Advancing Canada's Research Partnerships 2026

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.

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.

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.

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

Responding to today’s societal needs while anticipating future challenges, Carleton 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.

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.

Global research shaping policy, equity, and practice Giving voice to those affected by forced migration and displacement is critical to inform more effective research, policy, and practice. James Milner, Professor of Political Science at Carleton, is leading a global group of partners that has been awarded $2.5 million in funding to support the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), which supports meaningful participation by those who have been displaced. This shifting role positions refugees not as subjects of research, but as active participants in decision-making processes, ensuring they’re at the table and that they collectively decide which research projects benefit them. To date, more than 250 advocates with lived experience of displacement have received training to participate in United Nations-led meetings.

Deepening academic cooperation between Canadian and South African researchers is getting a boost with a joint seed-funding initiative that’s

expected to launch this year, thanks to a formal agreement between South Africa’s National Research Foundation and Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. This agreement was signed at an event by the South Africa-Canada Universities Network—a network Carleton helped establish to support collaborative research, training, and dialogue in areas such as reconciliation, health, environmental sustainability, AI, and inclusive economic development.

The challenges we face locally and globally don’t stop at national borders, and neither do the solutions. It’s this idea that fuels Carleton and its dedicated interdisciplinary community of researchers.

“Carleton’s researchers are internationally recognized for their collaborations across Canada and the globe,” said Rafik Goubran, Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International). “Thanks to our growing partnerships, we can create solutions that shape a more sustainable and prosperous future.”

WRITTEN BY Ken Donohue

Solving Canada’s Productivity Gap

According to Productivity Now, a recently published paper by Humber Polytechnic, Canada’s productivity has been steadily declining since 2020. This trend affects living standards, wage growth, and national competitiveness. “Historically, education and productivity have moved in tandem, and that relationship has been one of the foundational assumptions of modern economic policy,” says Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, President and CEO of Humber Polytechnic in Toronto, Ontario. “With more than six in ten Canadians holding a post-secondary credential, we have one of the most highly educated populations in the world. That talent advantage represents an extraordinary opportunity for Canada. The question is how we translate that strength into stronger productivity, innovation, and longterm economic resilience.”

Polytechnics can drive economic growth

How are polytechnics are uniquely positioned to help Canada convert its talent advantage into economic growth? “Polytechnics are designed to move at the speed of industry by connecting learning directly to realworld problem solving and applied research directly industry needs,”

says Dr. Vaughan. “We generate world-class ideas, and with stronger pathways to scale them, we can translate innovation into meaningful economic impact.”

“This alignment allows polytechnics to respond quickly as the economy and labour market evolve rapidly. At Humber, we launched 45 new programs in the past year – each developed in collaboration with industry partners to equip graduates with high-demand skills in emerging sectors. These programs create new opportunities for learners while helping employers access the talent they need to grow, innovate, and scale.”

Through industry-driven programs, applied research partnerships, and the ability to adapt quickly to emerging technologies, polytechnics help translate knowledge into practical innovation and real-world economic outcomes.

Humber is a leader in industry research

Providing education to more than Providing education to more than 76,000 learners, Humber is Canada’s largest polytechnic and a national and global leader in applied research partnerships. In 2025, Humber ranked number one in Canada for industry research income and earned three top

distinctions in Research Infosource’s annual ranking of Canada's Top 50 Research Colleges.

Humber’s polytechnic model goes beyond the traditional academic focus of universities and the job-training mandate of colleges, offering a powerful third option: holistic, future-focused education designed to build knowledge, expertise, and skills in an economy where technological change is unfolding rapidly.

Research partners approach Humber with real operational challenges, while Humber’s expert faculty and students collaborate with industry partners to co-create solutions.

Through these collaborations, industry gains access to specialized expertise, student researchers, and advanced equipment through facilities such as Humber’s Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation (Barrett CTI). These partnerships accelerate innovation and shorten development cycles while giving our students the opportunity to work alongside leading Canadian companies tackling real commercialization challenges.

ship provided Furlane with access to senior-level engineering students, faculty expertise, and the Barrett CTI.

“Partnering with Humber’s research team probably saved us thousands of dollars in time and development,” says Furlane. “The students fully understood the process and had strong technical skills developed through their training in Humber’s program.

If we begin progressively increasing applied research funding to reach 10 per cent of overall research investment in Canada, it would supercharge technology adoption, economic diversification, and talent development.

Polytechnics help SMEs to implement

While SMEs form the backbone of Canada’s economy, many lack the R&D infrastructure needed to adopt emerging technologies. Partnerships with polytechnics fill that gap, as Grant Furlane, CEO, LocoMobi World Canada Inc. can attest.

Two years ago, he approached Humber for help in advancing the next generation of a robotic system to support parking and security operations. Funded through a National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grant, the partner-

We ended up hiring the two student leads last year after they graduated,” he says.

Furlane adds that partnerships between industry and post-secondary institutions have become increasingly important.

“When I first started my company, we didn’t have partnerships like this with colleges and polytechnics. Now that we do, it’s opening new opportunities for Canadian companies to innovate and grow.

Partnerships turn innovation into economic value

To accelerate technology adoption and innovation, Vaughan says Canada should enhance investment in applied research partnerships between industry and polytechnics.

“Applied research funding for colleges and polytechnics currently represents only a small share of total public research investment,” she says.

“Progressively increasing applied research funding to reach 10 per cent of overall research investment in Canada would significantly accelerate technology adoption, economic diversification, and talent development.”

Furlane agrees, adding: “I think there’s potential to see many more successful homegrown Canadian companies emerge because of polytechnics like Humber.”

WRITTEN BY Anne Papmehl