WHAT DOES RESEARCH AND INNOVATION MEAN TO YOU?

WE ASKED THE ASSOCIATE DEANS OF ORI, “WHAT DOES RESEARCH AND INNOVATION MEAN TO YOU?”

In SPARK Issue #3, we asked the directors of Humber’s Centres of Innovation what innovation means to them.

In this issue, we look inward and shift the spotlight to Tania Massa, PhD., Associate Dean, Applied Research & Innovation, and Dianna Dinevski, PhD. (abd), Associate Dean, Research & Development.

Read on to find out what they had to say.

What does research mean to you?

Tania: Research is about asking questions and going through an exploratory process to find solutions to the question. We're all researchers whether we are searching for deals online or applying the scientific method to investigate a novel biomaterial. At Humber College we work with industry and community partners to carry out research on real-world challenges and co-create solutions with our partners, students, faculty members and leverage our amazing facilities. Research enables a wonderful experiential learning opportunity for our students. They acquire skills that they can use in their careers such as problem solving, collaborating, report writing and presenting to stakeholders.

How do you define innovation?

Tania: Innovation is about applying the knowledge from a research process and putting it into practice. The "putting it into practice" can be in the form of new business models, products, services or processes.

Who is your favourite innovator?

Tania: My favourite innovator is Katherine Johnson. She was mathematician employed by NASA as a "human computer". Mrs. Johnson's research and expertise in complex analytical geometry enabled the calculations for NASA's first human space flight orbiting the Earth in 1961. She is impressive because this example and her many successes were accomplished under the US segregation laws. As an African American person, she was not allowed to attend her local university and had to travel over 200km to attend a university that would allow diverse students. At that time, NASA's workplace was also segregated with different offices, bathrooms and drinking fountains for people of color. Through her 30 years with NASA she fought to be named on research reports and participate in meetings. In 2015, President Obama awarded Mrs. Johnson a Presidential Medal of Freedom which is the highest civilian honour. A true innovator!

Tania Massa, PhD., Associate Dean, Applied Research and Innovation

About Tania

Tania Massa, PhD., is Associate Dean, Applied Research & Innovation, ORI at Humber College. Tania is responsible for the development, submission and administration of federal and provincial grants and other applied research initiatives. This includes sharing best practices on projects, partnerships and proposal development and successful project execution with faculty, students and partners. Tania has extensive experience designing, operating and strategically planning many innovation programs for post-secondary/industry collaborative research, youth entrepreneurship, seed funding, earlystage commercialization to innovation adoption in the public sector. These have resulted in innovation procurement, technology adoption, economic and talent development in the public and private sectors. Tania has held various roles at Ontario Centres of Innovation: Director, Industry-Academic Programs; Director, Innovation Procurement; Business Development Manager; and Technology Transfer Associate. Tania holds a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and a PhD. in Chemical Engineering, both biomedical collaborative options, from the University of Toronto.

What does research mean to you?

Dianna: Research is a unique opportunity to be at the cutting edge of new knowledge and new innovations every day. There is always an exciting research project taking place and it never gets boring. You work across interdisciplinary teams, faculties and industries. It can also be a bit risky as research is not a linear and guaranteed process; it does sometimes take iterations to solve the research problem fully; and herein lies both the highs and lows of conducting research. The benefit of research is it aims to advance the body of knowledge and propel forward to hopefully create something better, newer and improved. Research is also about curiosity, creativity and being able to work collaboratively and make progress in a responsible and ethical manner. To quote our Dean of Research & Innovation, Dr. Ginger Grant, "There are no mistakes...only research." [This] is key to is key to creating a research culture at Humber that can explore their research interests in a safe environment with the supports they need to advance and succeed. Lastly, research for me is about creating new value for the greater good and should be used to build stronger communities across the globe. Carpe diem.

How do you define innovation?

Dianna: Innovation is a beautiful opportunity to create something new or a better improved version of an existing product, process, or service. It is the opportunity to go through the systematic research process making iterative changes, sometimes frustrating and stressful, but with the hope and goal of effecting positive outcomes. Innovation is also about survival and sustainability, without it, we as a collective would not have evolved and invented everything that has been developed so far. It does entail risk and reward at the same time and it is an ongoing process to advance knowledge.

Who is your favourite innovator?

Dianna: My favourite innovator is Marie Curie, first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her discovery of polonium and radium for the use of radiation in medicine. She is also the only woman to win it twice in two different categories—1903 for Physics and 1911 for Chemistry. She was a fantastic role model and encouraged female students to study Physics and Chemistry. Her impact was she advanced radiation therapy and made it more acceptable for women to study science and be inventive. Her legacy and contributions to science will always be memorable.

Dianna Dinevski, PhD. (abd) Associate Dean, Research & Development

About Dianna

Dianna is focused on building capacity on specialized research and innovation projects including, but not limited to, the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL), Global Polytechnic Alliance, Humber Innovation Management Analytics Program (IMAP), as well as Humber Press which includes Humber SPARK and the Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE). Dianna is also dedicated to building a collaborative research culture and interdisciplinary research teams that support Humber’s Centres of Innovation and Communities of Practice (PhD. study group, BrightSpots and Aging in Place). Before joining Humber, Dianna worked for another Polytechnic Ontario College, UNCTAD (Switzerland), and RAI Trade (Italy). She is passionate about research and establishing Humber as a leader in research and innovation. Dianna holds a BA, MBA, MA and is wrapping up her PhD. Management–Leadership and Organizational Change (abd). On a personal level, Dianna enjoys cooking and volunteering with the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar (member since 2010).