Centre for AI & Society announces inaugural advisory board
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York University’s Centre for AI & Society (CAIS) unites York researchers who are collectively advancing the quickly evolving, impossible-to-ignore world of artificial intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on AI systems that address societal priorities in health care, smart cities and sustainability.
To help guide their groundbreaking work, CAIS co-directors Pina D’Agostino and James Elder have established the centre’s inaugural advisory board and named its members, who will generously donate their time and expertise to help CAIS conduct research that aims to improve lives and lead to a healthier and more just society.
Pina D’AgostinoJames Elder
“The members of the inaugural CAIS Advisory Board are leaders in Canada’s broad AI & Society community, with deep experience in the technological, entrepreneurial, legal and governance foundations of AI, as well as key application areas of health, mobility and sustainability,” says Elder. “CAIS is very fortunate to have their support.”
Johanne Bélisle, innovation policy advisor, formerly at World Intellectual Property Organization and former CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office;
Casey Chisick, partner and Chair of intellectual property and entertainment, media and sports law at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP;
Sven Dickinson, vice-president/head of Samsung AI Research Center and professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto;
Konstantinos Georgaras, commissioner of patents, registrar of trademarks and CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office;
Uma Gopinath, chief information officer at Metrolinx;
Nadine Letson, head of corporate, external and legal affairs at Microsoft Canada;
Aaron Rezaei, CEO at STIM Canada Inc. and general partner of Archangel Network of Funds;
Allison Sekuler, Sandra A Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Rotman Research Institute; president and chief scientist at the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education; president and chief scientist at the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation; professor of psychology at the University of Toronto; and professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University;
Altaf Stationwala, president and CEO of Mackenzie Health;
Elissa Strome, executive director of pan-Canadian AI strategy at CIFAR;
Graham Taylor, faculty member and Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for AI; academic director of Next AI; professor and Canada Research Chair at the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph; and
Julia Zhu, executive vice-president and chief digital and innovation officer of Alectra Utilities.
“I am so excited that we have assembled a stellar inaugural advisory board as we launch CAIS,” says D’Agostino. “With their guidance, CAIS is certain to lead in tackling the AI challenges we now face, and to play a constructive role in helping to shape the future of our society.”
To learn more about the centre, its members, and upcoming conferences and seminars, visit the CAIS website.
Lassonde’s digital technologies WIL program succeeding
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By Elaine Smith
The Lassonde School of Engineering’s new, paid work-integrated learning (WIL) program, the first in Canada, celebrated the successful launch of its first cohort – co-pioneers of a future where students can advance their studies along with their careers.
Eamon Ryan
In fall 2023, Eamon Ryan was one of the 17 students fortunate enough to be part of the first WIL cohort when he began working full time for BMO while taking a full course load in the Integrated Program in Digital Technologies at Lassonde. After four years of full-time work and studies, he will graduate with a bachelor of applied science in digital technologies, specializing in either cybersecurity, data analysis or software development. After earning a salary for four years, he should also have minimal debt and a resume filled with workplace accomplishments.
“The director of the program calls us pioneers,” said Ryan. “This program is pretty much everything I ever wanted when it comes to academics and work.”
Consistent with the popular maxim, it took a village to get this visionary program off the ground – not surprising, perhaps, since one of the themes of Lassonde’s Strategic Academic Plan is Building Success Through Partnerships. This WIL program grew out of Dean Jane Goodyer’s vision and encompasses partners in the corporate community, York University administration as well as Lassonde’s faculty and staff – especially those who will be teaching at the new Markham Campus and the Lassonde Educational Innovation Studio.
The program is just as new to employers as it is to the University.
“The employers’ comfort zone in Canada is with co-op terms and internships,” said Marily Molina, Lassonde’s business development manager. “They think of students as temporary; they are generally considered students first, employees second. We had to make this fit with student recruitment standards in Canada by offering employers the opportunity to hire students on a 12-month work term, which can be renewed on an annual basis. This gives employers the advantages of keeping the student in the same role or rotating them to other teams or departments based on business needs; saving them time in recruitment efforts and getting a higher return on investment in loyalty and retention.”
For faculty, the goal is to ensure that the students learn everything they would from a standard honours computer science program while balancing their work and personal commitments.
Kostas Kontogiannis
“It led us to countless hours of meetings with our colleagues at the Lassonde Education Innovation Studio,” said Professor Kostas Kontogiannis, director of the new program. “They advised us on pedagogical theories that suited this program and we combined that with our expertise to deliver the best possible result.
“These are completely new courses, because we have to keep pace with the workplace. We restructured the course sequence, their nature and how they fit together.”
The program runs year-round, with students adhering to their employer’s work calendar, although there is an 80/20 per cent split in their time, divided between work and blocks of time spent on campus. They are also allotted a half-day each week to work on course content.
The campus time is scheduled in blocks; after a three-week on-campus orientation, the students work in person with faculty for a week every month or two. While they are working, the students are also required to attend online lectures and complete assignments.
Luckily, they move through the program as a cohort, so they have support from their classmates as they study. They also each have a workplace mentor to ease their path in the working world as they adjust to being full-time employees.
“We’re building a culture where the students aren’t in competition with each other; instead, they are supporting each other within a true learning community,” said Jenny Peach-Squibb, a professional skills coach at Lassonde.
“We laid a solid foundation for them during their orientation block and they also went through employer orientation. In December, we heard from the employers that the time spent in onboarding really pays off.”
Peach-Squibb considers all the students in the program exceptional. They were first required to gain admission to Lassonde’s Digital Technologies program, before securing a job with one of the potential employers.
“I have always been a hands-on learner, so the program appealed to me,” said Ryan, who is enjoying the entire experience: the workplace, his studies and his financial independence. The program’s salaries align with the average salary for co-op students in computer science and engineering, generally $23 to $27 per hour.
“At work, my manager walked me through everything and left to let me try things myself,” said Ryan. “I’m not being micro-managed and I learn better doing the work independently, but I’m not left without supports. And, before, I was financially reliant on my parents, but now I have financial independence; I’m sharing an apartment with my brother.
“The courses created for the program are great and showcase our learning. They use standards-based grading, so it’s all about learning and mastering concepts.”
Larry Zhang
Larry Yueli Zhang, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and one of the nine faculty members involved in the program, calls it “an additive process.”
“Students have a set of standards to meet, and they condition their actions to meet those targets,” he said. “It gives us a much more refined picture of student progress and better data on student performance.”
Added Kontogiannis, “As they are compiling a portfolio of their work, some of it can be put toward achieving these standards and meeting learning objectives.”
If Ryan’s supervisor is a good barometer, it’s not only the students and faculty who are pleased with the way this groundbreaking program is unfolding.
“Eamon happens to be a young man who is exceeding our expectations,” said Sajal Kumar, a database security architect at BMO. “At this young age, he has demonstrated a lot of maturity, drive, interest and professionalism. In fact, I usually have to give him fewer instructions than the others in the group.
“He is still every bit as impressive as he was on day one. If he continues to keep himself so motivated, he will do very well in life.”
Molina will be connecting with both the students and the employers twice a term to get a better understanding of how the program is unfolding. The goal is to grow the program in the coming years.
“For employers, the program provides access to new talent pipelines and addresses workplace labour shortages,” said Molina. “By removing cost barriers, the Digital Technologies program is designed to increase access to education for a wider spectrum of students. It’s a win-win situation.”
BEST summer co-op offers insights into entrepreneurship
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By Elaine Smith
Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST), a Lassonde School of Engineering entrepreneurship program, offers students the opportunity to pursue their own startup venture or to spend a summer co-op term working with startup companies, contributing their technical expertise while seeing an entrepreneurial venture from the inside out. It is York University’s first entrepreneurial co-op program, allowing students to gain the knowledge and confidence to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
This past summer, 12 co-op students worked alongside six startup founders and had the opportunity to learn about building and running a business in their field. It was a meaningful opportunity to experiment with new ideas, take calculated risks, and learn from both successes and failures while tackling real-world business challenges.
“We’ve had this [co-op] opportunity since 2016,” said Maedeh Sedaghat, manager of the BEST program. “In summer 2023, we opened it up to students who were very keen in gaining entrepreneurial experience by working with one of the BEST startups but not sure if they wanted to complete the full 12-month work term requirement necessary for a Lassonde co-op program designation. This approach has expanded this learning opportunity to more students across Lassonde.”
Faiza Qaisar
Among those who spent the summer participating in the entrepreneurial co-op term was computer engineering student Faiza Qaisar, who worked with Pantheon Prototyping, a BEST startup that specializes in 3D modelling and additive manufacturing for technical applications like rapid prototyping. She helped to develop an automated quoting software that allows a customer to: upload a 3D printable file; specify various parameters like quantity and material; automatically evaluate the printability of the model and any issues that it may contain; and, finally, provide the prospective customer with a price for creating the item, whether it be a keychain or an automobile part.
“We had a four-person software team and we created a tool good enough to launch,” said Qaisar. “The company is building on it as their engineering capstone project, working to develop payment software.”
Since doing her co-op term, Qaisar has enrolled in some BEST entrepreneurship courses and has started her own entrepreneurial venture, producing recyclable stickers and merchandise for organizations and York Orientation, an idea prompted by her love of art, her engineering and programming skills, and her concern about the environment. Her first order, in fact, was from Pantheon Prototyping, the startup company where she did her summer co-op term.
“The BEST co-op kicked me onto my track and inspired me to be entrepreneurial,” said Qaisar. “It inspired me to keep doing my own project.”
Che Lorde
Mechanical design engineering student Che Lorde has also begun taking entrepreneurship courses through BEST after his summer co-op experience with HandiFuel, which advances accessible automated fuelling for mobility-challenged drivers. Lorde, who has a passion for 3D modelling and inclusive design, was chosen to lead a three-person mechanical team designing a way for drivers with accessibility issues to refuel their vehicles without leaving the driver’s seat.
“We wanted to make gas stations more accessible and break down barriers,” Lorde said. “To refuel a vehicle, it takes someone who is wheelchair bound an average of 12 minutes; we sped up the process to six minutes without requiring them to leave the car.”
Using an open-source design for a robotic arm, the team designed a claw that could access the fuel tank, remove its cap and use the gas pump’s nozzle to fill the tank. They worked within required constraints, including the necessity to avoid sparks in an environment with flammable gasoline present. It also meant doing research with potential users before designing, creating and testing the prototype.
“It was quite intense,” said Lorde. “We had four months to create a working prototype. There were times when things didn’t work and we had to reorient.”
Lorde is proud of his work, and he has also had his eyes opened to entrepreneurship. He dreams of using his design talents to contribute to inclusivity and has acquired many of the skills he needs to pursue this dream.
“The biggest takeaway for me is the importance of entrepreneurship in terms of engineering,” he said. “This co-op reassured me that what I’m doing is right for me. I also improved my soft skills in terms of communications, leadership and organizing my time, and I learned that in business, you have to understand your target audience. It’s a great experience, and having a leadership role is really helpful.”
BEST co-op terms are among the many and varied co-op opportunities available at Lassonde. All Lassonde students who have completed two years of study are eligible to apply. BEST startup founders review the applications, conduct interviews with the applicants and select their candidates.
“When we set up the Lassonde School more than 10 years ago, co-ops and entrepreneurship were key priorities and we were intent on joining these two things together,” said Richard Hornsey, associate dean, academic and students at Lassonde. “These co-ops give students a cutting-edge experience where everyone does a bit of everything and they are a realization of the founding priorities of Lassonde.”
Sedaghat highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship experience, especially in light of York’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, noting, “Promoting entrepreneurship is seen as a catalyst for positive economic and social change, fostering a culture of innovation, job creation and sustainable development.
“Entrepreneurship often involves the development and application of new technologies contributing to positive social change by tackling problems such as poverty, health-care disparities and environmental sustainability,” she said. The entrepreneurial mindset contributes to a culture of continuous learning, adaptability and risk-taking, which is even more crucial in today’s rapidly changing global economy.”
Lassonde’s BEST co-op program is only one of the Faculty’s transformative and enriching experiences for undergraduate students. Other opportunities include the UNHack and the BEST Startup Experience.
Creating accessibility through both research and training
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By Elaine Smith
If the Lassonde School of Engineering wants to illustrate Empowering our People with Perspectives, Tools and Knowledge, a theme from its new academic plan, they have a perfect example close at hand: the research lab run by Melanie Baljko, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
Melanie Baljko
Baljko’s Practices in Enabling Technologies (PiET) Lab and her students – undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral – focus their research on making life more accessible for people facing barriers and involve the users in designing assistive devices to ensure their needs are met. Many of her researchers actually are the very people who face barriers.
“We hire only students with lived experience, if possible, and find a way to let the research be led by these folks,” Baljko said. “All of us without disabilities can only be allies and create space.”
Although she knows of only one North American research lab led by a neurodiverse researcher, Baljko hopes the students who train with her will help increase those numbers.
“I’m taking the long view,” Baljko said. “This isn’t a five-year plan. If I train an undergraduate and they go on to graduate school and postdoctoral work, it will take time for them to become part of the system, and the system also has to be ready to receive them.
“There is a lot of ableism built into the system and it may require us to unsettle things and change the status quo.”
As she provides valuable training to students, they become immersed in designing solutions for disabled people, but they don’t simply jump in and pursue research they decide is a good idea. Such an approach, Baljko says, leads to a disability dongle – well-intentioned solutions that were never requested by clients and don’t actually address the problem at hand. Instead, they ask clients which problems they would like to see solved.
Foad Hamidi (photo credit: Research Graphics UMBC)
Baljko’s lab focuses on value-based digital media and digital technology design, paying particular attention to inclusion and social belonging. In one of the lab’s accessibility projects, Baljko and her students formed a partnership with a community-based organization in Kenya. Foad Hamidi, who completed his PhD research under Baljko’s supervision and is now an assistant professor in information systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was one of the researchers on the study.
“We wanted to see what factors would impact a do-it-yourself communication device for non-verbal children outside of Europe and North America,” Hamidi said.
The team used open-source technology-building kits and fashioned a simple device that could be used to create vocalizations for these non-verbal children. They brought the device to the community and had families work together to build similar units for their children.
“There were positive impacts,” Baljko said. “The children could use the devices at a special education school and the community came together to talk about the special education stigma, too.”
A major ongoing project, funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada and done in collaboration with Iris Epstein at the School of Nursing, Karen Swartz at Student Accessibility Services and external colleagues, is Accessibility in Educational Placement for Students with Disabilities. The researcher team is creating a toolkit that will enable people involved with student placements to find what is needed to support the inclusion of students with disabilities in placements.
“Students may face certain barriers in the classroom, but there are different challenges that come with going to a work site for placements, co-ops and work-integrated learning terms,” Baljko said. “Unfortunately, although people mean well, it often falls to the students themselves to raise awareness.”
Sarah Akhavan Kazemzadeh
Sarah Akhavan Kazemzadeh, a York computer science instructor, did her master’s thesis with Baljko in 2022 and has also been a collaborator on a number of PiET Lab’s research projects, including the design of assistive technology for a person with motor disabilities who is largely blind and deaf.
“It is basically a large screen that shows the letters of the alphabet,” said Akhavan Kazemzadeh. “The system scans through the letters and the person can press a button to stop it and choose a specific letter. It is a switch-activated writing system that this person has now been using for 10 years. She has gone to school with it and is now using it to write a book.”
Projects of this type have drawn interest from researchers elsewhere in the world. In 2023, for example, Baljko hosted an education event for her students and members of De Leidsche Fleisch, a study association for physics, astronomy, mathematics and computer science based at Leiden University, Netherlands, that aims to share knowledge and expertise with wider scientific communities.
No matter how many prototypes the PiET Lab creates, its motivation is sharing through open scholarship, not commercialization.
“The focus is on knowledge production, and the main outcome is papers and reports and open-source software,” said Hamidi. “However, if someone wants to take one of the ideas and turn it into a product, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, with assistive technology, you often need government support.”
Akhavan noted, “Melanie’s significant impact shines through her development of a switch-activated writing system, utilized consistently for over a decade by an individual with motor disabilities and sensory impairments. This prolonged use underscores the essence of true accessibility. By involving individuals in the design process, Melanie’s approach ensures practical, enduring solutions. Unlike costly assistive technologies that often fall short of users’ needs, Melanie’s methodology advocates for sustainable, collaboratively driven innovation.”
Indeed, for Baljko, the process is as important as the research outcomes.
“I want to create conditions to bring people with lived experience of disability to projects as co-designers,” she said. “It’s a participatory method that erases barriers and lessens power imbalances.”
The final word about Baljko and the PiET Lab goes to Akhavan Kazemzadeh.
“When you think about this, it’s amazing. Melanie has realized that neglecting accessibility is a global issue and there’s a lot of work yet to be done.”
World Health Organization extends Global Strategy Lab collaboration
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A World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) at York University’s Global Strategy Lab (GSL) – specializing in the global governance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – had its impact recognized with a four-year extension, and expansion, of its mandate by WHO.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses and other microbes – and the infections they cause – stop responding to the medicines designed to treat them. AMR has a profound impact on global health and development – especially in low- and middle-income countries. It contributes to an estimated five million deaths annually and rolls back progress on many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
GSL has emerged as a leader in addressing pressing global and public health challenges. In the area of AMR, GSL aims to use policy research to support evidence-informed decision-making by the world’s governments and public health institutions to ensure sustainable antimicrobial use.
Susan Rogers Van Katwyk
As a result, in 2019, GSL was designated the WHOCC on Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance. “Collaborating centres have a concentration of expertise that WHO recognizes as valuable to achieving their mandate,” explains Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, who is co-director of the WHOCC at GSL along with Steven Hoffman.
In the past four years, the WHOCC at GSL has played a critical role in supporting the WHO’s work on AMR policy and governance, resulting in its renewal for another four years. “It’s exciting to know that the WHO values our support and the work that we’ve been doing with them for the last few years,” says Rogers Van Katwyk.
While the WHOCC at York will continue its mandate of supporting evidence-informed AMR decision-making, its new mandate will include a greater focus on equity as it relates to policy and the governance of AMR. “A focus on equity is something that the Global Strategy Lab is committed to and we’re glad to have it spelled out in our mandate for the renewal term,” says Rogers Van Katwyk.
Among the additions the redesignation has brought to the WHOCC at GSL, Rogers Van Katwyk is especially excited about the greater emphasis on a “One Health” approach, which recognizes that human health, animal health and the environment are interconnected. “Most of our research at the Global Strategy Lab already includes that perspective. It’s where a lot of health research, especially around infectious diseases, is headed,” she says.
Following its redesignation, Rogers Van Katwyk believes the WHOCC at GSL has the potential to make a profound impact on the future of global health and sustainability. “We recently undertook a mapping exercise of how AMR impacts the United Nations SDGs. There’s almost none of them that aren’t impacted,” she says. “If we don’t address AMR, we’re not going to achieve the SDG on health and most of the other SDGs.”
Rogers Van Katwyk and her team are ready to support better AMR policymaking and governance for a healthier and more equitable future.
York hosts conference examining impact of AI on law
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Update: New information after publication of this article indicates the March 13 conference will now be held online only.
Leading legal thinkers from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School and beyond will gather to assess the seismic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the law during a special conference on March 13 sponsored by the Osgoode-based Jack & Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime & Security.
“I am delighted that this incredibly important discussion is being hosted at Osgoode Hall Law School,” said Osgoode Dean Trevor Farrow.
“Academics, lawyers, policymakers and the public are already heavily influenced by and reliant upon AI,” he added. “Osgoode very much sees itself at the centre of these discussions and innovations.”
By bringing together researchers with AI expertise across various fields of practice, conference speakers and attendees can engage with larger questions about law’s role in the regulation of emerging technologies, legal neutrality, ethics and professional responsibility, said Carys Craig, associate dean of research and institutional relations, who will speak on AI and copyright.
Carys Craig
“I’m very excited about this conference,” she said. “Osgoode is known for its thought leadership and critical, interdisciplinary thinking, which is exactly what is needed as Canada grapples with the rapid acceleration of AI across almost every facet of society.”
The featured speakers will also include Professor Barnali Choudhury, director of the Nathanson Centre.
“Although AI offers numerous opportunities to society, it also poses risks, particularly in relation to human rights and security,” Choudhury noted. “Lawyers should be well versed in these risks to ensure that AI use aligns with legal standards.”
Barnali Choudhury
The conference’s comprehensive examination of artificial intelligence will include the growing use of generative AI, which powers tools like ChatGPT, said Professor Valerio De Stefano, a co-organizer of the event and a panellist who will address today’s challenging issues around AI and work.
“The law will have to react to a lot of the challenges that arise from artificial intelligence in order for society to thrive on the opportunities that AI offers,” he noted.
De Stefano said that almost no area of the law will be left untouched, including criminal, copyright, labour and tax law. Conference speakers will also dig into the implications of AI for legal ethics, practice and education.
Valerio De Stefano
“It’s extremely important that lawyers, both academics and practitioners, start discussing how to react to all these new things that are coming out of the AI landscape – and this is the opportunity to do that,” he added. “There’s a lot of people at Osgoode that do top-notch, groundbreaking research on law and technology.”
Other speakers will include Professor Jonathon Penney, who will examine whether AI safety standards are really safe, and Professor Allan Hutchinson, who will discuss AI and law’s multiplicity. Rounding out the list of Osgoode experts are Professor Sean Rehaag, PhD student Alexandra Scott and Osgoode PhD alumnus Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, now a law professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
In the afternoon, De Stefano will chair a roundtable discussion on AI, due process and legal ethics. Panellists will include: Dean Farrow; Professor Patricia McMahon; Professor Richard Haigh; Glenn Stuart, the executive director of professional regulation for the Law Society of Ontario; and Professor Amy Salyzyn of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.
York entrepreneurs recognized by award, prime minister
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York University alumni Yemi Ifegbuyi (BA ’10) and Zainab Williams (BA ’07) are among the top three Black entrepreneurs named the winners of a startup pitch competition hosted by the Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA) founded by the Black Creek Community Health Centre in partnership with York University’s YSpace.
The competition, the inaugural BEA Investment Bootcamp Demo Day, is the final assignment of a four-month program run in partnership with YSpace for early-stage and capital-ready, Black-led startups.
The Investment Bootcamp program is aimed at supporting Black-led tech startups with training, mentorship and fundraising insights to secure early capital. With a community-driven approach, the program offers curated content and resources to support entrepreneurs through educational workshops, one-on-one coaching and peer founder circles, which provides a safe and open space for founders to connect and receive support.
The nine startup finalists in the BEA Investment Bootcamp program.
Applicants to the competition were narrowed down from the 17 Black entrepreneurs who participated in the program to nine finalists who pitched their businesses to a live audience at an event on Feb. 1 celebrating Black excellence.
The Demo Day event, which also marked the start of Black History Month, was attended by a number of government officials, including Filomena Tassi, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Judy Sgro, member of Parliament for Humber River – Black Creek, was also in attendance and was impressed by the entrepreneurs. “Witnessing the dedication and leadership of these young entrepreneurs has not only inspired me, but it reaffirms my belief in the incredible potential of our community’s future leaders,” she says.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who met finalists at a special event before the awards were announced, with first-place winner Yemi Ifegbuyi.
First-place winner Ifegbuyi will receive $5,000 toward his business, Cozii Technologies, an artificial intelligence-driven property management platform tailored to multi-unit landlords. Ifegbuyi immigrated from Nigeria about 15 years ago and received his degree in international development and urban studies at York as well as a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation. As a founder known for his entrepreneurial drive, Ifegbuyi is excited for the future as his business continues to grow.
“This fund will be channelled into our sales and marketing endeavours, with the goal of reaching and serving more small- and medium-scale rental property owners and managers,” he says. “It’s not just a cash prize. It’s an investment in Cozii Technologies’ vision to revolutionize the way we approach property management.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with second-place winner Zainab Williams.
Second-place winner Williams, the founder of Fundevolve Inc., a pioneering platform dedicated to empowering women in their financial journey, will receive $3,000 to further her company. Williams developed her passion for business while studying business administration and management at York. Born out of an investment gone wrong, Williams became an independent financial planner and was determined to empower individuals to make the right financial decisions. Her business is quickly building momentum as she works to further develop the web-based platform and equip women with the tools to take control of their financials.
“We plan to use the prize winnings for testing before launching our platform,” says Williams. “This investment in security ensures not only our project’s safety but also our users’ trust.”
Both Ifegbuyi and Williams cite the boot camp’s collaborative spirit as a contributor to their startup’s success. “Participating in the program has been a transformative journey,” says Ifegbuyi. “The unwavering support and mentorship we received are catalysts for long-term growth.”
Special guest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also attended a private event – where York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton was also present – held before the awards to meet the finalists and learn more about their businesses.
“Meeting Justin Trudeau was a great honour and opportunity,” says Ifegbuyi. “It symbolized the recognition of our hard work and the federal government commitment to supporting the Black entrepreneurial community. It’s a reminder that our efforts are making an impact, and it inspires us to continue pushing boundaries and striving for excellence in everything we do.”
Both BEA and YSpace offer several innovative programs and events for entrepreneurs at all stages, including curated programming dedicated to under-represented groups like Black entrepreneurs and women founders.
It’s been nearly a year since President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton and Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif announced that Connected Minds had received $105.7 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), the “largest single federal grant ever awarded to York.”
The cutting-edge program aims to bring together experts across eight York Faculties and three Queen’s Faculties to examine the ways in which technology is transforming society – dubbed the “techno-social collective” – and will work to balance both the potential risks and benefits for humanity. Some of the program’s proposed projects include explorations into a more inclusive metaverse, virtual reality and community organizing, neurotechnologies for healthy aging, Indigenous data sovereignty and how human brain function changes when people interact with artificial intelligence (AI) versus each other.
Doug Crawford
Since the funding announcements in early 2023, Connected Minds – the biggest York-led research project in the University’s history – has been busy. “As founding scientific director, it’s incredibly gratifying see the progress we have made this first year, thanks to the very hard work of our leadership team, dedicated staff and the support of our board of directors,” says Doug Crawford, who is also a Distinguished Research Professor and Canada Research Chair in visuomotor neuroscience.
In addition to seed grants and PhD awards given out, over the past 12 months, Connected Minds has expanded its roster of experts by onboarding 14 research-enhanced hires across York University and institutional partner Queen’s University. The new additions are part of the program’s efforts to attract and retain the best talent, as well as a fulfillment of its commitment to add 35 strategic faculty hires, research Chairs or equivalent levels of support to its interdisciplinary research ecosystem. The new Connected Minds members will benefit from support that includes $100,000 in startup research funding, salary top-up and/or teaching release, and a research allowance of $25,000 per year.
Connected Minds’ progress was also successfully commended by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat – which administers the Canada First Research Excellence Fund – during a site visit showcasing the various research units affiliated with the program, and the progress its made.
To further demonstrate the program’s – and York University’s – leadership in socially responsible technology, Connected Minds has also been organizing events, like the Introductory Meeting on Law and Neuroscience in Canada, which united experts from Canada and the United States for in-depth discussions on socially responsible research at the intersection of law and neuroscience at the renowned Monk School of Global Affairs in Toronto.
Giuseppina (Pina) D’Agostino
Connect Minds will also shortly host an event marking the culmination of its inaugural year: the Connected Minds Annual Research Retreat on Feb. 22 and 23. The retreat will unite members across diverse disciplines – including arts, science, health, law and more – to collectively shape the future of socially responsible technology. The goal is to help provide networking opportunities for members to get to know each other better and form the teams that will apply to grants and achieve the program’s long-term goals. It aims to do so through information sessions, active participation in shaping Connected Minds’ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) action plan, and connect with our research-enhanced hires, who will be delivering big-idea talks during the retreat.
The retreat will also mark another notable milestone: a transition in leadership. Crawford will be succeeded by Professor Pina D’Agostino, founder and former director of IP Osgoode and co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Society, where her expertise is frequently sought by government bodies to address the evolving intersection of AI and the law. Now, it will be applied to leading Connected Minds into what will promise to be another year of accomplishments.
“I am thrilled to be taking the program to the next level by building on the strong foundation we now have and engaging with all of our incredible partners and communities to work towards our goals of a healthy and just society,” says D’Agostino, looking ahead to how Connected Minds will continue to thrive and make contributions to interdisciplinary research.
Researchers share findings that could lead to better cancer care
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One of the hallmark characteristics of many cancers is a debilitating body- and muscle-wasting condition called cachexia, which affects the way the body processes food and absorbs nutrients. New research from the Faculty of Health – overseen by Professor Olasunkanmi Adegoke and PhD student Stephen Mora – looks to better understand the syndrome by asking the question: why do cachectic patients have impaired ability to use nutrients?
Olasunkanmi (Ola) Adegoke
Cachexia is caused by cancer itself (notably, the cancers of the lung, liver, pancreas, colon) and/or by treatment like chemotherapy. It results in significant weight loss, especially loss of muscle.
The condition’s associated body wasting is linked to poor food intake and loss of appetite, but even if patients do eat – introducing more nutrients and calories – the cachexia doesn’t go away. The condition not only can lead to poor quality of life for those affected but can impede effective treatment.
Adegoke and Mora’s research, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, aimed to better understand the hows and whys of cachexia in the hopes of leading to improved treatment for cancer patients.
Stephen Mora
Their research project studied what happened to skeletal muscle cells, known as myotubes, treated with a clinically relevant chemotherapy drug cocktail. They noted profound atrophy of these cells. A link to poor levels of amino acid – the building blocks for body proteins and therefore the strengthening of muscles – in these cells led the researchers to add amino acids. There was no improvement.
In process, however, they did identify a protein whose abundance was drastically reduced in the muscle cells treated with the drugs. The function of this protein is to transport amino acids into the cell, where they can then be used to make body proteins. Adegoke and Mora then manipulated the muscle cells so they would have high amounts of this transporter. This led to a profound – and promising – rescuing of the cells treated with the chemotherapy drugs.
Adegoke and Mora hope their findings provide data that may lead to the development of interventions that can limit or prevent cancer-associated wasting syndrome.
The research – which was funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada – builds upon Adegoke’s ongoing work, and expertise, in molecular mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle growth and metabolism.
York conference to advance AI for a healthy, just society
AI is changing the world rapidly and as it does, it is important to have conversations not just about how to develop and use AI, but what the most responsible ways to do so are.
This year’s Bracing for Impact conference – titled Shaping the AI Challenge for a Healthy, Just Society – looks to advance socially conscious AI by exploring what implications the technology’s advancement may have for improving society. The conference will focus on the rapid advancements and implications of AI, with the spotlight on the technology’s intersection with health, neurotechnology, intellectual property, regulation, data governance, the arts and more. This one-day conference will bring together a multidisciplinary audience to discuss how AI can help shape a healthy and just society.
Giuseppina (Pina) D’Agostino
“In 2017 when we first launched Bracing for Impact, AI was still somewhat far-reaching,” explains Giuseppina (Pina) D’Agostino, vice-director of Connected Minds, founder and director of the IP Innovation Clinic and co-director of CAIS. “AI is now here and many of us are still in a brace position, attempting to understand how this technology is intermingling with our daily lives with all of its benefits and challenges. Our conference brings together diverse voices essential to explore these critical issues for the benefit of a healthy and just society for all.”
The conference will bring together Canadian and international academics as well as legal, policy, and technology practitioners to speak to ways of shaping AI and its uses for social betterment.
The event is being held at OneEleven on 325 Front Street West in Toronto and is sponsored by Microsoft Canada. Student and professional rates are offered and include food and refreshments.
