Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

31132 Completed Projects

2940
AB
5159
BC
837
MB
685
NL
882
SK
9291
ON
9695
QC
97
PE
601
NB
1161
NS

Projects by Category

5N2 Strategic Implementation Project

5N2 is a Scarborough, Ontario non-profit that fights food insecurity by rescuing surplus food and turning it into support for local families. Since starting as a small soup kitchen in 2013, it now delivers over 4,500 free meals and pantry support each week with 24 partner organizations (14 direct beneficiaries) across Scarborough and the GTA. To cut food waste and help fund its programs, 5N2 launched “5N2 Farms,” two shipping-container hydroponic farms that grow pesticide-free leafy greens year-round; sold locally under “Buy Greens that Do Good,” these sales help cover about $12,000 in monthly operating costs. The farms face challenges—uneven crop performance, limited distribution, and brand/marketing gaps—so customer growth is essential. In 2025, three Mitacs BSI interns recommended actions now ready to implement: a 70/30 B2C/B2B sales mix to build community loyalty and secure stable institutional accounts (e.g., the Metro Toronto Zoo), co-branding and potential facility leasing, and a quarterly cost-and-pricing review. A companion marketing plan will boost visibility through local influencers, community events and markets, frequent posts, website improvements, and basic cybersecurity. Three graduate research assistants—two in marketing/sales and one in web, social, and analytics—will carry out this work with an academic supervisor and 5N2’s leadership.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Ruben Burga

Student:

Partner:

5N2 Food for All

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Guelph

Program:

Business Strategy Internship

Collective will and the Brazilian Left: how is a real movement built out of a crisis of praxis?

This project is intended to follow and analyse the most recent activities of groups identified to be in the Brazilian Left. Through fieldwork and theoretical analysis, the goal is to understand how the Left views itself, how collective will can be developed within these groups, and if a critical pedagogical methodology can assist in this process. The ethnographic methodology employed in this project will help to identify who the main actors are and what kind of activities have been prioritized by Left organizations. This is very important considering the context of poverty and inequality in Brazil, as these activities are often related to social justice concerns. Strong divergences are expected to be found between the perspectives of Left organizations that, on the surface, seem to be in agreement, which will help to explain why the Brazilian Left is fragmented and part of a general crisis of democratic representation in Brazil.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Justin Paulson

Student:

Partner:

Universidade de Brasília

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

University:

Carleton University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Pathways to Prosperity: New policy directions and innovative local practices for newcomer integration and attraction

This project will aim to promote interagency collaboration in order to improve immigrant integration. In order to achieve this goal, the intern will be involved in clarifying employer and college/university needs, local settlement agency capacities, and the institutional mechanisms that would be needed to promote and govern interagency collaboration. The research process will involve interviews, focus groups, and reviews of the literature. The project will lay out a coherent, evidence-based set of ideas and propositions to be used by LASI to construct viable commercial relationships. These relationships would entail the provision of services and advice by LASI members or member coalitions to the following actors: colleges and universities, employers and employer associations, international students, and internationally trained workers

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Faculty Supervisor:

Victoria Esses

Student:

Partner:

Conseil Economique and Social d’Ottawa Carleton;The Majdoub Group Financial Services

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

Western University

Program:

Accelerate

Entangled Memories and Divided Belongings: Politicization of Memory and Othering in Post-Conflict Northern Cyprus

This project explores how different groups within the Turkish-speaking Cypriot community in Northern Cyprus remember the island’s history of conflict and how those memories shape their relationships and the future of the unresolved conflict. It focuses on two groups: native Turkish Cypriots born and raised on the island and naturalized citizens of the de facto state TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) of mainland origin. Although these groups now live together, their memories and experiences often differ, creating misunderstandings, tensions, ontological insecurities, and a sense of “us” versus “them.” Through in-depth interviews, this research listens to how people talk about the past ethnic conflict, their sense of belonging, and their aspirations for the island’s future regarding reconciliation. Rather than focusing only on formal negotiations, this project examines intra-communal tensions and how everyday people experience and talk about conflict, identity, belonging, and life in a state not officially recognized internationally. The project aligns with the expertise of both the home and host supervisors and provides a unique opportunity to establish enduring collaboration between McMaster University and Eastern Mediterranean University. It will lay the groundwork for future co-authored publications, joint conference panels, and a digital archive on intergenerational memory narratives in Cyprus.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Alina Sajed

Student:

Partner:

Eastern Mediterranean University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public Service, Policy, and Governance; Social Innovation; Other

University:

McMaster University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

AI based Animal Behavior Recognition: Dog Pose and Labeling

This project will develop a real-time Artificial Intelligence based system that accurately estimates 3D skeletal pose from monocular video of dogs and reliably classifies fundamental behaviors to support veterinary health monitoring and behavioral assessment applications. Recent research has demonstrated significant progress in automated animal behavior recognition. The intersection of computer vision, animal behavior analysis, and veterinary health monitoring represents a rapidly evolving field with significant implications for both technological advancement and animal welfare. The project addresses the societal challenge of pet mental health and accessible veterinary care, the technology will benefit Canadian pet owners and support the domestic pet care industry.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Steve DiPaola

Student:

Partner:

Empawer Pet Corp.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Lululemon: Sports Bra Comfort Assessment

Female breasts experience large displacements during physical activities such as running and jumping. This can lead to problems such as breast discomfort, and even chronic neck and back pain. However, correctly designed sports bras can alleviate some of these symptoms, and enable women to exercise with greater comfort. lululemon Athletica strives to develop a sports bra with optimal support and comfort. Therefore, the objective of this collaboration is to understand the biomechanical and morphological variables that correlate with comfort under different activities and sports bra conditions. This will be done through a large scale experimental study of dynamic movements under a wide variety of bra design conditions. The results of this study will help us to understand the features of a sports bra that best provides user specific comfort, satisfaction and performance, so that these can be implemented and optimised for future designs.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Benno Nigg

Student:

Partner:

Lululemon

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing and Construction; Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Calgary

Program:

Accelerate

Education, Community Engagement and Unconventional Oil and Gas Development: North East British Columbia

Through directed interviews and exit questionnaires information about baseline education levels associated with academic preparedness and skills training will be analyzed to determine what type of support is lacking in the Natural Gas development. The interviews will take place throughout the Monteny Region of NE British Columbia region to assist with Liquid Natural Gas development. This assessment will focus on what educational resources are currently in place, and assess their ability to meet and deliver program in support of specific skill development, their potential to enhance skills training in partnership with local authorities trough all phases of education K-12 to apprentice and/or colleague/university/certificate training programs. This activity will also identify critical limitations with existing education providers to provide skills training or industry ability to create a long term skills training strategy.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dawn Mills

Student:

Partner:

CalFrac Well Services Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Mining

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

The Paternity Crisis and the Other Side of Turkish Modernity

My research project presents a unique perspective on the Turkish experience of modernity from the side of the discredited, disavowed and repressed, and thus contributes to a better understanding (and to a better identification of the failures) of the modernization in Turkey that predominated much of the twentieth century. It does this through an exploration of paternity crisis that hinges upon the traumatic inception of modernity. The killing of the father lies at the foundation of law which substitutes the abstract principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity for paternal/traditional authority—that resonates with the modern state born of the French Revolution.

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Faculty Supervisor:

James Penney

Student:

Partner:

Çankaya University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

Trent University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

GOWL-Edit, un assistant logiciel pour l’édition graphique d’ontologies OWL 2, de requêtes SPARQL et de règles SWRL (Semantic Web Rules Language) dans la syntaxe G-OWL étendue

L’Institut de Recherche en Électricité du Québec (IREQ), qui est le centre de recherche d’Hydro-Québec, a pris le virage des technologies du web sémantique depuis quelques années. L’IREQ doit gérer une quantité énorme d’informations provenant de ses équipements réparties dans tous le Québec. Les chercheurs de l’IREQ ont notamment choisis les technologies du web sémantique afin de faciliter la cueillette et la gestion des informations. Au coeur des technologies de web sémantique réside une pile langagière qui permet de textuellement coder les informations et la sémantique qui s’y rattache. Les chercheurs de l’IREQ souhaiteraient développer une solution afin de faciliter le processus de modélisation de la sémantique des données par la conception d’un langage graphique (G-OWL étendu) et d’un assistant logiciel de modélisation graphique (GOWL-Edit). Techniquement, GOWL-Edit sera en mesure d’assumer l’édition de fichiers dans le format : de l’Ontology Web Language version 2 (OWL 2), du langage de requêtes SPARQL et du langage de règles Semantic Web Rules Language(SWRL). Comme point de départ de la solution, il est envisagé d’exploiter le G-OWL, une syntaxe graphique de l’OWL 2 issus du résultat de l’une de nos recherches antérieures.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Roger Nkambou

Student:

Partner:

Institut de Recherche Hydro-Québec

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services; Utilities

University:

Université du Québec à Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Developing an AI-Driven Personalization Framework for Menstrual and Chronic Pain Management

This project lays the foundation for the next stage of development of Juno Technologies’ medical and connected device: integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to provide personalized, adaptive menstrual pain management.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Xinxin Zuo

Student:

Partner:

Juno Technologies

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Concordia University

Program:

Business Strategy Internship

Preclinical characterization of medical marijuana cultivars with therapeutic efficacy and low side-effect liability

Medical marijuana describes the legal use of cannabis plants for treating health-related issues. In Canada, there are currently about 40,000 medical marijuana users, and this number is expected to increase by over 1000% during the next decade. The large majority of patients use medical marijuana for its psychological effects, such as for anxiety, depression, pain and insomnia. There is a concerning lack of knowledge about the effects of different strains (“cultivars”) of medical marijuana, including both therapeutic effects as well as unwanted side-effects. In the present application, we propose to study different cultivars for their therapeutic potential and side-effect liability using preclinical protocols. Working with our Industry partner, we will select their most promising cultivars and test them in a comprehensive behavioral test battery, using state-of-the-art animal models. Cultivars will be extensively screened for anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, while sedating and cognitive side-effects will also be evaluated. The results of these studies are expected to result in the identification of specific cultivars that can be used as promising candidates for downstream clinical trials involving the human patient population and who are often refractory to existing pharmacotherapies

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Faculty Supervisor:

Alasdair Barr

Student:

Partner:

Drayton MedCanna Solutions Inc

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Tailoring Microencapsulation Strategies for New Applications

The application of microencapsulation technology provides for separation between reactives and curatives, allowing 2-part systems such as adhesives, to be formulated and applied with the inherent stability of a 1-part system. Release and subsequent curing can be controlled to occur “on demand”, for example upon the mechanical fastening of a screw, which results in capsule rupture. This is often highly dependent on the careful design of a specific system. With the aim of capitalizing on new product opportunities that are not compatible with the current microencapsulation process, this project will involve a fundamental study of the encapsulation process and the role of materials sets in the properties of the resulting microcapsules. The effects of these material sets as well as processing conditions on the properties of the products including rate of curing, thermal and environmental stability, adhesive strength, and mechanical properties will be studied. This knowledge will lead to a new level of predictability in microcapsule formation, thereby enabling the rational design of microcapsules, which will in turn accelerate the development of new products.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Elizabeth Gillies

Student:

Partner:

3M Canada (London, ON)

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Western University

Program:

Accelerate

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Mitacs — Return on Innovation

Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.