Innovative Projects Realized

Virtual Mental Health Services for Women At-Risk for Homelessness: Accessible and Free Psychotherapy

Women who have experienced homelessness encounter several barriers to escaping poverty. These women often experience limited economic independence and accompanying mental health issues that contribute to perpetuating their experiences of poverty. While psychotherapy could contribute significantly to this population’s wellbeing, marginalized women often have significant difficulty accessing psychological care despite their increased need for support. Barriers to access include lack of funding to pay for services and difficulty physically accessing services. Providing mental health care virtually, can reduce these barriers by making services more accessible and affordable. This project seeks to address these accessibility challenges by providing access to free virtual therapy to women who have experienced homelessness, through trusted organizations that already provide valuable services to them. In completing this project, we will evaluate the benefit of treatment for those who access it and with our research partners, assess the potential for scale-up of this treatment program to other settings.

Penrose Summer Associate

Penrose Partners is a blockchain startup firm that provides transactional, educational, and corporate consulting/material production services to businesses, institutional investors, and disruptive tech companies in the blockchain space. We are the trusted advisor that bridges the gap between businesses with great ideas and blockchain adoption. In April 2023, Penrose Partners hosted the 4th annual International Tech Summit in sunny Bermuda. The summit featured sponsors and speakers from industry-leading firms and government officials. The associate cohort for Summer 2023 will work together to plan the sponsorship outreach, speakers panels, and logistics for the 5th summit in April 2024. Additionally, the interns will work alongside the Partners to assist in client work for various web3 companies. The tasks for these clients will include industry research, organizational duties, sales efforts, and pitch deck building.

Développement d’une stratégie de positionnement concurrentiel d’un procédé manufacturier innovant en développement

Dans le cadre de ce stage nous désirons réaliser la vieille concurrentielle technologique et ainsi de se positionner et comprendre ce qui doit être bonifié, corrigé ou développer pour le présent et le futur du nouveau procédé manufacturier innovant en développement en ce moment. Pour se faire une analyse des différents processus actuellement utilisés et en émergence sera réalisé de même que la validation des tendances technologiques à tenir en compte qui pourraient influencer la pertinence des investissements réalisés.

Développement d’un système de gestion d’inspections automobiles

Développement d’un système de gestion d’inspections automobiles. Le projet comporte trois objectifs:
1) Participer à la mise en place du lien entre le système de gestion et l’application Hubspot pour assurer un meilleur suivi et une meilleure analyse des ventes.
2) Développer une version mobile de l’application de gestion des inspections. Cette application mobile devra être capable de fonctionner hors connexion et se re-synchroniser avec la base de données principale lorsqu’une connexion au réseau sera à nouveau accessible.
3) Raffiner le formulaire d’inspection actuel pour l’adapter à l’application mobile et aussi offrir une experience utilisateur plus facile et fluide à utiliser.

Carbon thin-films for cosmetic jewellery applications

Thin-films of carbon are finding use in a wide variety of military, industrial, and commercial applications. Arnell Workshop Inc., a West Kelowna, British Columbia-based cosmetic jewellery manufacturer, is using thin-films of carbon in order to coat titanium rings. As of the present moment, they are using an American firm in order to perform these depositions. They are, however, discouraged by the quality of the resultant films (they appear to be flaking and are non-uniform in thickness) and in the length of time that it takes for their product to be shipped back and forth to and from this American company (over a week). This has convinced the management at Arnell Workshop Inc. to consider performing in-house depositions. We aim to customize and optimize the deposition conditions required for these thin-film depositions using the sputtering system available at Arnell Workshop Inc. Quality assessment and accelerated aging protocols will also be developed in this project. It is hoped that the results of this project will equip our industrial partner, Arnell Workshop Inc., with a strategic advantage over its competitors.

Enhancing Elderly Engagement and Well-being through Technology Integration

Optima Living operates Independent Living, Assisted Living, Supportive Living, Long-Term Care, and Memory Care communities in Alberta and British Columbia. Our communities are among the best places to live and work in Western Canada. The company’s commitment to innovation and personalized care sets it apart in the industry.

Enhancing Elderly Engagement and Well-being through Technology Integration poses a significant opportunity for Optima Living. By incorporating innovative technologies into its facilities, Optima Living can enhance resident engagement, promote social interaction, and improve overall well-being. The project aims to leverage the potential of technology to provide a more enriching and fulfilling experience for elderly residents.

The need for interns arises from the opportunity to utilize their skills and knowledge in implementing and optimizing technology integration. The project will be completed in 2 phases. The interns will play a crucial role in conducting process analysis, identifying efficiencies, and providing improvements in phase 1. The intern in phase 2 of the project will be responsible for designing and implementing recommendations.

Quantifying the interaction between the opportunity for movement and experienced movement using multiple sensors

This collaborative project will be undertaken by researchers at the University of Guelph and Bremen. The primary objective of this project will be to determine whether a multi-sensor wearable is more accurate at predicting energy expenditure amongst preschoolers. Data from Canadian (n=40; 3-5 years of age) and German children (n=40; 3-5 years of age) will be used for this analysis. Children will be asked to complete a series of sedentary screen-based (e.g., watching television) and non-screen-based (e.g., reading) activities, as well as light activities (e.g., walking) and vigorous activities (e.g., running). The secondary objective of this project will involve the moveability index, developed by researchers at the University of Bremen, which assess a child’s the opportunity for movement based on their address. We will refine this index for a Canadian landscape. The opportunity for movement (moveability index) and experienced movement (wearables) will be compared between Canadian and German preschoolers.

Lenmark Industries – Junior Development & QA Analyst Intern

Our founders Leonard and Mark started buying and selling from auctions until they thought of a new and better
way to buy and sell. From there, the development went forward and utilized the power of e-commerce and
digitalization. They used a new strategy and built it to help give alternatives to the traditional auctions. The
Junior Developer and QA Analyst intern will develop, run and maintain test plans, cases and scripts using
Selenium and AI tools along with analyzing and reviewing design and code to ensure QA processes
compliance.

Optimisation et validation d’un procédé de nettoyage pour les consommables de laboratoire en plastique

Les plastiques à usage unique ont largement remplacé des matériaux plus durables dans les laboratoires de biotechnologie. Mondialement, il a été estimé en 2014 que la recherche génère 5.5 millions de tonnes de plastiques annuellement, soit plus de plastique que l’entièreté du Canada (tous secteurs confondus). Or, plusieurs sources indiquent que beaucoup de ces plastiques pourraient en réalité être utilisés plusieurs fois, s’ils sont correctement nettoyés et décontaminés. Le présent projet de recherche a pour objectifs 1) de déterminer quels consommables en plastiques pourraient être réutilisés, et dans quels contextes, 2) de développer une batterie de tests pour déterminer la qualité du nettoyage et des plastiques reconditionnés, 3) d’optimiser un procédé de nettoyage et de décontamination, et 4) de valider ce procédé auprès de plusieurs laboratoires. Phoenix Impact utilisera directement les découvertes effectuées pour breveter un procédé de nettoyage et estimer le potentiel commercial du reconditionnement des consommables.

Airflow Analysis and Optimization of Refuge OneUnit

Rimer Alco North America Inc. (RANA) manufactures Mine Refuge Systems for the global mining industry. The goal of this partnership project between The University of Manitoba and RANA is to undertake a comprehensive research that will help us to understand air flow pattern within the Refuge Systems and will lead to optimal manufacturing processes. The outcomes of this research is expected to enable RANA to design new Refuge Systems that are efficient to manufacture, meet new industry
requirements, and incorporate new product features deemed important to RANA’s customers. These outcomes will enable RANA to increase their Canadian and worldwide sales, expand their manufacturing operations and create jobs in Canada. The project will also provide a unique opportunity for graduate students who will work on this project to interact with professional engineers
from RANA and attain real world experience and engineering contribution to a lifesaving product for the mining industry.

Blue Roof Performance and Scalability as a Tool of Green Infrastructure

This project seeks to address new stormwater management and flood control measures by proposing a smart blue roof at Credit Valley Conservation’s (CVC) main office building. The blue roof system will temporarily capture rainwater using the roof as a storage reservoir and then allow the water to evaporate and/or to be used for non-potable requirements on site (i.e., irrigation, toilet flushing, truck washing) and ultimately offset potable water demands and reduce stormwater runoff. The research will assess the public health, building science, and civil engineering aspects of operating and maintaining a smart blue roof on the building. CVC, as well as other municipalities across Canada can benefit from this research by utilizing the findings for larger scale implementation of smart blue roofs, such as in commercial level buildings and urban areas.

The Discovery Group – Marketing & Communications Intern

The Discovery Group is an international consulting firm based in Vancouver, Canada, dedicated to the social profit sector. We believe that social profit organizations can change the world. Since 2017 it has been our mission to help social profits across the globe achieve their vision and elevate community impact. We work side-by-side with our clients to help them envision change, determine how to make it happen, and put the necessary tools and skills in place for success. We are rapidly growing company and need additional support with our branding initiatives. The Marketing & Communications Intern will report to the Director of Communications and support in all areas relating to storytelling, branding, social media, website and online content, podcasting, project management, business development in addition to other key areas of the firm.