Innovative Projects Realized

Internationalization Strategies for Sport Industry SMEs in Quebec

It is widely accepted in Canada that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of the national economy responsible for 98% of businesses and employing more than 10 million individuals. To continue growing and supporting the national economy, SMEs can internationalize to seek increased profits and gain a competitive edge. One industry that can benefit from internationalization is sports businesses. Although technological advancements have created opportunities for sports organizations to enter international markets, sports SMEs still face challenges entering and competing in the global market due to their limited resources and barriers operating internationally. Studies on the internationalization of sports SMEs have shown it has the potential to expand sales and customer base, build competitive advantage, and establish an international position. This is particularly relevant in Quebec, which according to the Government of Canada, is among the provinces with the highest potential to expand into international markets. However, there is a lack of empirical knowledge connecting sports entrepreneurship and international business. This impacts the fulfillment of the potential of Quebec-based sports SMEs. Thus, the purpose of this project is to address this gap gaining a better understanding of the internationalization process and its benefits for sports SMEs in Quebec.

A Study of Syntactic Features of Code-Switching Between Mongolian And English Based on Recursive Object Model

Taking Mongolian-English code-switching as an entry point, this research will adopts quantitative linguistic approach, attempts to study the syntactic features of
Mongolian-English code-switching based on Recursive Object Model (ROM).

Geomechanical characterization of using basalt fiber-treated clay soils for improving ground resilience against freeze-thaw actions

The degradation of soil under freeze-thaw cycles will pose a major threat to newly constructed infrastructure in cold regions. The soil ground forms an essential part of the built environment, thus actions should be taken to improve the ground’s resilience. We are collaborating with our industry partner SFTec Inc. to propose a sustainable value-added strategy that reinforces the soft clay soils using a basalt fiber-stabilized approach. The addition of basalt fiber is a clean technology to improve the ground’s resilience against freeze-thaw actions since the fiber is produced from natural basalt rock. Laboratory tests will be conducted to measure the strengths of fiber-stabilized clay soils under freeze-thaw cycles. Numerical homogenization will be conducted for determining the optimized mixing scheme. The successful completion of this project will directly provide guidance on the optimum fiber/clay ratio determination for potential projects at cold regions. SFTec’s R&D product will benefit from the collaboration since it will create a strategic direction.

A data-driven control framework for constrained nonlinear systems with application to unmanned ground vehicles

The objective of this project is the development of a novel data-driven control framework for nonlinear dynamical systems. The proposed solution will be validated and tested on the autonomous ground vehicles available at Concordia University. To achieve the desired goal, the research intern, with the supervision and help of the host and home supervisor, will take a three-step approach. In the first step, the intern will jointly develop a reinforcement learning algorithm and behavioural approach to obtain a data-driven outer and convex differential inclusion of the dynamics of the nonlinear system. Then, in the second part, it will use the developed data-driven model to design a data-driven approach inspired by an existing model-based counterpart. Finally, in the last step, the proposed control architecture will be tested on autonomous ground vehicles and contrasted with other model-based and data-driven alternative schemes.

The conducted research is anticipated to lead to a prestigious peer-reviewed conference/journal publication co-authored by all the participants of this project (student, home supervisor, host supervisor). In general, the intended research and collaboration are believed to contribute to increasing and improving the research and innovation capacities of both host and home institutions in the field of data-driven control.

Evaluation of Human Resource Efficiency Components in Northwood Care Employees Based on the ACHIEVE Model

The evaluation at Northwood Care, using the ACHIEVE model, aims to determine what factors make employees efficient. This model assesses seven key elements: Ability, Clarity, Help, Incentive, Evaluation, Validity, and Environment. Managers use it to identify and address performance issues affecting employee efficiency. The evaluation is crucial because employees are a significant driver of organizational success, particularly in healthcare, where challenges like caring for the sick and emergency preparedness are critical. Measuring employee efficiency in healthcare is complex due to its unique nature. Therefore, identifying the factors that improve efficiency becomes vital to enhance the organization. Studies have highlighted factors like leadership, motivation, experience, creativity, and training that influence employee efficiency. By applying the ACHIEVE model at Northwood Care, managers can pinpoint areas for improvement and strengthen existing strengths. This evaluation ultimately helps the organization become more efficient, retain valuable employees, and achieve greater success.

Economic Evaluation of Renewable Energy Communities

The project will sponsor an intern’s visit to UNL. The intern is a Concordia student co-supervised by her Canadian supervisor (Concordia) and her American supervisor (UNL). The topic is an integrated part of the intern’s PhD study, which synthesizes, analyzes, and evaluates economic incentives (e.g., tax breaks, subsidies) required by sustainable energy transitions of Quebec communities. The project will facilitate the research collaborations between Concordia and UNL, in the areas of city decarbonization and energy transition.

Fabrication of 1 D semiconducting microstructures using lithography

Modern technology relies heavily on semiconductor materials, from smartphones to solar panels. Among semiconductor materials, one-dimensional (1D) materials, such as nanowires and nanoribbons, offer exceptional electronic and optical properties. To realize the full potential of these 1D materials, it is imperative to control their synthesis and manipulate their structures precisely. In this project, we aim to develop a method for lithography-based fabrication of 1D semiconductor materials to provide innovative solutions. Managing the synthesis and precisely manipulating the structure of these 1D materials will be essential to realizing their full potential.
The goal of this research is to use lithography for manufacturing 1D semiconductor materials such as silicon nanowires. We also demonstrate how lithography techniques can be employed to manipulate individual silicon nanowires to fabricate nano-electronic devices. Through this approach, we hope to offer innovative ideas that will stimulate advances in technology and enable the development of more compact, effective, and effective electronic devices that may be used in a variety of sectors and corporations. The future stage of the digital century requires regulated manufacturing and manipulation of 1D semiconductor materials.

Sustainable Data Governance Frameworks in Africa

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L’utilisation de l’assemblage modulaire et les cellules dynamiques pour améliorer l’efficacité des usines et de la chaîne logistique pour une entreprise réseau

Le stage a pour objectif l’amélioration l’efficacité de l’entrepise en utilisant un ensemble des techniques et méthodolgies du domaine de génie industriel. La première tâche principale est de mettre a jour l’ERP de l’entreprise ‘Enterprise Ressource Planning’. Il s’agit d’une base de données qui contient plusieurs sortes d’information de l’entreprise comme; la comptabilité, la logistique, la gestion de production, etc. Plus précisément, on va s’intéresser durant ce stage à compléter le paramétrage du GMAO, Gestion du Manufacturiere Assistée par Ordinateur qui est un parmi les plusieurs modules de l’ERP. Le GMAO sert à faciliter plusieurs tâches de l’entreprise, comme; le calcul du besoin en terme des produits, machines, opérateurs, etc. Par exemple, le temps de calcul des besoins d’un avion ou bien une voiture en composants passe de plusieurs heures à quelques secondes en utilisant un GMAO.Une autre tâche principale est la gestion de configuration. Elle est très importante pour le service d’ingénierie. Elle permet de diminuer les risques des erreurs. L’utilisation d’un composant dans un avion qui fait partie d’une autre avion ou bien une ancienne version peut causer des problèmes graves. Donc la gestion de configuration vient pour lutter contre toutes ces erreurs.

Genome engineering of large chromosomal deletions

Cancer is associated with an accumulation of alterations in genes that confer the ability of cancer cells to grow uncontrollably. These alterations can contribute to increased deleterious function or loss of function of genes that normally regulate cell growth. Genes in our cells are organized on chromosomes which duplicate every time a cell divides. In addition to alterations in single genes, it is now recognized that large deletions on chromosomes comprising multiple genes are also important events in cancer. My project will focus on a common deletion on chromosome 4p, which is frequently observed in a subset of breast cancer called triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). This subset has no targeted therapies and has the worst survival. The aim of this project is to use genome engineering approaches to understand the functional consequences of the loss of chromosome 4p. This should enhance our understanding of TNBC and offer possible avenues for personalized interventions to individuals diagnosed with the disease.

Synthèse et étude structure-activité des bactériocines produites par Lacticaseibacillus paracasei CNCM I-5369

ace à la propagation alarmante des bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques, le développement de nouveaux antimicrobiens avec des modes d’action innovateurs est devenu une priorité mondiale. Parmi les différentes alternatives, les peptides antimicrobiens d’origine bactérienne comme les bactériocines sont très prometteurs. Ce projet s’intéresse particulièrement à cinq bactériocines produites par la bactérie Lacticaseibacillus paracasei qui ont démontré des activités inhibitrices prometteuses sur plusieurs bactéries pathogènes cliniquement importantes. Malgré leur énorme potentiel, leur étude et leur utilisation sont limitées par les difficultés associées à leur production. Dans le but de surmonter ces limitations, l’objectif du projet est de développer de nouvelles approches pour produire par synthèse chimique les bactériocines cibles et des analogues afin d’explorer leur spectre d’action et d’optimiser leurs propriétés pharmacologiques. En plus de donner accès aux bactériocines et leurs analogues en grande quantité, ce projet permettra d’évaluer leur utilisation dans les secteurs agroalimentaire, vétérinaire et médical.

Palmitoylethanolamide as an intervention for preventing schizophrenia in a maternal immune activation rodent model

The major problem with intervention for schizophrenia is the inability to treat all symptom categories (positive, negative, and cognitive) sufficiently. The need to test new novel therapies is crucial, which may prevent the onset of this debilitating disorder. Since intervention is limited to individuals at high risk, researchers have turned to animal models to test novel therapies or to identify biomarkers translatable to the human condition. It is thought that the added stress of coming into adulthood expedites the psychotic symptoms in high-risk individuals. This can be translated into animal models via prenatal immune activation. We propose to use the maternal immune activation model (the viral mimic lipopolysaccharide [LPS] during pregnancy) combined with stress activation during adolescence (one-time injection of HPA-axis activator, yohimbine) along with extensive behavioural analysis and brain histology to test specific interventions. We will investigate the possible preventative effects of ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and associated endocannabinoid-mediated mechanisms. PEA is an endogenous anti-inflammatory lipid mediator in the brain that can be consumed safely as a dietary supplement in youth. The main priority of this project is to attempt to prevent the onset of schizophrenic-like symptoms in adulthood and to identify possible biomarkers of this disease’s pathology.