It was a morning of information sharing and celebrating applied research as Durham College’s (DC) Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship hosted its eighth annual Research Day at the college’s Oshawa campus on May 3.

This dynamic showcase of DC faculty, student researchers and industry partners introduced participants to the college’s newest research centres: the AI Hub and the Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation, while also highlighting applied research projects currently underway in areas of significance to the local and provincial economies.

Graham Binks, CEO of primeFusion Inc., was on hand to provide the keynote address, discussing how innovation takes flight when it is turned into action. He shared examples and techniques for collaboration between researchers and business leaders, so they can identify and achieve the most valuable results.  

The event also featured a demonstration of the artificial-intelligence enabled home health care solution from ORSIE industry partner iCare Home Health Services, called Health Espresso, which is the first of its kind in the world. As one of the first partners to collaborate with the college’s AI Hub, and with the support of a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, DC and iCare have been collaborating to bring advanced AI features to Health Espresso, which is a global tracking device for distant healthcare delivery.

The event concluded with an awards presentation announcing the winners of the 3MARC and AI Entrepreneurship challenges, which took place earlier in the morning, as well as the Researcher Award of Excellence.

3MARC is a three-minute applied research communication challenge where students who are engaged in applied research competed by delivering a compelling presentation about their research work. They had to consolidate their research and research outcomes concisely for a non-specialist audience to demonstrate their ability to communicate the importance of their research project and articulate their findings.

• In first place was Justin Waltenbury, a second-year student in the Computer Programmer
• In second place, Matthew Wierzbicki, a third-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst
• In third place was Nicholas Carpenter, also a third-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst program.

The AI entrepreneurship challenge is a pitch contest designed to highlight the power of AI in unique and innovative business applications. Entrepreneurially minded students presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges and competed for the cash prize we are about to award, as well as support from the FastStart team.

• In first place was Sylvia Raposo, a second-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst program.
• In second place, Julie Doucet, a first-year student in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business – Business
• In third place was Gregory Barnes, a second-year student in the Electromechanical Engineering Technology

This is also the first year the Researcher Award of Excellence was given out, in recognition of an outstanding employee who contributes to the college’s culture of research. Nominations were so strong, two recipients ended up being selected for 2017-2018. Congratulations to Dr. Michael Williams-Bell from the School of Health & Community Services and Dr. Lynne Kennette from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, on your achievement.