel des autorités d’asile confrontées non seulement à une pénurie de preuves, mais aussi à d’importantes différences culturelles et linguistiques, et éventuellement des requérants d’asile en état de choc post-traumatique. Le but est de démontrer la méfiance générale dont font preuve les autorités vis-à-vis des demandes d’asile incomplètes et la part de subjectivité qui entre en ligne de compte dans le processus décisionnel (par exemple en fonction du vécu, de la formation et de la sensibilité du fonctionnaire), ainsi que d’évaluer le poids accordé aux différents moyens de preuve (pertinence, force probante), étant précisé que les requérants d’asile n’ont la plupart du temps pas de moyens de preuve documentaires permettant de confirmer ou d’étayer leurs déclarations, mais uniquement leurs récits.

Development of a breeding database for the application of omics technologies in canola variety development

Next generation plant breeding requires bringing together many different types and sources of information about different plant varieties, including their genetic information together with how well they grow in different environments. The best ways to organize and integrate these sources of information within a plant breeding program is not well known. In this project, we will work with Nutrien Ag Solutions to devise and evaluate a breeding database and associated software tools to assist and accelerate their double haploid breeding program in canola. The results of this research will include an optimized database and optimized data workflows that are developed and evaluated through formal human-computer interaction research methods.

Efficient edge inference benchmarking for AI-driven applications

Deep learning (DL) algorithms have achieved phenomenal success in different AI applications in recent times. Training DL algorithms require huge computational resources. Therefore, cloud or high-performance computing at the edge are obvious choices for this task. However, during inference cloud computing is not a suitable choice because of latency issues. There are billions of devices and sensors connected to the Internet, and data generated from these cannot be transferred and processed in geographically distant cloud data centers without incurring delays. Currently we are bringing computation closer to the edge of the network near the data source using intelligent edge devices. However, the edge devices have significant constraints on energy use, size and cost; constraints which point back to a need for effective performance analysis, which in turn requires an effective benchmark. Several benchmarks exist in the literature for evaluating performance of AI applications in edge devices. Each of these benchmarks has made unique contributions. The benchmark will reflect standard practices to help the ecosystem to choose among hardware solutions depending on their power usage constraints and inference performance requirements for efficient edge AI deployments.

Indigenous peoples’ representation in the Greater Toronto Area construction industry

This research project seeks to identify and draw attention to the historical factors leading to the underrepresentation of Indigenous workers in unionized sectors of the construction industry; the problematic relationship between Indigenous workers and their non-Indigenous counterparts, employers and trade unionists; and past and present efforts to address these problems. This work will aid in thinking through the transformation of hiring practices, apprenticeship and other skills training programs, and union models of organizing and outreach to better represent Indigenous workers. I will seek to answer the questions: how many Indigenous workers are there in the construction industry in the GTA? What have their experiences been like in the workplace, apprenticeships and trade union environments? What have been the challenges and successes of the IUOE Local 793, the TCBN, and other community organizations when recruiting and/ or organizing indigenous workers? What have they learned that can be applied elsewhere?