Archives for September 11, 2024

By: Cormac Rea

A team of Summer Undergraduate Data Science (SUDS) scholars recently embarked on a transformative journey in their careers, utilizing a forward-thinking initiative between University of Toronto’s Data Sciences Institute (DSI) and Ernst & Young (EY) with funding support from Mitacs.

The data-driven EY Project, Leveraging Data Science to Build Consulting Specific Solution Offering, brought together three SUDS scholars to work on the project at EY during the summer. The project’s focus is developing data science go-to-market solutions for some of EY’s target industries, aiming to build AI-based assets intended for wider commercial application.

EY is a leader in assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services, harnessing data analytics and artificial intelligence to offer innovative consulting solutions. EY’s focus on industry-specific solutions is meant to generate broad economic benefits, improving market competitiveness and efficiency across sectors beyond those targeted in this project.

The SUDS EY collaboration showcases EY’s commitment to innovation through data science and also serves as a model for other companies considering similar collaborations.

“The quality and calibre of work by the SUDS scholars was outstanding,” said Shawn Sigesmund, EY Canada SAP National Practice Co-Leader.

“They hit the ground running with regards to their positive attitude and how they were able to so quickly and seamlessly fit into the EY workplace. The students immediately started adding value and contributing to delivering client work.”

Throughout the summer, the SUDS scholars applied their data science skills to EY’s project, gaining hands-on experience while simultaneously refining their technical and professional competencies. The SUDS scholars’ journey began with a data science bootcamp in May, providing them with essential technical skills, such as data analysis, machine learning, and visualization techniques. In addition to these foundational tools, they received professional development through the SUDS Cohort programming.

“The internship has greatly enriched my learning and career aspirations,” says SUDS scholar, Farah Mikati.

“The experience I gained has enhanced my skills and solidified my commitment to pursuing a successful career in the data science field.”

“I joked with everyone that the opportunity to work with EY and DSI felt like a gift from the sky,” said SUDS scholar, Minh Dang.

“It has significantly helped me grow my technical, interpersonal, and business skills in a professional environment.”

This collaboration is part of the larger DSI Mitacs initiative for Data-driven Decisions & Discovery: Innovation for Transformative Impact. This initiative highlights the growing importance of data science in industry and demonstrates the significant potential of industry-academic collaboration.

In addition to funds from MITACS, one of the key advantages of the SUDS-Mitacs partnership opportunity is the streamlined application process for fast-tracked projects. With DSI’s assistance, the application process for Mitacs funding has a remarkably fast turnaround time of just two weeks to receive project approvals after proposal submission to Mitacs. Companies benefit from this efficiency, allowing them to focus on innovation rather than administrative hurdles.

DSI also plays a critical role in finding a faculty supervisor for each Mitacs project, ensuring that interns receive the academic guidance necessary for success. These faculty connections can lead to long-term partnerships between companies and U of T researchers, opening the door to larger projects.

“This successful collaboration highlights the benefits of partnering with DSI for Mitacs projects. Companies gain access to top-tier talent through the SUDS, which offers rigorous technical and professional training,” highlights Sumaiya Hossain, DSI Partnership & Business Development Officer.

Is your company interested in leveraging data science for innovative solutions? Partnering with DSI through Mitacs is a strategic move that capitalizes on government funding to lower costs, which can yield immediate results and foster long-term growth.

Interested in learning more? Contact DSI today to explore how a SUDS-Mitacs collaboration can benefit your organization.

By: Cormac Rea

A complex entity full of grey matter structures that perform distinct functions and the white matter tracts that scaffold them, the human brain contains a vast puzzle of regions, interconnections and, sometimes, disconnections.

When we injure our brains at any age – or when breakdowns in connectivity occur in the brain – it is often a race against the clock for doctors, medical professionals and scientists to identify a root cause and initiate effective treatment.

For parents of newborn infants, this is an especially terrifying ordeal. Brain injury that occurs during birth or within immature newborn infants requires early and precise treatment to determine positive outcomes and avoid neurodevelopmental impairment.

A challenge for medical practitioners is to connect dots at speed between specific patient scans (ie. MRI etc.) and the broad existing data sets on various types of neonatal brain injuries.

Disconnectome – a Data Sciences Institute supported research software development project – is a handy desktop application that could be installed on a clinician’s computer and help speed up the process of identifying injury and appropriate treatment.

“One of the typical challenges in research software development is being able to package the software developed by the researchers in a way that makes it easy for others to use and run in a user-friendly way,” said Data Sciences Institute Senior Software Developer, Wisam Al Abed.

“My main task was to take the algorithms developed by the Disconnectome research team and build a desktop application with them that can be run with a click of a button. I built a simple user-friendly interface that is browser based that allows users to specify which MRI images they want to run the algorithm on as well as where to store the results.”

Co-led by scientists Steven Miller and Vann Chau (Neurosciences & Mental Health, SickKids Research Institute; Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto), the Disconnectome project was provided with access to a DSI professional research software developer.

“DSI funding offers an important opportunity to bring the research advances from quantitative MRI to the bedside – making the wealth of data generated from these images accessible to clinicians to promote the best possible outcomes for their patients,” said Miller.

The DSI Research Software Development Support Program supports researchers to refine existing software tools to improve usability and robustness, or to build new tools, disseminate research software beyond the research space in which it is created, and enhance existing functionality.

“We have had tremendous response from a wide range of research teams for our competitive calls for DSI support,” said Gary Bader, DSI Associate Director, Research and Software.

“This is clearly an important program to better support cutting-edge research, while fostering the collaboration, equitable and open science principles at the DSI.”

Learn more about the Research Software Development Support Program and how to apply for support. Deadline for 2024-2025 applications is October 18, 2024.