On April 11, Durham College (DC) held its ninth annual Research Day, a dynamic display of the innovative work being done on campus and in the community by DC faculty, student researchers and industry and community partners. Hosted by the college’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), the event is aims to raise awareness of the important role and impact applied research has on the community and showcases the experiential learning opportunities it creates for students.

The Student Project and Venture Showcase was a new addition to the event, comprising more 30 student exhibits, where attendees had the opportunity to meet the talented students, interact with their work and support DC’s student entrepreneurs.

This year’s event also included the following three student competitions, which saw competitors pitch to panels of expert judges to compete for cash prizes and passes to the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery conference as well as mentorship and additional support from college and industry resources:

• AI FastStart Challenge, highlighting the application of AI in new and innovative business applications.
  First place: Keenan Binnie-Cormier
  Second place: Gregory Barnes
  Third place: Julie Charlesworth
• Food Foundry Entrepreneurship Challenge, highlighting entrants from the new FastStart Food Foundry food-business incubator.
  First place: Mahmoud El Maaraoui (Pop Kefir Soda)
  Second place: Alexandria Gillis and Jennifer Butt (Zenergy Grass Ruts)
  Third place: Brad Abel, Patricia Revita and Ibing Maharlika (Vinn Art)
  Third place: Kuljeetkaur Dhanda (Flaxible Bites)
• 3MARC Challenge, a three-minute applied research communication competition where students were challenged to present compelling orations of their research work.
  First place: Ramandeep Rathore
  Second place: Farzeen Daruwala
  Third place: Taylor Richardson

In addition to the AI, tech and entrepreneurship on display, Research Day 2019 also highlighted applied research in diverse areas including gerontology, social services for youth experiencing homelessness and precision and resilience training for firefighters.

See full program including descriptions of breakout sessions and student projects on display.