Innovative Projects Realized

Development and Optomization of Scalable Immediate-Release Oral Solid Dosage Form for Early-Phase Clinical Trials

This research project will focus on developing a new version of an oral medication – such as tablets or capsule – that is stable, effective, and easy to manufacture. The goal is to design a formulation that works well in laboratory tests and can later be produced on a larger scale for use in early-stage clinical trials. The intern will work directly with scientists at Corealis Pharma, a Canadian company that helps pharmaceutical and biotech companies bring their medicines from the lab to the clinic.

By testing how the drug dissolves, how it reacts to different environments, and how well it holds together during production, the intern will help ensure that the formulation is ready for future testing in humans. This project will help Corealis meet growing demand from clients, stay at the forefront of pharmaceutical development, and continue delivering high-quality research and manufacturing solutions from within Canada.

Spectrum management in non-terrestrial network (NTN)-integrated IoT system

As IoT adoption grows, ensuring seamless connectivity across diverse environments is increasingly challenging. Many devices, such as sensors in farming, environmental monitoring, and disaster response, operate in remote areas where traditional networks are unavailable or insufficient. In such cases, NTN-integrated networks play a crucial role in providing connectivity. However, NTN communications require high transmission power, rapidly draining IoT device batteries. Beyond power constraints, coverage gaps remain a persistent issue, as NTN-integrated networks may still struggle to provide consistent and reliable service in certain regions due to environmental factors, network interference, or infrastructure limitations. Additionally, in busy urban environments where thousands of IoT devices are in operation, network congestion becomes a significant challenge, leading to slower speeds, increased interference, and unreliable connections.

Optimisation des processus de recommandation scientifique via l’analyse des données cliniques anonymisées

2. Détails du projet
2.1 DESCRIPTION DU PROJET
2.1.a. Contexte (Quel problème doit être résolu?)
Donnez un aperçu des activités principales de l’organisation partenaire. Expliquez le défi d’innovation ou la priorité d’amélioration que le partenaire doit relever. Spécifiez de quelle manière ce projet aidera l’organisation partenaire à relever ces défis d’une manière qui surpasse les activités ou les opérations quotidiennes de l’entreprise. Décrivez quel type d’expertise est nécessaire pour résoudre le problème.
Bia Éducation est une entreprise québécoise innovante spécialisée dans le e-learning en santé et le transfert de connaissances scientifiques. Notre mission est de favoriser l’accès rapide et efficace à la recherche scientifique pour les professionnels de la santé, leur permettant d’améliorer la qualité des soins prodigués. Nous formons les professionnels de santé en proposant des formations et un abonnement scientifique alliant synthèses d’articles et webinaires. Actuellement, nous développons un assistant intelligent basé sur l’intelligence artificielle, destiné à intégrer des recommandations et des alertes scientifiques directement dans les Dossiers Médicaux Électroniques (DME).
2.1.b. Objectifs et approche (Comment le problème sera-t-il résolu?)
Énumérez les objectifs du projet et expliquez comment vous prévoyez de les atteindre. Les détails fournis doivent être suffisants pour déterminer si l’approche décrite convient à l’atteinte de chaque objectif. Pour les projets comptant plusieurs stagiaires, expliquez clairement le ou les objectifs sur lesquels chaque stagiaire travaillera.
L’objectif du projet est de développer un système performant de recommandation scientifique en utilisant des techniques avancées de science des données. Ce système analysera les données cliniques anonymisées pour : Déterminer les besoins prioritaires des professionnels de la santé en fonction des profils des patients. Optimiser les alertes scientifiques envoyées aux cliniciens, en s’appuyant sur des analyses prédictives des cas cliniques récurrents. Personnaliser les recommandations en fonction des contextes cliniques et des spécialités médicales.

Assistive Robotics Teleoperation and Autonomy Software Integration

This project aims to enhance Independence Robotics’ assistive robotic system by making it more powerful, modular, and reliable. We will upgrade the system’s hardware by transitioning from an Arduino Mega to an ESP32 microcontroller and integrating CAN bus communication for better sensor and actuator support. On the software side, we will develop real-time teleoperation controls using ROS 2, allowing users to operate the robotic arm more easily through a joystick and web application with live video streaming. Additionally, we will create a Gazebo-based simulation environment, enabling virtual testing, training, and demonstrations without requiring physical hardware. These improvements will help Independence Robotics build a scalable, industry-standard robotic system, expanding its capabilities and making it easier to integrate future features like voice control and advanced safety measures.

Couth Studios Branding Innovation Project

Couth Studios is a fashion-tech startup that leverages AI-driven design and community-driven voting to create unique, sustainable fashion pieces. The brand operates at the intersection of fashion, technology, and sustainability, redefining traditional design processes by integrating data-driven insights and consumer engagement into product development.

Couth Studios is in the early stages of brand development and faces the challenge of establishing a strong, cohesive visual identity across digital platforms, marketing campaigns, and in-person experiences (such as pop-ups). Unlike traditional fashion brands, which have established design systems and marketing structures, Couth Studios must:

Creating an accessible emergency management communications scorecard for public information

The proposed project will synthesize and create a way for city emergency management agencies benchmark their materials for accessibility. Emergency management agencies are responsible for the protecting communities and coordinating planning and emergency response to ensure safety. This makes effective communication, especially with groups considered to be vulnerable during emergencies, highly critical. This project is a partnership between researchers at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning and the City of Vancouver’s Emergency Management Agency. We will summarize key insights from communications research, such as how to reach people with disabilities and cultural and linguistically diverse people effectively. It will create a reusable scorecard that public emergency management agencies can use to benchmark their outreach materials, identify gaps, and strategically plan for future improvement.

Smart Waste Management Use Case – Business Strategy Internship

This project, in partnership with SimplyCast, aims to create a smart waste management solution to help the City of Regina reduce landfill waste and support its sustainability goals. Despite having waste collection schedules and reminders in place, many residents still lack the tools and awareness needed to reduce waste effectively. By using SimplyCast’s no-code automation platform, we plan to build a solution that makes it easier for residents to manage their waste while encouraging environmentally friendly habits. The system will include helpful features like personalized reminders, real-time updates, educational content, and tools that allow communities to compare their progress in reducing waste. These features will make it easier for residents to take action and stay informed. The platform combines automation, communication, and engagement tools in one easy-to-use system, which will be adapted specifically for this use case. The solution will be tested with the City of Regina to make sure it works well for residents and creates real impact. Overall, the project will provide long-term benefits to the partner organization by improving public participation, supporting better decision-making through data, and helping the city move closer to its environmental goals. This innovative approach brings together technology, community engagement, and practical solutions to improve waste management for everyone.

Port of Halifax – Waste Production Analysis Program

The Halifax Port Authority (HPA) is a strategic port manager, with a mission to connect global markets to create value for our customers, partners, visitors, and community. We take a leadership role in developing business for the Port of Halifax in collaboration with our partners and we responsibly manage Port of Halifax assets. At the HPA, sustainability is built into every aspect of our business and operations to ensure a balance of economic vitality, environmental stewardship, and community impacts. By identifying innovative, practical, and holistic projects and practices, we ensure that we meet the needs of the present while contributing to the prosperity of the future.

The HPA is developing a Waste Production Analysis Program (WPAP) that will be systematically implemented across our real estate assets and industrial port facilities. The WPAP aims to provide comprehensive insights into best practice for port waste management, identify deficiencies in our current strategies, and highlight key areas for improvement. This project will support ongoing assessments and refinement of our waste management and analysis practices and will contribute to the reduction of the environmental footprint of the Port of Halifax. Our objectives for this Mitacs project are two-fold: (1) Deepen our understanding of port waste management best practices and our current state, and (2) Develop the WPAP, enabling continuous improvement in the HPA’s waste management and analysis practices.

Optimisation d’un algorithme de recommandation

Pillar Science améliore sa plateforme propulsée par l’IA qui connecte les chercheurs universitaires avec des partenaires industriels pour favoriser l’innovation et le transfert de connaissances. Ce projet vise à améliorer significativement la précision des recommandations pour les entreprises de niche en intégrant des sources de données alternatives. Le stagiaire développera des méthodes pour incorporer de nouvelles sources de données structurées dans les modèles de recommandation existants, mesurant les améliorations de performance et établissant les meilleures pratiques pour les développements futurs. Ce travail comble une lacune critique dans la collaboration académie-industrie, permettant un jumelage plus précis même pour des niches industrielles spécialisées. En optimisant ce système de recommandation, le projet renforcera l’écosystème d’innovation du Canada, aidant les institutions académiques à sécuriser des partenariats industriels tout en permettant aux entreprises—particulièrement les PME—d’accéder à une expertise de pointe qui stimule la compétitivité et la croissance économique.

Natural Speech Edit Classifier

Trebble.fm is building the next generation of AI-powered audio and video editing software for everyday creators.

The primary objective of this project is to implement a practical classifier system that can determine whether a section of an edited audio file sounds natural after text-based editing operations. Our approach will be focused on building a production-ready solution that can be immediately integrated into our existing product.

Development of data pipelines to support a regular reporting format for epidemiological insights and disease trends

Globally, there have been challenges in pulling together data, analyses, epidemiological insights, and unusual infection disease trends into comprehensive and regular reporting, that support pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations with timely intelligence for decision making. BlueDot has the knowledge and expertise to bring together these insights in a highly visual, easily understandable regular reporting format, by leveraging proprietary and publicly available data. However, there are challenges in scaling across diseases and locations to meet the growing demand for this content, as well as limited resourcing to improve upon processes, analyses, and methods to deepen our insights and improve efficiency.
This project has several challenges and opportunities that an intern with subject matter expertise and experience with relevant data can help with and learn from. BlueDot has started to develop a foundation for the regular reporting project, and an intern can help by expanding capacity to scale up. They can be helpful every step of the way – from determining usability of new data sources for communication of disease trends, to supporting data engineers in building data pipelines, to thinking about how the data can be used for generating actionable insights, to producing these regular reports with support from senior team members.

McLeod Lake Moose Enhancement Project

This project is intended to provide information regarding the potential impacts and benefits to wildlife habitat resulting from varying forestry harvest practices, with an emphasis on moose, by studying the short term differences among plant species, soil moisture, light, and wildlife use.