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Advancing Canada's Research Partnerships Q&A
WITH LEADING CANADIAN RESEARCHERS Mediaplanet sat down with three Canadian researchers in Canada to ask about the importance of investing in Canadian research and partnerships.
Michael Dixon
University Professor Emeritus at University of Guelph & Director, Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility
How important are partnerships between academia and industry when developing technologies? For the past few decades, the progress of research and technology development in Canada, especially in the agrifood industry sectors, has been fostered by university-industry collaborations. These provide an excellent context for technology transfer and training of highly qualified personnel. Without exception, these partnerships are critical to sustaining innovation.
Amanda Melin
Professor of Biological Anthropology, University of Calgary & Canada Research Chair in Dietary Ecology and Genomics
What first sparked your interest in studying primates and sensory perception, and how did that lead you to your current research focus? I was interested in the high frequency of red-green colour blindness (dichromacy) present in many monkey species, the impact of colour vision on their behaviours, and whether dichromacy and trichromacy (standard colour vision) might each offer distinct advantages. From here, I became increasingly interested in the role of all sensory systems, the genes and molecular mechanisms that contribute to sensory variation, and how the senses have evolved in humans and nonhuman primates.
Grant Bruno
Registered member of Samson Cree Nation (one of the Nations that makes up Maskwacîs, Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta, Canada) & Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, University of Alberta
Can you tell us about your research focus and what led you to study autism within First Nations communities? My research focuses on centering First Nations voices, experiences, and worldviews in how we understand and support autism and neurodiversity. I work with communities to ask what autism looks like through Indigenous lenses, how families experience assessment and services, and how systems need to change so supports are culturally safe and actually reachable. I was drawn into this work through my own family’s experiences with autism and the realization that very little research reflected the realities, strengths, and knowledge of First Nations families. That absence, combined with the harms of colonial systems, pushed me toward community-led research that is accountable to Nations and grounded in Indigenous data sovereignty and relational ethics.
RESEARCH WITHOUT BORDERS:
How Universities Drive Global Innovation
International research partnerships are driving innovation, advancing global knowledge, and helping universities address shared challenges across borders.
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esponding to today’s societal needs while anticipating future ch a l len ge s , Ca rle ton University is a research-intensive institution whose international research spans four areas of strength: heritage conservation, quantum technologies, refugees and migration, and African studies.
Advancing innovation through international partnerships Carleton researcher Mario Santana Quintero was recently awarded Canada’s first UNESCO Chair supporting the World Heritage Convention. In the context of climate change, his research under the Chair has a dual goal: harnessing digital innovation to protect heritage assets and advance global sustainability goals. Based at the Carleton Immersive Media Studio, Quintero is co-leading an international team of researchers at 16 institutions, spanning 6 contin-
ents. Incorporating methods from engineering, design, and architecture, an emerging approach to creating digital twins is being used to preserve global heritage assets using dynamic 3D virtual replicas to integrate diverse data streams. Quantum research is happening in over 30 different Carleton labs, with more than 100 researchers from diverse disciplines. To fuel this work, Canada and Finland launched a new strategic quantum partnership called the Northern Entanglement Partnership at Carleton. Quantum technologies will transform how we solve challenges, from ultra-secure communications to revolutionary advances in materials and artificial intelligence (AI), and Carleton is at the forefront of this transformation. The Canadian-Finnish partnership brings together researchers, government representatives, and industry leaders from both countries to advance strategic collaboration.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLETON UNIVERSITY
Accelerating knowledge gain The annual ETSI/IQC Quantum Safe Cryptography Conference is being held June 16-18 at Carleton University, and will showcase both new developments from industry and government and cutting-edge potential solutions coming out of the most recent research. In addition, the Ericsson-Carleton University Partnership for Research and Leadership in Wireless Networks is a collaborative effort that is driving innovation, training skilled workers and building more reliable, secure technology for the future of 5G wireless communications.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLETON UNIVERSITY
expected to launch this year, thanks to a formal agreement between South Global research shaping policy, Africa’s National Research Foundaequity, and practice tion and Canada’s Social Sciences and Giving voice to those affected by Humanities Research Council. This forced migration and displacement agreement was signed at an event is critical to inform more effective by the South Africa-Canada Uniresearch, policy, and versities Network—a practice. James Milner, n e t wo rk C a rle t o n Professor of Political helped establish to Thanks to Science at Carleton, is support collaborative our growing leading a global group of research, training, partnerships, partners that has been and dialogue in areas we can create awarded $2.5 million such as reconciliation, solutions that health, environmental in funding to support shape a more the Local Engagement sustainability, AI, and sustainable Refugee Research Netinclusive economic and prosperous development. work (LERRN), which future. T he cha l lenge s supports meaningful participation by those we face locally and who have been displaced. This shiftglobally don’t stop at national borders, ing role positions refugees not as and neither do the solutions. It’s this subjects of research, but as active idea that fuels Carleton and its dediparticipants in decision-making cated interdisciplinary community processes, ensuring they’re at the of researchers. table and that they collectively “Carleton’s researchers are internationally recognized for their decide which research projects benefit them. To date, more than collaborations across Canada and 250 advocates with lived experithe globe,” said Rafik Goubran, ence of displacement have received Vice-President (Research, Innovation training to participate in United and International). “Thanks to our Nations-led meetings. growing partnerships, we can create Deepening academic cooperation solutions that shape a more sustainbetween Canadian and South African able and prosperous future.” researchers is getting a boost with a joint seed-funding initiative that’s WRITTEN BY Ken Donohue
Rafik Goubran Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International), Carleton University
Learn how Carleton University’s research is making a global impact at research.carleton.ca. This article was sponsored by Carleton University.
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