Innovative Projects Realized

Market Research and Operations Intern

CassaV Foods Corp is a social business developing food products derived from cassava that are healthy, rich in fiber, and gluten-free while also making an impact on vulnerable communities. COVID-19 has affected and delayed our launch plans as sampling of food products and retailing has stopped.

This internship would research the market, analyze and compare scenarios/costs of the supply chain which will help uncertainties/unknowns and get our company close to launching. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to make much progress during 2020 or may try to launch and incur losses due to a lack of knowledge from the market and supply chain.

The Market Research and Operations Intern will be responsible for conducting a thorough market analysis of the healthy snacks market and the cassava food production supply chain.
1. Conduct Industry and Market Research:
a. Market Sizing and Potential
b. Competitive Analysis
c. Explore consumer preferences and habits through a survey and interviews

2. Sourcing/Logistic Research:
a. Research the cassava supply chain including potential suppliers and costs
b. Conduct cost/benefit analysis of supply chain alternatives
c. Make go to market strategy and sourcing (raw materials, packaging) recommendations

Financial Analyst

Our startup is a Seed Stage agtech company that produces smart indoor gardens and fully seeded, nutrient-loaded pod packs.
1) Implement, run, track and troubleshoot our B2C delivery
2) Compare and decide on the most optimal shipping rates and methods
3) Apply a data-centric approach to evaluate and set comprehensive goals for performance and growth
4) Upkeep financial cash flow forecasts to meet company goals
5) Assist in fundraising & grant applications and reporting
6) Identify issues and implement solutions to increase organizational effectiveness, systems, and processes
7) Support work with Operations Coordinator & CEO
8) Create and send out monthly reports to Operations Coordinator & CEO

Strategic Initiatives

The intern would be key to help us develop a plan to reach more students by tutoring online worldwide and diversify our offerings by adding more exams to our portfolio, enabling us to grow despite the downturn in the industry, by gaining more market share.
As we move to the implementation phase of our 2-year growth plan, we need an intern to conduct market research, data analysis and documentation for management. This will help us confirm we have a compelling message and effective marketing. More specifically, the intern would develop a target profile of our client, create a plan to reach influencers (school counsellors, educational consultants), determine other exams that would be key to the company’s growth, and hone our sales process for online tutoring.

Clinic@Joe’s Associate

We would like to hire one MBA student for their business knowledge and skills to support market analysis, intellectual property research, competitive and regulatory landscape analysis, as well as funding opportunities for early stage drug and technology development within Research St Joseph’s Hamilton (RSJH). The MBA student will work on diverse projects and get familiar with early stage drug and technology development. Under the mentorship of our team, the MBA student will work in multidisciplinary groups composed of scientists, clinicians, engineers, and business development individuals.

Improved data driven sgRNA design for use in bacteria

CRISPR/Cas9 is a promising tool for genome engineering in bacteria, but it’s limited by inconsistent accuracy. Though some studies have been conducted to understand why this inconsistency occurs, many important biological features have not been explored. Moreover, computer based attempts to predict accuracy have suffered from these knowledge gaps. This is due mainly to the fact that the mathematical equations that these predictions are based on, do not take these biological features into account. This project will use new laboratory data to develop new mathematical equations and ultimately improve the reliability of these CRISPR/Cas9 systems.

Sales Development Role

GrantMe is an online ed-tech company where students and educators can access our platform from the comfort of their own homes. Although we have seen a decline in revenue of 15%, we are still able to operate and hope to recover from the economic impact of COVID. We believe that ed-tech is going to become a critical industry for education as educators, students, and institutions are all required to use technology to offer online solutions for learning. As an online education platform, we believe that there has never been a more critical time for students to be able to access financial resources to support them in funding their education. We see the widespread adoption of technology in the education sector as a large opportunity for our business.

A cognitive approach to intelligent gaming:Analysis of eye movement

Le projet vise a mesurer de fac;on objective I’etat physiologique et affectif dans lequel se
trouvent les joueurs de jeux videos, et ce, en temps reel. Pour se faire, Ie suivi des mouvements
oculaires des joueurs sera enregistre lors de sessions de jeu. L’analyse du mouvement des yeux
mise en lien avec I’etat cognitif et affectif rapporte par les joueurs permettra ulterieurement d’adapter
Ie jeu en temps reel en fonction de I’etat affectif des joueurs et ainsi maximiser I’experience de jeu et
prevenir son abandon.
Ubisoft Quebec evalue actuellement Ie facteur amusement et la convivialite des jeux a I’aide
d’entrevues et de questionnaires qui peuvent etre influences par plusieurs biais. Ce projet permettra a
I’entreprise de non seulement de rendre plus objectif Ie processus d’evaluation de ces aspects, mais
egalement de devenir un pionner dans la creation de jeu « intelligent)} s’adaptant a I’etat cognitif et
affectif des joueurs.

Marketing Specialist Intern

Stoko is commercializing integrated apparel, which incorporates anatomical joint support into next-to-skin garments, with our first product focusing on the knee. Stoko is pre-revenue, and was projected to begin selling product in October 2020.

Marketing Specialist Intern will help to restore the timeline around Stoko’s digital marketing strategy, social media management and content creation, brand playbook, and product photography. S/he will be responsible for developing content for a variety of platforms, reaching out to retail and strategic accounts (physicians and benefits providers), developing and executing a successful digital marketing and SEO strategy to drive website traffic.

Marketing Coordinator

During this internship, I will be working on updating the website, compiling reports, producing portfolios, completing data entries, etc. I will be working with different members of the team and be exposed to insightly, the CRM software.

Mitacs Assomption-vie

La compagnie Assomption Vie souhaite que les clients, nouveaux ou existants, obtiennent une réponse rapide pour leur demande d’assurance vie tout en restant dans les limites des risques acceptables. Pour répondre alors à ces attentes, l’objectif du projet proposé est de développer un modèle prédictif intelligent et automatique qui classe avec précision les risques en se basant sur les données habituellement fournies dans les formulaires de sélection médicale. C’est un projet d’envergure qui sera divisé en deux phases, la première phase fait l’objet de cette proposition. Dans cette demande nous proposons la mise en place d’une base de données convenable à son utilisation par l’équipe technique et qui servira d’entrée au processus de modélisation et de prédiction dans un contexte d’aide à la décision. Ce système d’aide à la décision permettra d’accélérer le processus de sélection médicale et aidera le spécialiste de sélection médicale à se concentrer sur la décision au niveau des risques en se basant sur le résultat retourné par le modèle prédictif. Ce premier système sera alimenté par la rétroaction des spécialistes et permettra de développer une seconde version plus performante dans un deuxième projet.

Partnerships and Digital Strategy Intern

As a Partnerships and Digital Strategy Intern at LifeSciences BC, I am tasked with developing a strategy to retain/improve member & sponsor engagement to ensure that we can continue to function and support our mission of nurturing the economic development in B.C. through the bio-economy. In addition to conducting a strategic analysis of the LSBC membership and sponsorship base, I will be making recommendations on:
– New industry segments and better serve current member segments in this new business reality
– Initiatives that would attract new segments and better serve current member segments in this new business reality
– Delivering engaging events in the digital world
– Closing the business-science talent gap through partnerships with government funding agencies and UBC Sauder

Systeme de marketing electronique pour telephones intelligents

Avec ce projet, la compagnie The Money Tree Online Services Inc. propose des solutions innovantes
dans Ie domaine des e-coupons. Un e-coupon ou coupon mobile est un coupon numerique envoye a
un appareil mobile tel qu’un telephone sans fil etlou intelligent ou un assistant numerique personnel
(PDA, Personal Digital Assistant). Essentiellement la compagnie vise la resolution de deux problemes
grace a ce projet : (1) permettre aux utilisateurs de recevoir des ollres promotionnelles sur leur
telephone mobile et (2) garantir un usage unique de I’ollre promotionnelle au marchand. En
consequence, cette proposition vise a concevoir et prototyper une application mobile pour telephones
intelligents ainsi qu’une architecture logicielle securisee garantissant aux marchands un usage
adequat de leurs of Ires promotionnelles.
Outre Ie benefice de positionner la compagnie The Money Tree comme leader des systemes de
coupons en ligne a I’issue du projet, la compagnie vise a court terme la population etudiante comme
marche cible, permettant ainsi aux etudiantes et etudiants canadiens de…TOBECONT’D.