Innovative Projects Realized

rTMS for post-covid-19 condition: A sham-controlled case series involving iTBS-300 and iTBS-600

The objective of the “rTMS for post-covid-19 condition: A sham-controlled case series involving iTBS-300 and iTBS-600” project is to determine the efficacy, feasibility, and tolerability of several iTBS variants (iTBS-300, iTBS-600) and sham stimulation in PCC patients. Secondarily, the aim is to examine signs of improvement in cognitive, affective, and functional symptoms following each iTBS variant.

This project is going to be an extension of an existing case serias which included 4 participants. The objective is to extend the number of participants to 30. The purpose of this study is to further examine the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation for improving symptoms of PCC. It is hypothesized that rTMS will be well-tolerated and safe in this population, and that positive trends in cognitive, psychiatric, functional and quality of life domains will be evident following excitatory stimulation of the prefrontal cortex. The primary outcome will be data on the efficacy of rTMS for improving post-COVID-19 conditions, as well as the extent to which it is tolerable and feasible for use with the PCC population.

Functional Cost Methodology for Automotive Lightweighting

To meet CAFE standards for fuel economy, many new projects are being undertaken. One such method being investigated to achieve these standards is vehicle lightweighting. Each lightweighting project has an associated cost and will have an impact on various functional groups of the vehicle. During this internship, the related functional benefits of lightweighting will be analyzed, with a focus on location (zone) based effects. The zones will be accessed and a value to weight reduction ratio will be assigned to each. The results will be compiled into a set of technical guidelines to be used for future lightweighting projects. These guidelines will allow projects to be appropriately selected by comparing their functional benefits with their financial impact. In turn, additional investments can be made to meet the CAFE standards.

Avion sans pilote dans l’atmosphère martienne

L’idée du projet est de concevoir à un niveau préliminaire un avion qui volerait dans l’atmosphère martien. La pression au « niveau de référence » de la planète – la surface fictive qui sert de niveau de la mer sur Mars sans mer – s’avère n’être que d’environ six millibars, soit six millièmes de la pression atmosphérique au niveau de la mer sur Terre. La pression martienne ne monte jamais beaucoup au-dessus d’un pour cent de la pression au niveau de la mer de la Terre. Il n’y a tout simplement pas beaucoup de gaz (CO2) pour faire voler un aéronef. À travers cette activité de conception préliminaire, différents verrous technologiques pourraient être identifiés, et des activités de recherche pourraient y être consacrées ultérieurement.

Elevate Screen Ads Business Developer

Elevating Digital Advertising: Market Adaptation and Strategic Development at Elevate Screen Ads Inc.

Elevate Screen Ads Inc. (ESA) is redefining digital advertising within condominium communities by installing free monitors that display curated content. This innovative startup provides local businesses a unique advertising platform in high-visibility residential areas. As the digital advertising landscape rapidly evolves, ESA, in partnership with Mitacs, is focused on enhancing its business model to better meet market demands and leverage technological advancements.

The project is structured around three main objectives:

Comprehensive Market Analysis: Led by intern Anthony Saracino, this objective involves a deep dive into the dynamics of the digital advertising industry, analyzing customer preferences, and exploring the competitive environment to refine ESA’s strategic market presence.
Client Engagement and Business Development: Managed by intern Ilya Radyushin, this part focuses on developing and implementing outreach strategies that aim to build solid partnerships and expand ESA’s reach into new markets.
Technological Enhancement and Platform Development: Conducted by intern Yuchen Huang, this component includes the creation of an integrated web platform and the development of technological solutions that enhance ESA’s advertising services, ensuring efficiency and scalability.
This team effort is designed to bolster ESA’s market position and contribute significantly to the growth of the digital advertising sector in Canada. By facilitating community engagement through localized advertising and supporting economic growth by increasing local business visibility, ESA is set to improve the connection between businesses and condominium residents through targeted advertising, benefiting both advertisers and the community.

Conception d’un logiciel pour un système de commande de portes palières (PDI)

Les portes palières sont des portes automatiques que l’on retrouve en bordure de voie au niveau des quais des stations de métro et qui séparent physiquement les quais et la voie de métro, dans le but d’empêcher toute intrusion non désirée.
Le projet vise à développer un système autonome de communication trains/portes-palières, nommé PDI (Platform Door Interface), dont le rôle est de commander les ouvertures/fermetures des portes de manière synchronisée.

Youth-Centered Safe Spaces

In 2023, the City of Regina consulted Aboriginal Consulting Services to engage youth and create an Implementation plan called ’Centering Our Youth.’ The focus of this plan is on the safety, belonging and wellness needs of youth, especially Indigenous youth who live in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood. One of the action items in this plan is to develop a 24/7 youth-serving safe space.

According to the ’Centering Our Youth’ Implementation plan, the safe space should be operational by March 2025. The intern will support the project team in the necessary engagement, environmental scan, and program planning work needed to implement the safe space.

Effect of solar photovoltaics (PV) on green roof vegetation and performance

Green roofs contribute to numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits and as components of green infrastructure planning are becoming increasingly commonplace. Less is known though about how green roofs perform when integrated with other sustainable designs, such as photovoltaic (PV) panels that share the roof space, which could experience higher energy efficiency through increased cooling by the green roof vegetation. Vegetation cools green roofs through a process called evapotranspiration, a component of photosynthesis, which increases with exposure to sunlight. Since PV arrays shade vegetation, efficiency of PV through cooling might change with different plant types and arrangements. In this study we will examine the impact of shading by PV panels on the evapotranspirative cooling potential of green roof vegetation. The work will be conducted at the Green Roof Innovation Testing (GRIT) lab, At the heart of downtown Toronto, the lab is the first and only green roof integrated PV research site in Canada.

Sustainable Finance, Impact Investing, and ESG – Queen’s University

This project will support Propel Impact in engaging and building relationships with organizations advancing sustainable finance, impact investing, and ESG within British Columbia and beyond.

US Launch Plan (Climative Inc.)

Climative is seeking a student to assist in the development of its US go-to-market strategy. The student will work directly with our senior executive team and will gain real life hands on knowledge of the Cleantech industry as well as the inner workings of a up and coming startup.

Yukon Anti-Poverty – Poverty Alleviation in the Yukon: Basic Income and Food Security

The proposed project focuses on addressing poverty in the Yukon through innovative approaches in basic income and food security. The first project deliverable is a comprehensive paper on basic income, outlining potential pathways for its implementation in the Yukon. By engaging in socioeconomic and policy research, the paper aims to contribute to policy decisions around poverty reduction. The second deliverable addresses food security by developing a food systems data hub for Yukon communities. This tool will track key indicators of food security, aiming to improve access to nutritious and affordable food. The expected benefits for YAPC are concrete, data-driven insights and recommendations that can inform policy-making and program development, contributing to the organisation’s mission of eliminating poverty in Yukon.

Cloud Services Integration Portals

BASE Engineering has a RESTful web API through which our customers’ data is provided through secured endpoints. Its automated test harness implements integration and system tests for each endpoint. It would be of tremendous value if we could gain assistance to expand our existing automated test harness to the new endpoints and complete our test coverage. We are also looking forward to having the future candidate participate in building the test harness and eventually automating it through our Continuous Deployment pipeline (CI/CD) to help us improve our automated tests and expand it so we can complete the testing coverage to all the endpoints used in our RESTful API.

Compliant Innovation for QiiQ

QiiQ Healthcare is building solutions to positively impact the speed, efficiency, and efficacy of clinical workflow – starting in the emergency department. This pursuit requires rapid innovation cycles that respect the constraints of regulatory compliance. This places an unfair disadvantage on small vendors who do not have large compliance and IP teams. As a small vendor, we need to understand the landscape so well that we can navigate those waters quickly and inexpensively. We must fulfill our duty to comply and inform. This includes executing the appropriate submissions where necessary.

The aim of this project is to help lay out the path forward, by both working with the team to put a compliance lens on our innovation strategy, and then ensure timely action on compliance as needed.