Connecting with Community: How Interdisciplinary Approaches Lead to Co-Created Solutions – Feb. 19 2025

Session Description

This roundtable event will explore how interdisciplinary and community partnered approaches to research lead to co-created solutions for societal and research impact. This session will showcase different types of interdisciplinary and community partnerships in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines including partnerships with non-profit organizations and government stakeholders. Attendees will gain insight into why, and how, these interdisciplinary partnerships were initiated. In addition, this session will also explore the value and importance of interdisciplinary and community partnerships to increase research and societal impact including: 

• Addressing local priorities for sustainable impact 
• Mutual learning between partners  
• Interdisciplinary problem solving to bring together diverse perspectives to tackle complex issues 
• Policy influence and change 
• Applied research training opportunities in the community for graduate students 

Following the panel discussion from faculty and community partners, there will be an opportunity for Q&A. 

Moderator: Barbara Fallon, Associate Vice-President, Research  

Panelists & Case Examples: 

How AI is being used to optimize the macronutrient content of pooled human donor milk for preterm infants 

• Timothy Chan, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives 
• Sharon Unger, Medical Director, Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank 

How remote sensing methods are used to develop automated land cover mapping for Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s jurisdiction to inform on-the-ground initiatives and decision-making  

• Yuhong He, Professor, Department of Geography, Geomatics, and Environment and Associate Vice-Principal Research and Innovation – Facilities, UTM 
• Lyndsay Cartwright, Research Scientist, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority 

Audience: Faculty members and their teams at the University of Toronto, both curious about, and/or experienced with, interdisciplinary and community partnerships who are interested in deepening their learning about collaborative approaches to research.