Psychology鈥檚 Aaron Newman says that when he arrived at Dal, he found a huge openness to cross-faculty collaboration 鈥� particularly with clinicians.
鈥淸They] had lots of really interesting ideas and burning questions about how we could use the kinds of technologies and expertise that I had in the clinic with patients,鈥� says the assistant professor. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 trained to think about how to apply what I knew in these kinds of settings, and as I started doing that, I realized there was an opportunity to train others.鈥�
This is where CREATE comes in. The Collaborative Research and Training Experience program, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), trains students and postdocs from Canada and abroad in interdisciplinary research, industry collaboration and entrepreneurship 鈥攊n other words, the very skills needed to take research from idea to application.
On Wednesday, the Life Sciences Research Institute was host to the first DalPower breakfast: an opportunity for government, industry and Dal leaders to start their day by learning about just some of the exciting research collaborations happening on campus. The inaugural event, in support of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada鈥檚 鈥淥pen Doors, Open Knowledge: Putting Ideas to Work鈥� initiative, focused on highlighting Dalhousie鈥檚 CREATE projects.
The university has been remarkably successful when it comes to CREATE grants. Dal has secured a new program each year there鈥檚 been a competition 鈥� five in total 鈥攁nd is currently ranked fourth in the country for the most programs at a single institution.
鈥淭hese grants help bring Canadian and international students to Nova Scotia and encourage collaboration between industry and academia,鈥� said Dal President Tom Traves, speaking at the breakfast. 鈥淐REATE give us a pool of highly-qualified personnel here in the province that have strong research training, combined with industry involvement, entrepreneurial training and international experiences.鈥�
Creating scientist-entrepreneurs
Dr. Newman is the program director for , a CREATE grant that stands for 鈥淩ehabilitative and Diagnostic Innovation in Applied Neurotechnology.鈥� With fellowships, certificate programs and an intensive two-week summer institute, RADIANT鈥檚 goal is to train neuroscience students to push the envelope in developing new diagnostic applications.
The phrase that Dr. Newman uses to describe these students is 鈥渟cientist-entrepreneurs鈥�: graduates who have a firm grounding in neuroscience, but who also understand how to bridge the gap between science and technology, and between research and application.
鈥淭he business knowledge is something you don鈥檛 always get in a regular masters or PhD program outside of a business school,鈥� says Andrew Clouter, a master's student with RADIANT who is researching cognitive rehabilitation. 鈥淏ut just as important is learning how to discover real-world needs and problems that you want to find technology solutions for.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the needs-based approach that鈥檚 so great,鈥� says Ian Westhaver, another master's student with a different Dalhousie CREATE project called : Biomedical Technology, Innovation and Commercialization. Led by Program Director Cheryl Kozey, it focuses on developing innovative technologies for health and medical research.
鈥淩ather than simply pursuing science for the science alone, we鈥檙e looking at the needs prior to entering into the research phase,鈥� adds Westhaver.
The power of collaboration
The three other CREATE grants highlighted at the DalPower breakfast were:
- (Dalhousie Research in Energy, Advanced Materials and Sustainability; program director: Mary Anne White)
- (Systems Training and Education in Water Assets Research and Development; program director: Graham Gagnon)
- (Applied Science in Photonics and Innovative Research in Engineering; program director: Michael Cada)
Though all these programs are unique, they share several features. All involve interdisciplinary research and education, connecting faculty and students from across departments and disciplines. They are based around industry application and collaboration, connecting Dal research with international companies, local startups, and businesses of all sizes in between. And their educational programs and internships train students in business planning, entrepreneurship and product development.
鈥淥ne of the things that people don鈥檛 always understand is that the majority of students with PhDs do not continue working in the academy; they go into the private and public sectors,鈥� noted Martha Crago, Dalhousie vice-president research. 鈥淯niversities have needed to catch up with that phenomenon, and these are examples of how we鈥檙e doing that.鈥�
Dal鈥檚 most recent CREATE grant, ASPIRE, is continuing the university鈥檚 success with the program: it was selected by NSERC as the top CREATE application last year.
Learn more about CREATE at the .