Innovative Projects Realized

YBC Digital Marketing and Sales Accelerator

This project will help Youghall Beach Company (YBC), a small business in New Brunswick, create a complete digital marketing plan from the ground up. YBC sells beach-inspired clothing and gifts that celebrate the local culture and coastline, but it currently has little online presence. With help from an intern, the company will set up and run social media accounts, plan and post content regularly, and learn how to track and improve results. By the end of the project, YBC will have a strong, consistent digital strategy that helps connect with more customers, grow its brand, and support future business success.

Improving the efficiency of clinical data sourcing to maintain accurate and relevant information on Komuni, an application on Doctalk that supports Canadian patients with hematological malignancies.

Komuni is a mission-driven application focused on providing accessible, patient-oriented information on hematological malignancies. We plan to onboard a dedicated and curious medical student to join our team for a hands-on learning experience that merges academic research with public health education.

During this placement, the student will critically evaluate peer-reviewed literature across six key disease sites: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), and Multiple Myeloma (MM). Guided by supervisors with expertise in oncology and content creation, the student will be responsible for synthesizing the latest clinical findings, translating complex medical information into concise, patient-friendly narratives. This process will involve in-depth analysis of the current treatment landscape, patient quality-of-life considerations, and emerging therapies. Through structured feedback sessions, the student will refine their ability to discern relevant information, contextualize it for non-specialist audiences, and communicate it in a clear, empathetic manner.

Beyond literature synthesis, the student will gain insights into digital health technology and patient engagement strategies, becoming familiar with Komuni’s user-centric approach. This includes attending interdisciplinary meetings to understand how clinicians, developers, and designers collaborate to ensure patients can easily navigate and understand complex data. The student will be encouraged to contribute original insights on how Komuni can continually evolve to meet patient needs—potentially shaping new patient-oriented features or improving current content presentation.

In return, this placement offers a supportive environment where clinical knowledge meets real-world application. The student will emerge with enhanced research skills, a stronger grasp of hematological malignancies, and a deeper appreciation for the value of educating and empowering patients. We look forward to partnering with a forward-thinking medical student keen to integrate scholarly learning with meaningful patient impact.

Snow avalanche risk management

Managing the risks from snow avalanches during winter mountain travel is vital for the Canadian avalanche industry.
An average of 14 avalanche-related fatalities per year occurred between 1997 and 2014 with the majority of those
triggering the avalanches themselves. We propose a detailed examination of avalanche risk management practices
using the conceptual model for avalanche hazard and the Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing 5-Step Checklist System.
Although widely adopted by the Canadian avalanche community, the conceptual model of avalanche hazard has not
been thoroughly analyzed. We will collect field observations of weather, snow cover, avalanches, and terrain use from
the MWHS operation. We will statistically analyze these data to examine the relationships proposed in the conceptual
model. This research will strengthen our understanding of avalanche risk, and provide important insight about how to
improve existing operational practices and communications about hazard.

Robot social d’assistance pour réduire les situations d’isolement et soutenir l’adoption de saines habitudes de vie chez les personnes aînées

L’accompagnement des personnes aînées en perte ou à risque de perte d’autonomie et la préservation de l’indépendance et des relations sociales constituent des priorités en termes de santé publique. Dans ce contexte, le projet de stage vise à développer le robot d’assistance sociale T-Top pour soutenir les aînés en situation d’isolement social, en s’appuyant sur la co-conception participative et la science-fiction. L’objectif est de co-construire une vision partagée de la robotique (O1), d’identifier les besoins et les freins à l’interaction avec T-Top (O2), d’explorer l’expérience vécue lors de ces interactions (O3), et d’évaluer l’impact de la co-construction de l’image de la robotique sur l’acceptabilité du prototype (O4). Des groupes de discussion et des tests d’usage seront menés auprès de personnes aînées, intégrant des extraits de science-fiction pour nourrir la réflexion sur les robots. Les données issues d’observations et d’entretiens seront analysées afin d’affiner les méthodes de co-conception et d’améliorer l’acceptabilité des technologies. En combinant robotique, participation citoyenne et culture populaire, ce projet contribue à l’innovation sociale et technologique, tout en soutenant le vieillissement actif et la qualité de vie des personnes aînées.

Development of an Integrated Biodiversity Monitoring Framework Using Ground Sensors

Veritree collaborates with businesses to integrate verified tree planting projects into their strategies, fostering sustainable environmental restoration globally. In partnership with Concordia University, this project focuses on enhancing biodiversity monitoring by evaluating sensor deployment and data collection practices while also creating tools and methodologies for processing data from sensors installed at veritree’s restoration sites. By developing streamlined and scalable approaches for biodiversity assessment, the project seeks to support better decision-making and stakeholder engagement for long-term sustainability.

Yorkton Legion Historian

The Yorkton Legion created and published a history book in 2005 that included historical information about local veterans, their service, stories, and contributions the Yorkton area, the province of Saskatchewan, and Canada as a whole. Twenty years on, new service members and veterans deserve to be honoured in an updated history book that would capture new stories of service and contributions to Canada. The Yorkton Legion is motivated to create another history record before the opportunity to gather information from aging veterans is lost. The previous version of the book was only available in hard copy, and the Legion members have a desire to be innovative in their approach to this new book and look beyond former traditional publishing methods by creating a lasting record both in a physical form and online. Preserving local veterans’ histories connects communities to the present and places Yorkton within the wider Canadian landscape. Bringing a student intern into the Legion organization for several months is also new and innovative approach to how the Legion engages with the community, particularly its youth.

Strategy and Operations Innovation Intern

The overarching goal of the internship at Upgraded is to leverage process improvements, and the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations processes, providing insights, and craft highly personalized proposals tailored to specific segments. The aim is to establish a comprehensive framework using drafting methodologies and systems that enhance the efficiency of proposals and also minimize the dependency on human resources. Subsequently, the intern will design and implement processes capable of extracting insightful information from customer data, facilitating the generation of tailored content that resonates with specific proposals. The focus will be on optimizing processes to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and relevance in the personalization of proposals and applications. The intern’s focus on streamlining operations will directly boost productivity and scalability within Upgraded, elevating its operational efficiency and strategic innovation while allowing the development of new business strategies.

Optimizing Research Grant Success: Insights and Strategies for Prairie Grants

Prairie Grants is a forward-thinking organization that simplifies the complex grant discovery and application process for Canadian start-ups. Despite the abundance of funding opportunities in Canada, many businesses struggle to access them due to limited awareness, difficulty identifying relevant programs, and inefficient, manual application procedures. Currently, Prairie Grants provides client support through manual grant matching and documentation preparation, but this approach is time-consuming, prone to human error, and lacks scalability.

To overcome these challenges, Prairie Grants aims to enhance and automate key processes by leveraging AI and machine learning. Before developing a full-scale solution, the organization needs a clear understanding of user pain points and internal operational workflows, as well as a strategic comparison of existing tools in the grant management space.

This Mitacs Business Strategy Internship will support Prairie Grants in a three-phase project. First, the intern will conduct market research and analyze stakeholder feedback to identify user challenges and barriers related to accessing government grants. In the second phase, the intern will analyze internal workflows using business analysis methods and evaluate how current practices compare to external platforms like Boast and GetGranted. In the final phase, the intern will combine insights to create strategic recommendations focused on improving service efficiency, reducing manual effort, and guiding product development.

The ideal candidate will have experience in business analysis, market research, and data visualization using tools like Excel, Power BI, or Tableau. Familiarity with process mapping and competitive platform benchmarking will also be important. The outcome of this project will directly inform Prairie Grants’ roadmap for building a scalable, user-centered digital grant platform.

Sur la route d’une chimie industrielle verte et durable : Fabrication de matériaux composites biosourcés.

Imaginez des matériaux en plastique renforcé de fibres (PRF) très solides, fabriqués par les entreprises. Aujourd’hui, ces matériaux ne sont pas toujours faciles à recycler et contiennent des fibres qui ne sont pas très écologiques. Ce projet de recherche vise à rendre ces matériaux plus durables. Pour cela, le stagiaire va explorer deux pistes : d’abord, remplacer le plastique actuel par un nouveau type de plastique qui peut être recyclé facilement. Ce nouveau plastique serait liquide, ce qui simplifierait sa fabrication. Ensuite, il va regarder si on peut remplacer les fibres de verre utilisées pour renforcer le plastique par des fibres de chanvre, une plante plus respectueuse de l’environnement. Pour Innov Composites, l’intérêt est de pouvoir fabriquer des produits plus verts, de potentiellement réutiliser leurs déchets, et ainsi de mieux répondre aux préoccupations environnementales actuelles, ce qui pourrait les rendre plus compétitifs.

Youth for Community Internship

A valued sector of our services caters to youth considered to be at risk of offending, or re-offending due to their economic, social, emotional, cultural marginalization, or accessibility. As the summer approaches, we recognize that this group of youth are underemployed, and that their socioeconomic background and lack of work experience is a barrier to obtaining and maintaining employment. As a result, this population of society are the last into the workforce in terms of hiring order, and the first ones to exit the workforce in regard to contract terminations.
In order to combat such marginalization, John Howard Society of Fredericton is prepared to rollout a Youth for Community – Summer Workshop. In this workshop, selected youth participants would have the opportunity to develop skills which will benefit their future as an employee in the workforce. Skills developed in the classroom (e.g., Interview Preparation, Budgeting, Transferrable Skills, Collaboration) will be supplement with hands on community outreach activities (e.g. community clean ups, Habitat for Humanity, Greener Village). Not only will these activities contribute to the development of the community and serve as practice for the participants to apply their newly developed skills, the youth will also have the opportunity to make connections to professional organization’s in their community.
Extendedly, the workshop will address what it means to be a positive and contributing member to the community, with a focus on recreation and physical activity. Specific activities include, Treego, bowling, rock climbing, driving range, beach volleyball, and a variety of fitness classes. By bringing participants into the community, they will make connections with organizations who may potentially provide a hiring opportunity.

Building Community Through Events and Outreach at West End Resource Centre

This project will support the West End Resource Centre (WERC) by helping plan and promote community events that meet the needs of local residents. As the intern, I will help organize events, connect with community members, and create easy-to-follow guides so future events can run smoothly. I will also look at survey results to learn what types of events people want and help WERC improve how they reach and involve the community. This will help WERC run more successful events and strengthen their connection with the people they serve.

Marketing & Social Media Strategy Associate

Many new mothers face uncertainty and a lack of support when making decisions about how to feed their newborns, especially in the early postpartum period. While breastfeeding is widely recognized for its benefits—such as supporting infant immune health, cognitive development, and mother-baby bonding—access to consistent guidance can vary greatly. Studies show that mothers with access to support and education are more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding, yet many report feeling overwhelmed or unsure about whether their milk meets their baby’s needs. By providing accessible, science-based insights into breast milk composition, Lacto Labs aims to fill this gap, offering reassurance and personalized information to empower maternal decision-making. This project will support the creation and execution of a digital marketing and content strategy to engage new mothers who may need education and support for finding optimal nutrition for their babies.