industry Archives | Research & Innovation

New trends in eHealth the focus of 91��ɫ Leadership Roundtable

fmaquito — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

The Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation hosted a 91��ɫ Leadership Roundtable on May 8. The event brought together knowledge experts in business, industry, government and academia to discuss eHealth and connected solutions for health care delivery.

The roundtable provided a forum for participants to discuss technological advancements, research partnerships and community collaborations for the benefit of improving health care delivery for citizens.

From left, Altaf Stationwala, president & CEO of 91��ɫ Central Hospital, Ken Ono, vice-president analytics of NexJ Systems Inc., Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Harvey Skinner, dean, Faculty of Health, Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation at 91��ɫ University

“The 91��ɫ Leadership Roundtable provided an opportunity to facilitate and create mutually productive relationships with businesses, industry, social service organizations and the municipal and regional leadership of 91��ɫ Region,” said Robert Haché, 91��ɫ vice-president research & innovation. “During the session, our keynote speakers provided a great snapshot of new innovations in the health services sector and the exciting opportunities to foster collaborative research partnerships for continued growth and development.”

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua welcomed all participants to the event and highlighted the importance of forming collaborative networks to improve health care delivery in the region.

“The 91��ɫ Roundtable was a great initiative to better comprehend and seek solutions to the challenges we face in health care. The thoughtful analysis of the changing dynamics of our system provided much value added to the understanding of what is required to bring about much needed reform," said Bevilacqua.

"Through effective dialogue and collaboration we can find the path that will bring us closer to the answers needed to build an effective, efficient and caring user-friendly health care system. The discussion about the use of technology as an enabler for positive change was a reminder of the incredible opportunities we must seize to move forward and innovate towards the creation of a modern and avant-garde system,” said Bevilacqua.

Speakers at the event included Harvey Skinner, dean of 91��ɫ's Faculty of Health; Ken Ono, vice-president of NexJ Systems Inc.; and Altaf Stationwala, president & CEO of 91��ɫ Central Hospital.

Skinner discussed how a new approach to the management of health care is setting the stage for industry partnerships, creating efficiencies within the delivery of health care and driving new models for teaching and educating the health care professionals of tomorrow. He presented a new integrated eHealth solution and software development project aimed at enabling patients to monitor their health and wellness, diet and exercise program on a daily basis with the support of a health coach.

The program will help to promote a health active lifestyle, explained Skinner, and will enable health care providers and patients to work collaboratively to improve a patient’s health, minimize dependency on an already heavily-taxed health care system. He and can lead to job creation for a new Health Coach profession – an individual who will monitor the health and wellness of patients and help them change behaviourthrough the technology.

Ono offered an industry perspective on innovating in the health care sector. He addressed some of the opportunities and surmountable challenges of working with universities to spearhead commercialization vehicles.

Sharing his experiences working collaboratively with 91��ɫ researchers, Stationwala presented his perspective on the research agenda that will help to deliver a sustainable health system at 91��ɫ Central Hospital and the Region of 91��ɫ.

During a lively question and answer period, the group of more than 40 senior executives and community leaders discussed the continuing importance of investing in research and development, strategies for addressing the innovation needs of businesses and the health care sector, and the role of universities in fostering economic strength in their surrounding cities.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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VPRI responds to the federal budget

fmaquito — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation, has issued this commentary on the federal budget to the 91��ɫ community.

The recent federal budget reinforced the importance the government is placing on putting its fiscal house in order with some programs receiving cuts in excess of 10 per cent.

Within that overall context of restraint is a welcome affirmation of the government’s strong commitment to research and innovation, with funding programs largely preserved and substantial new commitments made. At the same time, the new investments focus predominantly on Canada’s innovation agenda, while the importance of supporting fundamental research is acknowledged in less tangible ways. It is explicitly stated on page 271 of the budget document that "programming in support of basic research, student scholarships and industry-related research initiatives and collaborations are preserved."

The budget has reaffirmed the importance of Tri-Council funding by returning mandated budget cuts in the form of $37 million in new investment, albeit with a focus on industry-academic partnerships. This leaves Tri-Council with stable overall budget envelopes in the present fiscal year and the hope that next year’s mandated budget cut of $31.3 million may be similarly rescued through the infusion of additional new monies.

The long-term investment in the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($500 million over five years, beginning in 2014) and the doubling of support for graduate students to gain workplace experience through the Industrial Research & Development Internship Program, are further positive signals of the importance the government places on high-quality university research, and in attracting and retaining top students and researchers.

Other notable investments in research and higher education include:

$40 million over two years to support Canada’s Advanced Research & Innovation Network’s (CANARIE) operation of Canada’s ultra-high-speed research network;
$60 million for Genome Canada to launch a new applied research competition in the area of human health, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014-2015;
$10 million over two years to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research to link Canadians to global research networks;
$5.2 million in 2012–2013 to establish and integrate a network of mental health-related researchers in the Canadian Depression Research & Intervention Network;
$67 million to assist the National Research Council (NRC) refocus on business-led, industry-relevant research, as well as doubling the contribution budget of the NRC’s highly successful cross-Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) in aid of small and medium enterprises.

These investments can only be seen as encouraging and a reflection of continuing strong support for university sector research. They provide important building blocks to developing knowledge, creativity and innovation within universities, now and into the future. This is a reality the government recognizes. We are fortunate to have experienced a significant upswing in university research investments over the last decade, with investments having nearly quadrupled since the mid-1990s and continuing to rise despite economic setbacks. Budget 2012 presents a stable agenda for research funding – delivering a longer term message on research and innovation that reinforces the government’s goal, “to position Canada for increased success in the global economy that depends more and more on knowledge and innovation as a key driver of long-term competitiveness.”

Canada’s societal well-being and future economic health depend greatly on our capacity to innovate and build a highly competitive advantage. This is a vision that 91��ɫ shares and will continue to foster in benefiting our researchers. With the sustained support towards higher education and excellence in research and technology, we will continue to work with the government to ensure the continuation of these vital investments – and to reinforce the need to invest equally in the ongoing development of fundamental research.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Workshop explores shared synergies in science & engineering

fmaquito — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Leading researchers, industry representatives and academics in science and engineering from Canada and India are gathering today at 91��ɫ's Keele campus as part of a two-day Canada-India Frontiers workshop, which will explore new developments in science and engineering

The first event of its kind, the workshop, which began yesterday and continues today, offers a forum for participants to share ideas, resources and technologies, and engage in discussions about current and future topics of importance to science and engineering in Canada and India.

Speaking at the workshop are Vijay Saraswat, scientific adviser to India's defence minister; William Selvamurthy, chief controller of research & development at India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO); David Kendall, the general director of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Professor Janusz Kozinski, dean of 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering.

Right: Janusz Kozinski

Over the course of the event, participants will be exploring shared synergies, knowledge and advancements in areas such as space exploration, nanosatellite technology, space robotics and disease modelling research. They will also be examining how to collaborate on a new project known as the Early Warning and Advance Response Network (e-WARN). Spearheaded by Kozinski, e-WARN is intended to detect, quantify and initiate an effective response to chemical and biological threats released in public buildings. Researchers from both countries will discuss and plan how to collaborate on the e-WARN project.

Attending the workshop from India are representatives from the DRDO, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, the University of Calcutta and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Also attending are researchers from 91��ɫ, the University of Saskatchewan, McGill University, Concordia University and Ryerson University, and representatives from the Canadian Space Agency, COM DEV International, Unique Broadband Systems, Microstat Systems Canada, Canadian Light Source, MDA Technologies, Xiphos Technologies and the Canada-India Business Council.

Other topics that are part of the workshop include advances in alternative energy, space science and engineering, advanced materials and instrumentation, and life sciences.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Emeritus Ronald Burke: What to say when your business takes a body-blow

fmaquito — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Your small business has just taken a serious blow – a key customer cancelled a big order for the fall. How do you deliver the bad news in-house? It’s best to take an upfront, honest approach, wrote The Globe and Mail Sept. 9.��

Share industry reports to support your case: “If the world is getting tougher, then provide documentation that shows how tough things are,” says Ronald Burke, professor emeritus, organizational studies, at 91��ɫ’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto. “You can say, ‘Here's the industry picture, and here's our company picture. Here are the changes going on, and the threats we are facing. We need to do more, with less, if we are going to survive this together.’”

Communicate that you, as owner-manager, are in the same boat: “It's critical for the person at the top to say, ‘I'm going to make sacrifices, too,’” says Burke, who is co-editor of a textbook titled Human Resource Management in Small Business: Achieving Peak Performance.��

Encourage employees to come up with cost-saving ideas: “Employees know how the business can save money and operate more efficiently,” says Burke. “I would certainly encourage them to find ways to cut costs without cutting people.” In this lacklustre economic environment, employees are keen to ensure the business's survival. “The job market is not that great,” says Burke. “People are interested in keeping their jobs, and making sacrifices is easier to pull off in a small business.”

Some cost-saving measures include short-term salary reductions, shorter work weeks and an end to merit pay. “There are a lot of ideas that a small business can tap into, without layoffs,” says Burke.��

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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