Communication

Research area: This project lies at the intersection of participatory research, qualitative methods, communication science, and implementation. Working alongside people with lived and living experience (PWLE), academic researchers, and knowledge mobilization experts, our team aims to understand how communication shapes meaningful partnership in research. The project will explore communication barriers and facilitators within participatory social science research and translate these findings into practical communication strategies to support equitable and authentic collaboration.

Student roles:
The two interns will function as active members of the research team and collaborate throughout the internship while taking ownership of specific project activities. Their primary responsibilities will involve supporting the analysis and interpretation of qualitative interview data collected from academic researchers and PWLE involved in participatory social science research.

Students will review interview transcripts, participate in coding and thematic analysis activities, contribute to discussions regarding the interpretation of findings, and assist in identifying communication barriers and facilitators that influence meaningful partnership. They will work with the research team to translate findings into practical recommendations by helping map communication challenges to potential communication strategies informed by motivational interviewing principles.

Time permitting, interns will also contribute to the development of prototype communication resources and knowledge mobilization products, including plain-language summaries, visual materials, website content, and presentations. Depending on project timelines and interests, students may also assist in preparing materials for co-design activities and refining communication tools based on knowledge-user feedback and the eventual peer-review publication.

Throughout the internship, students will receive mentorship from faculty members and graduate trainees and participate in regular team meetings focused on methodological learning and professional development. They will gain practical experience in qualitative analysis, participatory research, communication science, and knowledge mobilization. By the end of the placement, students will have contributed to tangible outputs with the potential to improve how researchers and community members work together in participatory research settings.

Skills required:
Applicants should have strong English reading, writing, and verbal communication skills, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to think critically about qualitative data and research findings. The ideal student will be dependable, proactive, intellectually curious, and eager to engage in the research process. They should demonstrate initiative, follow through on commitments, communicate professionally, and be comfortable navigating new challenges and occasional ambiguity while seeking guidance appropriately. Prior experience with qualitative methods, thematic analysis, participatory research, literature reviews, or knowledge mobilization is an asset but not required. Students should be comfortable working both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.

Research area: Anne F. MacLennan, Associate Professor, York University and editor of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media is writing "Programming, Practices, Production, and Policy: Canadian Community Radio.” Her recent book is Seeing, Selling, and Situating Radio in Canada, 1922-1956 with Michael Windover. She has published in the Journal of Radio & Audio Media and Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, The Radio Journal, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Urban History review and other collections. She researches media history, community radio, popular culture, women, social welfare, poverty and cultural representations. Recent work: “Forming Networks: National Radio Networks − Public, State, and Commercial”.

Student roles:
The student research interns will focus on various aspects of this research such as discovering archival sources available worldwide. These sources will allow for an examination of the many media including radio, television and digital media. Students will work with the archived materials to document and track the different perspectives and analyzing the content of the contemporary interviews and placing them with a historical, contemporary, technological and global context. Students will conduct archival, administrative, policy research, and possibly even conduct interview with contemporary innovators to compare this groundbreaking sense that continues to pervade this industry. It is possible the student research intern may conduct interviews with contemporary broad innovators from all over the world so a language in addition to English would be an asset.

Skills required:
The role and responsibilities of the student include the collection of the project sample, including interviews, programming samples and transcribing interview primarily. The research intern will also collect news articles and related archival and microfilm materials, library searches and the completion of a literature review, and collaborative work with a large team of undergraduate students, graduate students, the management of files, materials and data, analysis of collected sample material, website maintenance, time sensitive material prioritized by deadline for upcoming academic conferences and articles, and any other related research administrative duties.

Research area: My interests lie in integrated circuit (IC) design, microelectronics, and MEMS, with a focus on data converters, neuromorphic computing and wireless communication circuits.

Student roles:
Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern wireless communication systems, from smartphones and IoT devices to satellites and military applications. Unlike traditional radios, SDRs offer unmatched flexibility by implementing modulation, demodulation, and signal processing in software, allowing a single hardware platform to support multiple communication standards. However, the analog front-end—including critical blocks such as LNAs, mixers, and oscillators—remains a key bottleneck in terms of performance, reconfigurability, and power efficiency. As the number of frequency bands and communication protocols continues to grow, there is a pressing need for high-performance, low-power, and reconfigurable front-end circuits tailored for SDR applications. This project addresses this challenge by leveraging AI-assisted design techniques to accelerate and optimize the development of CMOS RF front-ends, enabling the next generation of agile, compact, and energy-efficient radio systems.

The student will design one or more CMOS analog RF front-end blocks for software-defined radio (SDR) applications, using established topologies as a starting point. The work will begin with the analysis and simulation of known front-end designs to understand their trade-offs. The student will then implement and adapt a selected topology in Cadence Virtuoso, making it fully parametric using scripting. A Python-based AI optimization tool will be connected to this flow to automatically adjust key parameters and improve circuit performance through iterative simulations. This project will provide the student with practical experience in analog/RF front-end design, simulation automation, and the use of AI techniques to accelerate the design process.

Skills required:
- Basic knowledge of analog circuit design (CMOS)
- Experience with Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre (or willingness to learn)
- Python programming (or willingness to learn)
- Curiosity about AI and circuit design automation

Research area: I am an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Montreal, specializing in social media studies, digital platforms, and networked publics. I am currently leading two major projects: one on digital sovereignty and the other on various forms of digital resistance. More generally, my work focuses on the ideological and political dimensions embedded in the design of digital infrastructures and technologies. For example, I have published research on topics such as open-source software, hackers, and collaboration on Wikipedia.

Student roles:
The student will be expected to take on three main roles:

1) Contribute to the collection of public documents addressing the themes of digital resistance and sovereignty, particularly in North America, in both English and French (depending on the selected candidate’s language skills).

2) Conduct semi-structured interviews with individuals identified by the research team, transcribe them, and carry out a preliminary analysis.

3) Actively participate in the life of the lab by taking on tasks related to outreach and publishing content on social media and the lab’s website, focusing on topics connected to the research themes.

Skills required:
Education in a social sciences field
Knowledge of qualitative research methodologies
Interest in teamwork
Ability to work with various digital tools
The following skills are considered assets, but are not required:

Interest in digital issues, social activism, and free/libre software
Good oral and written communication skills in French
Knowledge of quantitative research methodologies

Research area: Dr Charity Marsh (she/her) is Professor in Creative Technologies, Director of GENerate Collaboratory. As a community researcher, she produces collaborative hip hop and interactive media projects; hosts the AMPLIFY (formerly Girls Rock Regina) rock camps; and offers accessible, interactive community programming in the IMP Labs. Her research focuses on popular music, hip hop cultures, gender and technology, media arts, and activism. Marsh is co-editor of We Still Here: Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel, director of the award-winning documentary, I’m Gonna Play Loud: Girls Rock Regina and the Ripple Effect (2021).

Student roles:
Students will be required to perform the following tasks under the supervision of Dr. Marsh: follow up online data collection from specified sites that are remaining for year 3 of the project; any new literature review of materials outlined by Dr. Marsh; assist with AMPLIFY camp set up (only in Regina site) during July 2027; assist with knowledge dissemination and translation - creating presentations, updating research website, possibly editing audio for podcast, and video editing.

Skills required:
Student should be able to efficiently do the following tasks: online data collection from specified sites; literature review of materials outlined by Dr. Marsh; assisting with AMPLIFY camp set up (only in Regina site) during July 2026. Experience in audio/video recording, audio editing, photography, or experience with website design/revisions is an asset, but not essential.

Research area: Dr Charity Marsh (she/her) is Professor and Head of the Department of Creative Technologies and Design and Director of the GENerate Collaboratory. As a community researcher, she produces collaborative hip hop and interactive media projects; hosts the AMPLIFY (formerly Girls Rock Regina) rock camps for children and adults; and facilitates accessible, interactive community programming in the IMP Labs. Her research focuses on popular music, hip hop cultures, gender and technology, media arts, community arts activism, and audio recording. She is editor of We Still Here: Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel and an award winning film maker.

Student roles:
The student will be assisting with the following:
an environmental scan of all works (scholarly articles, media, artworks, design) related to the research questions, subject area of the project;
supporting the creation of audio/sound work for the project;
co-designing podcast episodes as related to the research and creative reserach;
supporting group projects with research team members.

Skills required:
Student should be able to efficiently do the following tasks: online data collection; literature review of articles, media, and artistic works that are related to the research questions; have experience working with audio recording, audio editing, podcasting and/or other sound design work (sound art, gaming, etc.). Website design/revisions is an asset, but not essential.

Research area: Anne MacLennan, Associate Professor, York University and former editor of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media is researching podcasting and in particular mental health podcasting.. Her recent book is Seeing, Selling, and Situating Radio in Canada, 1922-1956 with Michael Windover. She has published in the Journal of Radio & Audio Media and Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, The Radio Journal, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Urban History review and other collections. She researches media history, community radio, popular culture, women, social welfare, poverty and podcasting. Her recent work researches a wide range of podcasts.

Student roles:
The student research interns will focus on various aspects of this research such as the literature review, content analysis, frame analysis, and critical discourse analysis as well as collecting sources available worldwide. These sources will allow for an examination of the media including podcasts, social, and digital. The sample collection of podcasts will support content analysis to identify not only the topics and communities but also the genres of podcasts in terms of the formats and content. Students will work with legacy and social media materials to document and track diverse perspectives and analyze the content of contemporary interviews to place them in historical, contemporary, technological and global contexts. Narrative, frame, and critical discourse analysis will be employed to examine the testimony and advice that form part of podcast. Students will conduct archival, administrative, and sample research to highlight the crucial changes in mental health discussions over the last two decades. The student researcher will be analyzing sources and data from an international sample, so a language in addition to English would be an asset. The student will be essential to the progress of the research project, and the position is part of a large research team, in which students will be expected to work alongside the principal investigator, researchers, and other students associated with the project. The checks and balances of working on a team will keep the student on track. Working within a team and with graduate students, undergraduate students, and the principal investigator is a necessary skill for this project.

Skills required:
The student will need to be adaptable to working on a research team with the principal investigator, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Being able to effectively work on a team and independently will be important. The research intern will be trained to conduct new methodologies, so it’s not required that they know all the methodologies we employ when they arrive, but they should be open to learning new methods. The student must be able to ask questions, be mindful of deadlines, and be willing to work. The research intern must be able to comprehend, listen to, and hear the podcasts.

Research area: I specialize in Spanish language pedagogy, digital learning, and Mexican and Latin American literature, with a focus on gender and sexuality studies. My work explores innovative approaches to language teaching and learning through digital technologies while fostering intercultural competence and critical engagement with diverse cultural perspectives. My research interests include contemporary Mexican and Latin American cultural production, representations of gender and sexuality in literature and media, and the role of storytelling in shaping identities and communities.

Student roles:
Interns participating in this project will contribute to the production, dissemination, and public engagement components of the podcast. One of the primary goals is to develop practical skills in video recording, audiovisual production, and editing by creating high-quality podcast episodes and accompanying video content. Interns will be involved in planning and conducting interviews, preparing episode materials, recording and editing audio and video content, creating subtitles and transcripts, and ensuring the accessibility and quality of published episodes.

In addition, interns will gain experience in social media communication and digital marketing by designing promotional materials and producing content for platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn to increase audience engagement and expand the project's reach. Responsibilities may include developing content calendars, creating short-form video clips and promotional graphics, writing social media copy, monitoring audience engagement, and analyzing digital metrics.

Skills required:
• Native or near-native proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese, with strong oral and written communication skills. Knowledge of English (at least B1 advanced level of the CEFR) is required to facilitate communication within the Canadian context and support bilingual or multilingual content development.
•Experience with video production and editing, including recording, editing, and post-production of audiovisual content. Familiarity with software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, Canva, or similar digital media tools.
• Interest in Latino cultures, migration, multilingualism, intercultural communication, and community-based initiatives.
• Strong organizational and collaborative skills and social media experience.

Research area: The intern will be involved in qualitative research and the study of vulnerable populations and their lived experience. This area of research will look at data that is shared through qualitative data collection and how this data can be made open to allow for secondary data analysis.

Student roles:
The student will work closely with the project PI, Dr. Kateryna Metersky, on each aspect of the project. The student will be engaged in registering the scoping review protocol and preparing a protocol for publication in an academic journal. Then, the intern will spend the majority of their time conducting a review of the literature on the topic and working with the PI on putting together a manuscript of the findings. Particularly, the intern will be educated on how to conduct a JBI scoping review, how to work with databases to collect relevant literature, how to review the collected literature for inclusion based on inclusion criteria, how to subject the literature to thematic analysis and produce a manuscript of the findings. The intern will also be mentored on conference abstract writing and preparation of presentations for knowledge dissemination. The student is required to have the willingness to be mentored and a curious mind as the PI is committed to providing the student with extensive learning opportunities.

Skills required:
No previous research experience is necessary for this project, although previous experience is considered an asset. Previous experience with qualitative research, scoping reviews, and literature reviews including experience with health sciences database searches, thematic analysis, protocol and manuscript writing as well as abstract writing and conference presenting are beneficial, but not necessary. The student has to be attentive to detail, timeline oriented and punctual with completing assigned tasks.

Research area: Mes travaux de recherche s’inscrivent dans les domaines de la désinformation, de la mésinformation, de l’éducation aux médias et à l’information, ainsi que de la gouvernance et des encadrements juridiques du numérique. Je m’intéresse également aux stratégies de communication étatique et aux mécanismes de diplomatie publique visant à renforcer l’influence des États sur la scène internationale. Mes recherches actuelles examinent plus particulièrement les pratiques de consommation de l’information en ligne, les dispositifs de lutte contre la désinformation et l’intégration de l’intelligence artificielle dans les pratiques journalistiques.

Student roles:
Dans le cadre de ce projet, l’étudiant ou l’étudiante participera à différentes étapes du processus de recherche, notamment :
- la collecte des données sur les médias sociaux Facebook et TikTok ;
- la réalisation des entrevues ;
- l’analyse et la vérification de l’information ;
- la participation aux réunions de l’équipe de recherche et aux discussions entourant l’avancement du projet.
L’étudiant ou l’étudiante travaillera en étroite collaboration avec la responsable du projet et bénéficiera d’un accompagnement régulier tout au long de son implication. Cette expérience lui permettra de développer des compétences pratiques en recherche empirique, notamment en collecte et analyse de données, tout en contribuant à l’étude des pratiques informationnelles des personnes immigrantes dans le contexte numérique actuel.

Skills required:
Formation : Être actuellement inscrit(e) en dernière année de licence en communication, journalisme, sciences de l’information ou dans un domaine connexe.
Compétences requises :
- Maîtrise des techniques de collecte de données sur les médias sociaux, notamment Facebook et TikTok (capture et organisation des contenus, notions de base en scraping ou en utilisation d'outils de veille)
- Bonne compréhension des phénomènes de désinformation et de mésinformation, de leurs mécanismes de production et de diffusion en ligne
- Capacité à distinguer les contenus fiables des contenus trompeurs, et familiarité avec les méthodes de vérification de l'information (fact-checking)

Research area: My specialized research area is organizational communication. More specifically, my research is grounded in a constitutive approach of communication that considers this latter as the key process through which organizations are created, maintained and transformed. Methodologically speaking, I have developed expertise in organizational ethnography, in which I combine a series of ethnographic approaches (autoethnography, at-home ethnography, engaged ethnography), as well as methods (shadowing, participant observation, interviews). My research interests revolve around three themes: the communicative constitution of fragile organizations, such as voluntary and community-based organizations; the interlocking of organization and disorganization; and epistemologies of the South, specifically Latin American espitemologies.

Student roles:
The students will assist in the research project mainly in analysis and publication. More specifically this will imply: a) a bibliometric analisis of the academic production in organizational communication in LA; (b) documentary analisis of regional and national development of the field in LA.
Furthermore, the students will participate in the publication of the research results in Latin American conferences and peer-reviewed journals. As members of the research team, the students will also take part in the regular meetings, and will be invited to participate in any upcoming event or project that the research team decides to organize (ex: special issue for a journal, workshops, network, etc.).
Worth noting is the rich and international environment of this research project. The research team is located in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. A total of 5 MITACS interns have participated in the previous phases of the project. 2 decided to come back to Canada for their graduate studies. One of them is currently finishing her PhD.
This team has been very active in the recent years publishing the results of the exploratory study and the results of phases 1 and 2 in key journals of the field of communication and organizational communication and participating in several international conferences. They also co-founded in 2018 the Latino-american network of organizational communication research (RedLACo). Participating in this team will open opportunities for the students in North, Central and South America. For more information: https://redlaco.org/proyecto-mapeando/

Skills required:
Required skills:
—Discussing and reading in English and Spanish or Portuguese (writing is a plus).
—Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods for bibliometric analysis.
—Capacity and interest for teamwork

Required background:
—Qualitative and quantitative methods
—Organizational communication or organization and management studies or Latin american studies

Research area: Anne F. MacLennan, Associate Professor, York University and editor of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media is writing "Programming, Practices, Production, and Policy: Canadian Community Radio.” Her recent book is Seeing, Selling, and Situating Radio in Canada, 1922-1956 with Michael Windover. She has published in the Journal of Radio & Audio Media and Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, The Radio Journal, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Urban History review and other collections. She researches media history, community radio, popular culture, women, social welfare, poverty and cultural representations. Recent work: “Forming Networks: National Radio Networks − Public, State, and Commercial”.

Student roles:
The student research interns will conduct cold calls or emails, technical tasks related to the updates for the website, editing and digital documenting of material for use on the website and design if desired, and administrative tasks involving the focus groups or other portions of the research. The student will transcribe qualitative data, perform content, framing, and discourse analyses, and work with primary and secondary source materials. They will undertake archival, library, microfilm, and online research, assist with literature reviews and bibliographic compilation, and support the preparation of background materials for research proposals. The student will contribute to data collection and analysis, identify and assemble materials for conference presentations and academic publications, and support ongoing and time-sensitive research activities. They will work collaboratively with the principal investigator and other members of the research team, participate in meetings and training sessions, and perform other research-related duties as assigned.

Skills required:
The student will need to be adaptable to working on a research team with the principal investigator, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Being able to effectively work on a team and independently will be important. The research intern will be trained to conduct new methodologies, so it’s not required that they know all the methodologies we employ when they arrive, but they should be open to learning new methods. The student must be able to ask questions, be mindful of deadlines, and be willing to work.

Research area: My research focuses on blockchain security, smart contract analysis, decentralized systems, cybersecurity, and trustworthy artificial intelligence. I investigate methods for improving the security, transparency, privacy, and resilience of blockchain-based applications through machine learning, automated vulnerability detection, and intelligent monitoring. The research combines distributed ledger technologies, AI-driven security analytics, and secure software engineering to address emerging challenges in decentralized digital ecosystems.

Student roles:
The student will participate in literature reviews, blockchain platform exploration, smart contract development, vulnerability analysis, and experimental evaluation. Responsibilities include collecting and analyzing blockchain data, implementing security assessment tools, evaluating smart contract vulnerabilities, and documenting findings.

The student will work closely with the research team through regular meetings and collaborative research activities. They will contribute to technical reports, presentations, and potentially academic publications. The internship provides hands-on experience in blockchain technologies, decentralized systems, cybersecurity research, and secure software development practices.

Skills required:
Students should have a background in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or a related discipline. Experience with programming in Python, Java, JavaScript, Solidity, or similar languages is desirable. Familiarity with software development, databases, cybersecurity, or distributed systems is beneficial but not mandatory. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are recommended.

Research area: My research focuses on understanding female participation in academia leadership roles in higher education in Canada.

Student roles:
Students participating in this project are expected to have some experience in survey development, data collection, and statistical analysis. Students must also have strong writing skills in English. Students will assist in the development and distribution of the survey and assist with the analysis of survey results, and participate in manuscript preparation outlining the results obtained to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Skills required:
The study anticipates revealing valuable insights into gender disparities in Canadian health sciences programs. The findings will contribute to the existing knowledge and understanding of gender equity in academia and help inform policies and practices to address any identified gaps. By promoting gender equality, dental schools can foster an inclusive environment that supports the professional growth and development of all faculty members, irrespective of their gender.

Research area: This project aims to examine representations of videogame workers’ labour movements (such as pro-unionization movements) in the North American and European press (particularly Canada and Québec). We will investigate how the actors themselves present themselves and their demands as they advocate for better working conditions and cultural change in the videogame industry. We also examine how the media presents these movements and their presence in the public sphere. This research is part of our ongoing interest in the future of digital media and its articulation of social, political, and ethical issues.

Student roles:
The students will:
- Meet regularly with the professor to receive training and collaborate on the collection and analysis of the research corpus.
- Transcribe and code interviews
- Search and gather research materials – namely, the news pieces to be analyzed.
- In collaboration with the professor, organize and validate all research materials, to prepare them for analysis.
- In collaboration with the professor, analyze the research materials and write a research report.
The professor will provide guidance and research training as the project progresses so that the student will acquire and reinforce research and writing skills.

Skills required:
The student must :
- Be proficient in either English or French (proficiency in both languages is preferred), both written and spoken;
- Be proficient with MS Office suite, particularly Word and Excel, or compatible software;
- Be familiar with search techniques and news databases;
- Be familiar with the concepts and methods of content analysis and discourse analysis;
- Have a relevant background in Social Sciences and Humanities, including, but not restricted to, Media Studies, Communication, Sociology, or Philosophy.