PRO FILES

In May, Seneca received a $1 million federal grant renewal for professor Chris Tyler’s position as Industrial Research Chair for Colleges.

Q & A: On experience

Vanessa Williamson Dean, Applied Research and Innovation

Vanessa Williamson possesses an unmistakable tenacity and enthusiasm that befits her mandate to grow Seneca’s applied research portfolio. She came to Seneca from the Ontario Centres of Excellence, where she spent four years leading their business development and commercialization initiatives. Vanessa shares her insights on the new Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE), “intrapreneurship,” and the benefits of unplanned business ideas.

What can students learn from the successes and failures that come with applied research and entrepreneurship? Our students have come to learn that failure isn’t a bad word. Across the diverse applied research projects at Seneca, they learn how to deal with failure and that things don’t always work. They learn from their handson experiences. The role of Applied Research and Innovation is to make sure students experience that failure while still feeling safe and secure. We want them to understand that ideas won’t always work and that failure happens; it’s OK, and it’s important to stay on the horse.

What will the new CITE building mean for applied research and innovation at Seneca? We firmly believe that the best ideation happens when two conditions are met: One, students, faculty and industry collaborate in close proximity and, two, space is provided to let unplanned things happen. With CITE, we meet these conditions. Having a larger, open space, a dedicated makerspace, and having staff, faculty and students work more closely together—while opening our doors to the community—will transform how Seneca does business and supports our local economy.

What is one of the ongoing applied research projects you are most excited to be supporting? Medical Confidence, a York Region-based company that matches medical specialists and patients, was looking to scale their business, and they came to Seneca for support. Under the leadership of Seneca Professor, Dr. Sunny Shi, our students are learning a leadingedge programming language, Python, and collaborating with industry to solve operational and technological challenges. Our industry partner has raved about working with our students and faculty, and those students are gaining skills and experiences that may define their careers.

You have a background in entrepreneurship. How has it changed over the last decade, and how do you see it transforming in the coming years? What you’re seeing across a number of different sectors is a major trend toward embracing entrepreneurship and its associated philosophies. Not only has the number of people who are willing to launch a business increased but organizations are encouraging “intrapreneurship,” through which employees drive changes within their own companies. Entrepreneurship skills are proving to be totally transferable and not just limited to those looking to launch their own businesses. It’s now about expanding horizons and scaling up your business concept, whereas previously entrepreneurs might have only considered how their ideas could apply to their local communities. Young entrepreneurs will now be thinking about how their ideas can be optimized to compete in the global marketplace and serve the largest possible number of customers. The future possibilities for entrepreneurs are truly limitless.