The award recognizes innovative information technology (IT) projects or initiatives that have significantly advanced teaching, learning, research, or administration within an institution or in the community. It assesses the innovativeness of the technology and the impact in terms of benefits.

鈥淚nnovation has become a major theme here at 91亚色 and in UIT [University Information Technology]. This award is a testament to the creativity, passion and perseverance of individuals in our department and at the University,鈥� said Donald Ipperciel, chief information officer. 鈥淪AVY has performed exceptionally well since its implementation, averaging 80 per cent accuracy with its responses. SAVY is still young, and the future is bright. Our undergraduate students have a lot more to look forward to in the coming year from SAVY.鈥�

SAVY is a bilingual software-based agent that leverages artificial intelligence to provide student advising. It acquired its name following a very successful  in September 2020. SAVY, which is built on IBM鈥檚 Watson platform, was a collaboration between 91亚色鈥檚 Division of Students, UIT and 91亚色鈥檚 Faculties, and it was guided and informed by students. It is populated with content designed to help students perform tasks related to their academic journey at 91亚色. SAVY points students toward accurate information relating to the questions asked, recommends relevant resources, offers directions and way-finding, provides reminders about upcoming deadlines, and connects students to other resources, people and places on campus.

Since the launch of SAVY, the top three topics have been about Moodle/eClass, arranging meetings with advisers and information about fall/summer courses, with more than 896 instances of students thanking SAVY 鈥� confirming that some of the best, most polite students in post-secondary can be found right here at 91亚色.

鈥淯nlike other online sources of information, interactions with SAVY are warm, inclusive and conversation-like, which helps students feel comfortable when they ask questions,鈥� said Vice-Provost, Students, Lucy Fromowitz. 鈥淭hroughout the pandemic our undergraduate students have had 24-7, uninterrupted support, information and resources through the virtual assistant. In the 16 months since SAVY was introduced, there have been more than 50,000 conversations and 120,000 messages from 20,000 students.鈥�

What鈥檚 next for SAVY?

In the coming year, a content management system will be added, providing an opportunity for subject matter experts from across the University to contribute toward expanding information in SAVY. In addition, there will be a notification enhancement that will provide alerts to students on important dates related to their program, courses, finances and other relevant details about their specific circumstances. The individuals behind SAVY are also in the developmental stages of a version that would enable staff to assist students; this is expected to be available by winter 2022.

Courtesy of YFile.

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Join ELLA, Innovation 91亚色's accelerator focused on supporting women-led businesses, on聽Wednesday, June 23聽at noon for their next Entrepreneurial Insights event, Make Your Mark: Designing a Time-Tested Business Through Social Media.

Attend this free online event to hear from Toronto-based YouTube sensation and accidental cleaning expert聽Melissa Maker, president and founder of聽, as she explains how she built a successful business through an active social media presence. Learn which revenue streams you might be missing out on and hear her top social media tips and tricks that can be implemented right away to bring your business to the next level.

Maker's keynote presentation will be followed by a moderated Q-and-A with Nicole Troster, ELLA's entrepreneurship manager. Bring your note-taking tools and inquisitive minds and get ready to engage in an active discussion. To register for the event, visit .

About the speaker

In 2006, Maker launched the cleaning service Clean My Space. In 2011, she decided to create digital content, including a YouTube channel, to help drive bookings. Since then, her YouTube channel has amassed over 235 million video views and over 1.7 million subscribers, she has gained a hefty Instagram following and a high-traffic website. She also founded a microfibre cleaning tools company in 2016 called Maker's Clean.

While Maker has delivered her expert advice on cleaning products, tools and do-it-yourself substitutes for over the past 10 years, she wasn鈥檛 always a cleaning pro and she understands that people are looking for practical, time-saving solutions to everyday problems. Her fans tune into her ,  and  pages to get the latest cleaning advice and follow her life as an entrepreneur, foodie and mother of a toddler.

For more information about this ELLA Entrepreneurial Insights event, visit聽. For more information about ELLA, visit聽yorku.ca/ella.

Courtesy of YFile.

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ELLA (Entrepreneurial Leadership & Learning Alliance) 鈥� a program created by women, for women 鈥� starts just days before International Women鈥檚 Day on March 8.

Federal Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade and Member of Parliament for Markham鈥揟hornhill, Mary Ng, spoke at the event, along with 91亚色 President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton and Jenise Lee, founder of PurPicks and CertClean who is a 91亚色 alumna.

From left: Nicole Troster, manager of the Ella Accelerator; Jenise Lee, founder of PurPicks and Certclean and a 91亚色 alumna; 91亚色 President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, Federal Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng; and Sarah Howe, director of Innovation 91亚色

Many of the 54 women entrepreneurs in ELLA attended the kick-off event for the program, which supports existing women entrepreneurs by providing them with one-on-one mentoring with top entrepreneurs, hands-on workshops, leadership training, and a community of experts, peers and supporters.

The federal government is providing $1.8 million in funding for ELLA, which is led by 91亚色鈥檚 Innovation 91亚色, in partnership with the small business enterprise centres of Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and 91亚色 Region. The program will also have several corporate partners; Shopify has signed on as the premier partner in support of ELLA.

Mary Ng

鈥淚nitiatives like 91亚色鈥檚 ELLA program help women entrepreneurs gain the knowledge, tools, and connections they need to start and grow their businesses,鈥� said Ng. 鈥淥ur government is also working to advance these goals through Canada鈥檚 first-ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Together, we will ensure women-led businesses in the 91亚色 region 鈥� and across the country 鈥� have access to the supports they need to start up, scale up, and access new markets.鈥�

Launching ELLA during the same week as International Women鈥檚 Day is fitting, given the global need for opportunities and conditions for women to thrive and succeed.
鈥淭he ELLA program for women business owners is an example of 91亚色鈥檚 focus on new educational approaches 鈥� like entrepreneurship and work-integrated learning 鈥� that equip our graduates to thrive in the competitive global knowledge economy,鈥� said Lenton. 鈥淚t is especially important that we give women access to the skills, supports and tools needed to build their businesses as part of our work to build a more gender-equal world.鈥�

The 10-month training and support program is tailored to help the 54 women who are participating to accelerate their business growth. They will be given access to a network of other women founders, top experts, mentors and supporters. Tuesday evening鈥檚 event marks the first time that the participants are in one room, along with supporters.

Sarah Howe

In Canada, women entrepreneurs account for only 16 per cent of business owners. For Sarah Howe, director of Innovation 91亚色, the statistics are evidence that women business owners need to be supported. ELLA is especially targeted to women entrepreneurs in 91亚色 Region because the community is considered underserved, given the region鈥檚 large geographically-disbursed population, with some rural and remote areas.
Each of the 54 women entrepreneurs owns 50 per cent or more of their business, has a business with sales and initial traction, and lives in 91亚色 Region or can travel to 91亚色 Region for the training and workshops.

鈥淭his program is meant for women founders who are ready to hustle and grow their business,鈥� explained Howe. 鈥淭hese women will get access to a community of other women founders, mentor and experts who can give them solid business advice and more connections, everyone from better suppliers to more investors.鈥�

When 91亚色 alumna Stephanie Florio and her brother realized that students were still applying to jobs by printing a stack of resumes and walking around the mall to hand them out store by store, it sparked an idea.

Florio co-founded Swob Inc., a mobile recruitment app believed to be the first-of-its-kind to help students find part-time, seasonal and entry-level jobs more easily. It also makes the hiring process more efficient for employers.

鈥淭he app has similar functionality to Tinder. Once job seekers create their profiles, they swipe right to apply to jobs and swipe left to ignore jobs,鈥� said Florio, a 30-year-old Woodbridge resident. 鈥淚 joined ELLA to continue to learn and grow my business.鈥�

Another participant is Zuly Matallana, owner of TIARA Bliss Inc. The Vaughan woman created TIARA Shower Cap, a reinvented, patented shower cap that blocks water and humidity. She鈥檚 had a successful pitch on CBC鈥檚 Dragon鈥檚 Den, was chosen as a 2019 gift pick by Good Morning America and is currently developing new products.

Cherrie-Marie Chiu is the executive director of ALS Double Play whose not-for-profit foundation was born after her brother Christopher was diagnosed with ALS. An ELLA participant from Markham, Chiu鈥檚 charity raises awareness and funds to support ALS research to find a cure.

Courtesy of YFile.

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More than 100 people attended the second anniversary celebration for YSpace in Markham, Ontario

YSpace is 91亚色鈥檚 community innovation hub that supports high-potential innovators. The celebration took place on Jan. 23 and featured presentations, samples and demonstrations from past and present YSpace ventures.

In their welcome remarks, Sarah Howe, director of Innovation 91亚色, and David Kwok, associate director of Entrepreneurship, highlighted YSpace鈥檚 many successes over the first two years of existence. Since it was founded, YSpace has become a key partner in the 91亚色 Region innovation ecosystem and is one of the leading incubators and community innovation hubs in the region.

Attendees had an opportunity to speak with representatives from some of the startups incubated at YSpace

Throughout 2019, YSpace worked on expanding its Entrepreneurs in Residence roster to 12 powerhouse entrepreneurs. It launched Ontario鈥檚 first consumer packaged goods food and beverage accelerator and supported ventures in raising close to $6 million in investments and generating more than $3 million in revenue.

One of the startups highlighted by Howe and Kwok at the event was . Founded by Mayuran Ganesathas, a Lassonde School of Engineering student, SV Robotics is one of 32 startups incubated in YSpace. As a social enterprise, SV Robotics makes technological education accessible and affordable for youth and helps them accelerate past the basic curriculum. It uses project-based and experiential learning. Since joining YSpace, SV Robotics has experienced a 25 per cent month-over-month growth in their revenue and now offers weekend and evening training sessions at YSpace.

Howe and Kwok highlighted that as a place of opportunity, YSpace supports local, student and alumni startups with one-on-one coaching, incubation office space, and resources for training and funding. These offerings, in combination with the supportive and collaborative environment in YSpace, have created a well-connected community of entrepreneurs, each with a thriving business that strengthens the local economy.

Jonathan Wheatle, director of Economic Strategy at the Regional Municipality of 91亚色 Region shared a few words about YSpace鈥檚 contribution to the community through the Founder Fundamentals and the joint partnership in the Food Accelerator program

In 2020, Howe and Kwok told those present at the celebration that YSpace will continue to increase its presence in 91亚色 Region and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to help strengthen and grow this very important relationship. They provided an example 鈥� YSpace鈥檚 Founder Fundamentals program 鈥� a 13-week educational program designed to help community members gain the knowledge and skills needed to launch their startup. The program will be expanding into Newmarket and to 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus, making it more accessible to the 91亚色 Region community and most importantly, 91亚色 students.

Another success highlighted at the celebration showcased how YSpace has expanded its service offering with the launch of Ontario鈥檚 first food and beverage accelerator, supporting eight highly scalable ventures. As the program progressed, interest increased from the local community to scale this program regionally. 91亚色 and its partner 91亚色 Region were selected as a 鈥淧lace to Grow鈥� grant recipient by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The grant will enable YSpace and 91亚色 Region to deliver two new cohorts impacting 18 high-growth ventures and expanding their operations with two remote sites within the region.

YSpace鈥檚 success over the past two years can be attributed to the support and dedication from the leadership at 91亚色, its community and partners, said Howe, noting that through these valuable relationships and initiatives, YSpace is poised to become the leading innovation hub to attract innovative companies and foster talent beyond the technology sector.

Courtesy of YFile.

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BIOSA Technologies was one of three finalist teams, whose founder was a graduate of 91亚色鈥檚 LaunchYU Accelerator program led by Innovation 91亚色.

A panel of judges were tasked with choosing the venture with the highest potential for commercial success and judged each team on their ability to take their venture to market and scale. The winner receives the $25,000 Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award, including $12,500 cash and an equal amount in legal services from Aird & Berlis StartupSource legal services.

From left: Aird & Berlis partner Randy Williamson with Nicholas Ledra of BIOSA Technologies, Tony Sabeta of Aird & McBurney and Graham Topa of Aird & Berlis.

BIOSA Technologies was founded by Nicholas Ledra, who grew up in Markham and came from five generations of entrepreneurs. While creating a business was initially far from his mind, he eventually realized it was a natural calling for him.

Ledra鈥檚 company has found a way to optimize enzymes. Different industries use various types of enzymes, including food, beverage and pharmaceutical companies, but enzymes have limited shelf life and need to be frozen in order to be kept longer and then thawed. While many enzymes fail to survive this expensive process, BIOSA Technologies uses a technology which stabilizes the enzymes, resulting in a shelf life lasting more than one year and no requirement of freezing.

Since 2016, BIOSA Technologies has had successful experimental trials and collaboration with industrial and educational partners where their technology was used to extend the shelf life and efficacy of modified enzymes.

The Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award was created by the Toronto legal firm in 2017, along with Partner Randy Williamson, who is a 91亚色 alumnus and a member of 91亚色鈥檚 Board of Governors. He previously chaired 91亚色鈥檚 Pension Fund Board and the Endowment and Treasury Funds鈥� Investment Committee, along with chairing the 91亚色 Alumni Board.

Williamson is being honoured with Innovation 91亚色鈥檚 inaugural Partner of the Year Award which recognizes the outstanding contributions of an individual or organization to Innovation 91亚色 and the growth of innovation at the university.

鈥淲e worked with 91亚色 to create the Aird & Berlis StartupSource Market Entry Award precisely to acknowledge companies like BIOSA, and 91亚色`s support for entrepreneurs like Nicholas Ledra,鈥� said Williamson. 鈥淣ick and his team at BIOSA are ready to make a significant mark in their industry, and we鈥檙e delighted that the cash award and our ongoing legal support will help them do it. 91亚色 has been a wonderful partner to work with these last three years and I鈥檓 honoured to receive Innovation 91亚色鈥檚 first Partner of the Year award on behalf of my colleagues at Aird & Berlis LLP.鈥�

Innovation 91亚色鈥檚 LaunchYU supports entrepreneurs at different stages of growth. Since it was started in late 2014, it has supported more than 250 ventures and hundreds of entrepreneurs. LaunchYU ventures have raised more than $12.5 million in funding and have generated more than $3 million in revenue.

LaunchYU鈥檚 Accelerator program is designed to help high-potential entrepreneurs build, launch, and scale their for-profit and non-profit ventures. The Accelerator training program is four months focused on product-market fit, pitching, go-to-market strategy, financing and fundraising. The entrepreneurs participate in bootcamps, workshops and InFounders Mastermind sessions with feedback from investors.

鈥淏IOSA Technologies was chosen as the winner of this award because of its solid market traction and the high number of possible applications related to enzyme stabilization is massive,鈥� said 91亚色鈥檚 interim vice-president of research & innovation, Rui Wang. 鈥淚t is gratifying to see entrepreneurs taking Innovation 91亚色鈥檚 LaunchYU program, testing their ideas out and working to take them to market.鈥�

The other two finalists in this year鈥檚 competition were Ayd Cares and SUKU Vitamins.
Ayd Cares helps more Canadians live independently with dignity and respect. This company offers in-home seniors care to those on the wait lists of retirement homes. Their unique platform allows retirement homes to serve a larger market and support seniors in need.

SUKU Vitamins is a health and wellness company offering an innovative line of supplements. Their company strives to innovate and provide the best products in terms of quality, efficacy and safety, which includes sugar-free, alcohol free, and plant-based vitamins.

This year鈥檚 competition was judged by a four-member panel including: Snita Balsara, investor with MaRS IAF and StandUp Ventures; Trevor Coleman, co-founder of InteraXon / Muse; Sunny Verma, founder of TutorBright; and Sharon Vinderine, founder & CEO of Parent Tested Parent Approved.

Courtesy of YFile.

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Innovation 91亚色 and NRC-IRAP collaborated to develop and launch this funding program, which encourages industry-driven research projects in artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning. Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have partnered with 91亚色 faculty members were encouraged to apply for the grant, which awards $12,000 to support each successful research project.

Sarah Howe

鈥淲e are really excited to launch another year of the Innovation 91亚色 NRC-IRAP grant funding competition and to announce this rounds鈥� winners.鈥� said Sarah Howe, director of Innovation 91亚色. 鈥淚t was a difficult choice, but in the end, we selected five high-quality projects with some great industry partners. We look forward to seeing how these projects progress and how they can grow into long-term strategic partnerships in the future.鈥�

The following is a list of the successful projects and the partners:

Civica Infrastructure and Professor Usman Khan (Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering) for their project on creating an automated calibration process for a cloud-based sewer capacity management system using existing rainfall and flow monitoring data.

ThisFish Inc and Professor Peter Khaiter (School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) for their project on creating an algorithm that will analyze historical data on fish quality and processing from the company鈥檚 software to maximize yields and reduce waste.

Mine Design Engineering and Professor Usman Khan (Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering) for their project on mine stability improvements using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and existing data from sensors leading to increased usage and predictive capability.

Mero Technologies and Professor Michael Chen (Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science) their project on the development of an algorithm using sensor data in a building to give an optimized route for cleaners, including the resupply of consumables and usage.

IT Universe Ltd and Professors Melanie Baljko and Vassilios Tzerpos (Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering) for their project on creating a bridge between human interface devices and people and to give disabled people greater control of their environment, e.g. lights, cooling, heating etc.

Innovation 91亚色 has played an instrumental role in forging these relationships, which will have far-reaching implications for all the involved participants, including funding recipients, students and researchers. The partnership allows companies to gain access to expertise that they would not typically have in-house and students are able to work on real-life problems for valuable experiential learning opportunities. The involvement of researchers expands their network and provides opportunities for the application of research expertise to emerging industrial challenges.

Collaborations between SMEs and 91亚色 faculty members have been widely successful, with both parties benefiting greatly from the partnerships. An example is the funding of a project involving Mero Technologies and 91亚色 Mathematics and Statistics Professor Michael Chen.

Nathan Mah (left) and Cole MacDonald, co-founders of Mero Technologies

鈥淭he AI Partnership grant through Innovation 91亚色 is integral for Mero鈥檚 product and company success,鈥� said Nathan Mah, co-founder with Cole MacDonald, of Mero Technologies. 鈥淏y tapping into world-class AI researchers at Dr. Michael Chen鈥檚 laboratory, we are able to create a smart-route mapping algorithm that our customers valued greatly, that we otherwise would have had to invest significant resources into.鈥�
鈥淲ith the partnership, we are able to tap into the research with Dr. Chen鈥檚 laboratory almost instantly,鈥� added MacDonald. 鈥淚nnovation 91亚色鈥檚 contribution was significant as they helped forge and foster the relationship between company and academia early-on, and we knew the potential value of the relationship before formally working together.鈥�

Michael Chen

Chen is just as keen on starting the research collaboration with Mero Technologies. 鈥淚nnovation 91亚色 helped to establish a vital link between Mero Technologies and my AI and OR research groups,鈥� He said. 鈥淭his AI Partnership Fund awarded project also gives our graduate students opportunities to apply AI/OR into true business problems, which is a rare learning experience not offered by the usual curriculum.鈥�
The overarching goal of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Partnership Fund is to have funded projects evolve into larger long-term initiatives with far-reaching impacts.
Innovation 91亚色 is now accepting applications for its fourth round of funding. Companies without an existing partnership with a faculty member can still apply for the grant, with matching assistance provided by Innovation 91亚色. Unpartnered SME鈥檚, with up to 500 employees, must submit their application by Sept. 6 while all others must apply by Oct. 4. To apply or learn more please visit http://www.innovationyork.ca/partnership-grant.

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The LaunchYU AccelerateUP 2018 class

The following are the LaunchYU AccelerateUP Award 1 Winners ($3,000):

: Blade Filters is the face of innovation in the activated carbon air filtration industry. Blade Filters creates activated carbon air filters that encompass a replaceable carbon cartridge that is exchanged once the carbon becomes exhausted. Currently, all notable filters used in the market are non-reusable. Blade Filter鈥檚 patent-pending design decreases both wasted resources and costs.

: TUF Candy Inc. was created by three diverse university students who had the vision of becoming one of North America鈥檚 top B2B food innovation companies. Candy Cutlery is the first brand to create environmentally friendly edible utensils for the food service industry.

: Unimaginable applicant volume and unconscious bias make the recruiter experience a challenge. Nugget is a talent discovery platform that helps employers create and launch task-based assessments to find the right candidate fit, solving personalized recruitment at scale. Nugget鈥檚 proprietary artificial intelligence-based model provides powerful insights on candidates鈥� decision-making process.

: Ohh Foods innovates healthier snacking alternatives with 鈥渇ree from鈥� attributes. All the snacks manufactured by Ohh Foods are free from the eight most common food allergens in Canada.

: RedPine Music is changing the way artists and venues book concerts. With RedPine, artists don鈥檛 just book shows, they crowdfund them. Crowdfunding eliminates the risk for both the venue and the artist 鈥� venues only approve shows that will be profitable, while artists perform in front of a guaranteed audience.

The second round of LaunchYU AccelerateUP Awards will be awarded in September to three startups. Each will receive $5,000. The winners of the LaunchYU AccelerateUP Award 2 will be announced in September at the LaunchYU AccelerateUP graduation and launch day, an event where the top ventures from the program are showcased to a curated audience of investors, professionals and industry partners.

After graduating from the program, the top three finalists will then work with program mentors to compete for the StartupSource Market Entry Award, worth $25,000. This new award, spearheaded by 91亚色 alumnus and Aird & Berlis partner Randy Williamson, will award the top startup with $12,500 and provide an equal amount of Aird & Berlis鈥檚 StartupSource legal services. Williamson and Aird & Berlis have generously committed to provide a total value of $100,000 through this new award.

With just over a month to go of intensive workshops, boot camp and investor sessions, and peer-to-peer feedback sessions, the ventures are preparing for their final pitch and graduation. The private event will take place on Sept. 18 at the Aird & Berlis offices in downtown Toronto.

To learn more about the LaunchYU program, visit聽.

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Sarah Howe

鈥淲e were very encouraged to see such a great response to the funding program and such a wide selection of projects and industry partners,鈥� said Sarah Howe, director, Innovation 91亚色, 鈥渢he applications really showed the breadth and depth of research faculty members at 91亚色 are focused on in these areas.鈥�

Congratulations to the following winning partners, each of which has received $10,000 to support their research projects:

• Dapasoft and 91亚色 Mathematics and Statistics Professors Steven Wang and Hongmei Zhu for their project 鈥淚mproving Patient Gridlock conditions in Emergency Department ED using Machine Learning or other AI Technology.鈥�
• Nuco and Schulich School of Business Professor Henry Kim for 鈥淎pplying Deep Neural Networks for Blockchain Interoperability.鈥�
• Samco and 91亚色 Mathematics and Statistics Professor Michael Chen for 鈥淥ptimization of Industrial Machinery through Artificial Intelligence.鈥�
• uBioDiscovery and 91亚色 Mathematics and Statistics Professors Steven Wang and聽Xin Gao and Biology Professor Gary Sweeney聽for 鈥淯sing AI to identify personalized linkage patterns between microbiome profiles and lifestyle parameters.鈥�

Innovation 91亚色 and NRC-IRAP collaborated to develop and launch this funding program to encourage industry-driven research projects in artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning.

How Dapasoft built a deeper relationship with 91亚色

Steven Chan, CEO of Dapasoft Inc.

Dapasoft is well known to Innovation 91亚色 and 91亚色 researcher community, collaborating with School of Information Technology Professor Jimmy Huang within the BRAIN and ADERSIM projects, but were looking to deepen their relationship with the University.

鈥淲hen attending the BRAIN AGM in March 2018, I had an opportunity to discuss additional research needs with Stephen Chan, CEO of Dapasoft Inc.,鈥� said Cheryl Giblon, industry engagement manager, Innovation 91亚色.

Cheryl Giblon

鈥淚n early June, Stephen reached out to advise that Jiang Chen, Dapasoft鈥檚 IRAP Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA) had told him about the Innovation 91亚色/IRAP Artificial Intelligence Partnership Grant opportunity and Dapasoft was interested in proposing a project,鈥� said Giblon. After being asked to help the company find a research partner, Giblon wasted no time in reaching out to her network. She quickly identified 91亚色 Professors Wang and Zhu as potential partners.

Dapasoft Inc. President Michael Lonsway

The next day, the partners met in person at the Dapasoft offices and a partnership was officially formed. All parties agreed that it was something bigger than just one project 鈥� they are keen to incorporate AI into projects to reduce gridlock in hospital emergency departments and move beyond this to improve聽the patient experience.

The Artificial Intelligence Industry Partnership Fund is open to all Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises that have been in business for at least a year, with up to 500 employees.

To learn more, visit .

For more information, contact Giblon at .

91亚色 gratefully acknowledges NRC-IRAP for the grant funding and the ventureLAB for assisting with the adjudication process.

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In the summer of 2016, Innovation 91亚色鈥檚 industry engagement manager, Cheryl Giblon, introduced Laura Nicholson, director of 91亚色鈥檚 Nursing Simulation Centre (NSC), to Olivia Lin and Edward Shim, founders of Studio 1 Labs to work together to determine proof of concept for the health device.

Members of the intelligent bedsheets project team in the Nursing Simulation Centre located in the Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies Building on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus

The intelligent bed sheet is developed by Studio 1 Labs and aims to monitor the health of patients at home, in hospital or in long-term care. It uses unique fabric sensors which are embedded into the bed sheet and detect respiratory patterns that are wirelessly transmitted to a computer terminal.

In December 2016, phase one of a three-phase project began in the Nursing Simulation Centre, supported by 91亚色 Professors Eva Peisachovich and Celina Da Silva, and School of Nursing Simulation Manager Raya Gal.

Data collection was completed in January 2018 as the second phase of the project, with participants sleeping overnight in the NSC. The NSC is used to train 91亚色鈥檚 nursing students, and provided a unique opportunity for the start-up to collect data in a simulated hospital setting.

Studio 1 Labs鈥� goal is to commercialize the intelligent bed sheet, which has the capability to transform any bed into a patient vital signs monitoring system.

The collaboration and support provided by Innovation 91亚色 and the School of Nursing has been an integral part of helping Studio 1 Labs achieve this goal, said Nicholson, the principal investigator on the project.

The project is funding by an Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) grant of $25,000.

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91亚色鈥檚 growing international reputation now includes our efforts around maximizing impact

Knowledge mobilization (KMb) bridges the all-important gap from new knowledge, borne of research, to real-world application, and informs policy by demonstrating a measurable impact on society. At 91亚色, the KMb Unit, part of Innovation 91亚色 in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, champions this work.

Since 2006, this department鈥檚 success under David Phipps, executive director, Research & Innovation Services, has been noted internationally. Building on this achievement, the KMb Unit is expanding its horizons. Phipps sits down with Brainstorm to discuss going global.

Q: Why is KMb important? Why now?

A: KMb formally started in Canadian health research in 2000 when the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) was launched to create new knowledge and to translate that knowledge into improved health for Canadians. Then around 2005/2006, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) created a new program where every grant application had to have a KMb strategy and an outcome statement geared towards impact.

More recently, 鈥淚nvesting in Canada鈥檚 Future: Strengthening the Foundations of Canadian Research鈥� crystallized the conversation around impact. David Naylor chaired the committee and the sponsor of the report was Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). So, we鈥檙e seeing that impact is now a regular feature of most of our granting and research programs.

In Canada, 91亚色 leads a network called Research Impact Canada, which involves 14 Canadian universities plus one university in the United Kingdom (UK). We help to accelerate that process from research to impact. At 91亚色, impact and KMb are featured in our University Academic Plan, our Strategic Research Plan and the Plan for the Enhancement and Intensification of Research. This is part of our DNA at 91亚色.

Q: Describe the genesis of the KMb Unit at 91亚色.

A: Three things came together to create the KMb Unit. One was 91亚色鈥檚 program mix of 60 or 70 graduate programs across all disciplines. We have a strong social justice and liberal arts tradition, and an engineering school. This means that our research has the potential to make an impact on commerce, public policy and professional practice.

The second piece was my background in technology transfer and university-industry partnerships to create impact from STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

鈥淜nowledge Mobilization is part of our DNA at 91亚色.鈥澛犫�� David Phipps

The third element was leadership. The KMb Unit, created by our first Vice-President Research, Stan Shapson, is now led by our current Vice-President Research & Innovation, Robert Hach茅. He has encouraged the growth of KMb within Innovation 91亚色 and Research Impact Canada.

Today, the Unit is managed by Michael Johnny, an expert in KMb, and overseen by the Director of Innovation 91亚色, Sarah Howe. Krista Jensen, Knowledge Mobilization Officer, brings 10 years of experience to this role and rounds out the service capacity of our team.

Q: How is KMb at 91亚色 expanding globally?

A: We鈥檝e done a lot of work in UK universities and the Association of Research Managers and Administrators in the UK. We鈥檝e also got a signed memorandum of understanding with the National Alliance for Broader Impacts in the States. We鈥檙e working to determine how we can each grow our capacities.

Other regions, like Australia and the Netherlands, also have research impact assessment systems, so we鈥檝e got conversations underway with the organizations in those countries. Again, it鈥檚 about learning from each other.

Most interestingly, I鈥檝e started an email exchange with a state-sponsored organization in Iran that works with universities. They are interested in supporting impact in social sciences and humanities.

Q: How will the Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) program and 91亚色 International be involved?

A: VISTA is a very large project that鈥檚 undertaking world-leading research in vision. Our KMb Unit is working with VISTA to translate research results for public use and explore the impact of those research results to ensure that research results move into clinical practice, public policy and products to benefit consumers.

We鈥檙e also working with 91亚色 International. As well as responding to requests for engagement, we鈥檒l be going out and identifying where those pockets of expertise exist, internationally. We will engage to bring that expertise back here to inform our own practice.

Q: How will Research Impact Canada be involved?

A: Research Impact Canada has identified international engagement as a strategic priority for the next three years of our planning process (2017 鈥� 2020). It has recently welcomed the University of Brighton as our first international affiliate member. We鈥檙e excited because Brighton is an international leader in community-university engagement; we鈥檙e pleased to be able to bring that expertise into the network.

Additional international work by Research Impact Canada includes my presenting at the New Zealand Rehabilitation Association Conference, with a theme of impact. I鈥檝e been invited to be part of the Expert Advisory Group advising the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the 聽Ministry of Health to help implement their Health Research Strategy.

All this to say that impact is emerging as a global cohesive theme among research organizations. We see this playing out both at the researcher level and the institutional level. I think in the future, we鈥檙e going to see sustained conversations at many levels of our universities, at the executive level, the Presidents and the Vice-Presidents Research; the administrative level, for research administrators; and where it really makes a difference: for our students and our professors.

Q: What does this activity say about the international reputation for 91亚色?

A: 91亚色 has an outstanding international reputation. We have hundreds of thousands of alumni around the world. We鈥檝e got hundreds of agreements in place with other universities in every continent. And 91亚色鈥檚 leadership in Research Impact Canada is just one more feather in the cap of our international reputation.

鈥淲e care about world-leading research. We鈥檙e also interested in making a difference to our local and global economies, environments and societies.鈥澛犫�� David Phipps

91亚色鈥檚 growing international reputation now includes our efforts around maximizing impact. We care about undertaking good, world-leading fundamental research, but we鈥檙e also interested in making a difference to our local and global economies, environments and societies.

Our investments in leadership in Research Impact Canada complements 91亚色鈥檚 existing international profile but also creates a new element around the international recognition for our leadership in creating impact.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, follow us at , watch the and see the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

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