McMaster’s newest research centre, the Centre for Research on Community Oriented Entrepreneurship (CRCE), is working with communities across the globe to educate, inspire and empower entrepreneurs. Built on research initiated by business professor Benson Honig’s virtual incubator, the Reframery, the CRCE aims to support marginalized and minority persons in examining problems creatively to foster innovative business solutions.

Since its launch in 2023, the Centre has engaged over 25 McMaster undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty members. Members have worked with marginalized and refugee micro-entrepreneurs in Poland, Kenya, Brazil, Canada and the U.S. to research, design and deliver entrepreneurial education programs. The Centre develops tool kits, manuals and replicable models for virtual incubators – online spaces and e-learning platforms where entrepreneurs can access educational resources and cultivate connections.

The CRCE has collaborated with six cohorts to date to deliver programs that help innovators take their ideas from conception to reality and grow successful businesses that enhance their quality of life and community health and well-being. Members of the CRCE are running a Train the Trainers program in Brazil to give individuals tools to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills in their communities. The CRCE has plans to expand its work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other community stakeholders in Hamilton, Canada and worldwide.

A new educational initiative developed by the Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion (CAMC), in partnership with provincial and industry partners, is introducing the next generation of skilled professionals to careers in the automotive sector.

In 2023, CAMC partnered with the Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE) – as part of the OCTE’s Future Forward program – to launch province-wide educational programming focused on skills-training within the automotive and mobility sector. CAMC’s experts in materials and manufacturing supported the development of curriculum that encourages elementary and high school students to explore careers in Canada’s world-leading automotive industry.

Thanks to $500,000 in support from the Ontario Vehicle Information Network, the program was successfully rolled-out to 16 school boards and over 10,000 students across the province. Programming focused on a wide variety of core and emerging topics of interest in the automotive industry, from autonomous and electrified vehicle design and manufacturing to mobility planning and infrastructure.

CAMC also hosted an in-person workshop at McMaster for over 200 high school students, who participated in hands-on activities focused on developing in-demand technical skills in automotive research and industry. With a track record of student success and excellence in research and training, CAMC is equipping future STEM leaders with the fundamental knowledge and applied skills they need to succeed.

The Digital Society Lab is spearheading research on the complex societal transformations that accompany our digital world – from digital currencies to online political advertising, AI and the spread of disinformation.

Consisting of linguists, statisticians, engineers, political scientists and computational social scientists from around the world, the Lab examines the social, political, and economic impacts of digital technologies while harnessing the potential of these tools to advance scientific and social innovation.

The Lab is currently enlisting a new web development team to support the creation of digital products that address some of our most pressing global challenges. With dangerous disinformation campaigns on the rise on social media, the Digital Society Lab is using AI-powered countermeasures to push back. The Lab is leveraging high-performance computing, algorithms and machine learning technologies to examine how disinformation and hateful content spreads through social media networks, with the goal of developing advanced technological solutions that can help detect and filter fake news.

As new digital technologies continue to reshape our lives, the Digital Society Lab is leading social tech research and innovation to promote a fair and healthy digital age, while training the next generation of scholars and policy leaders.

The McMaster Centre for Climate Change (MCCC) is leading an innovative tree-planting project designed to combat climate change and provide unique learning and research opportunities in environmental science. Led by researchers at the MCCC, the McMaster Carbon Sink Forest initiative is developing a model of a carbon sink forest on a one-hectare plot of land in west Hamilton. With the help of faculty, students and community volunteers, the Centre has planted over 1,000 trees, which sequester – or absorb – atmospheric carbon dioxide to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

In 2023, the Centre organized two tree planting events in collaboration with community partners. Over 150 McMaster and Hamilton community members participated in the planting of over 500 trees. MCCC researchers continuously monitor how much carbon dioxide is being pulled out of the atmosphere by each tree and collect ecological data to monitor the trees’ long-term health. This data, along with the Centre’s experience in growing the forest, will be shared with researchers across Canada and around the world who are growing similar forests to
combat climate change.

The McMaster Carbon Sink Forest has received international attention. It was shortlisted for the David Suzuki Foundation’s Future Ground Prize in 2022. The Centre is currently building on the success of the project to establish an urban Greenhouse Gas Observatory at the site. The Observatory will act as an outdoor living learning lab for McMaster faculty and students.