Tag: Industry

Generous Networking

I’m happy to be back on the blog to share the news about organising an event to bring together students across Montréal to discuss experiences, enhance research synergies and connect the industry with the dynamic pool of talent that exists in town. I was part of the organising committee for the 3rd Montréal Photonics Networking Event. The event was held on December 3rd 2019 in conjunction with the STARaCOM Winter School at McGill University’s New Residence Hall Conference Centre. There were almost 100 attendees, with 70 students, 18 of which presented research posters, and 20 professionals, including 10 judges from industry and academia.

Committee Slide
The organising Committee of the 3rd Montréal Photonics Networking Event, with representatives from academia, industry and students from all 6 Montréal Universities with photonics research.

The event was brought together through our shared network. Everyone worked hard to get the word out to the students and professionals in town. We hosted two amazing speakers, Prof. Caroline Boudoux and Dr. Sebastien Blais-Ouellette, who shared their perspectives on transforming photonics technologies into enterprises. We obtained support from our partners to get this event off the ground and celebrate the quality of the research in Montréal, so I have to extend a special thanks to our partners, SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, Excelitas Technologies, IEEE Montreal, Optonique and STARaCOM.

The dynamics in the organisation of this event reflect a form of Generous Networking, a concept that I borrowed from a generous networker and friend, Dr. Christina Willis. The idea is simple: 

Know what your connections need, and find ways to help them before asking for their help.

I have been fortunate that through the professional networking I developed during my years in academia I encountered many individuals who were generous in their time and advice to help me settle in a new town far from “home”. Being part of the global students networks of the OSA, SPIE and IEEE Photonics Society organisations has been a privilege and a career boost. I enjoyed having the chance to meet  the current student leaders across the universities in Montréal and be a part of the informal chapter meet-up at our event. Montréal is a cradle of talent to feed the 200+ companies in the greater Montréal recently identified by Optonique’s survey of the Quebec Photonics landscape.

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Student leaders of the SPIE, OSA and IEEE Photonics Society professional organisations in Montréal.

In the year that I’ve been in Montreal, I have enjoyed discovering the city and its rich professional landscape for photonics. I am grateful to the generous networkers who have contributed to helping me to get to where I am today. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to connect the dots back through my involvement in the Montréal Photonics Community. It’s fun, collaborative and there is still a lot of progress potential: all of this helps me with getting up in the morning!

Save the date: the 4th annual event is coming back to Montréal on October 23rd 2020!

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See you in 2020 for the 4th Montréal Photonics Networking Event! Photo credit Owen Egan

Lessons learnt in innovation

The EPSRC summer school was an applied approach to understanding the many different facets of innovation and entrepreneurship in photonics. The week featured Technologists who shared case studies and valuable insights into how a technology or a scientific principle could be developed into a business. To echo thoughts that I heard throughout the week, it’s not the tech that makes money, it’s the business model wrapped around it. There is not a recipe to for all and for this reason it was extremely insightful to get many perspectives from experts from in their early steps of entrepreneurship right through to the seasoned innovators.

Right to left: Prof. T. Baer, Prof. M. Dawson and Prof. C. Boudoux in conversation with moderator Prof. D. Reid during the panel discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship experiences.
Perspectives on innovation and entrepreneurship panel discussion with (right to left) Prof. T. Baer, Prof. M. Dawson and Prof. C. Boudoux in conversation with moderator Prof. D. Reid.

The school also consisted of courses in management and strategic planning techniques that can enable development and innovation in companies. Methods such as SCRUM , SWOT analysis and PESTEL, as well as technology screening techniques were introduced. These were put into practice throughout the week in an effort from the organisers to make the concepts as tangible as possible, which was very engaging and effective. A couple of lessons have stuck with me. First, complex information unrelated to the technology can be strategically selected to make greater impact in the workings of an organisation. Second, which resonated with me very well, values inform both the vision and the mission of a business organisation.

In conversation with Mike Reilly during SCRUM workshop session for the development of a business plan for our social enterprise.
In conversation with Mike Reilly during SCRUM workshop session for the development of a business plan for our social enterprise.

The main deliverable of the week was a group project to develop a pitch for a start up for a product or service for the photonics industry. My team, Haggis Photonics (affectionately named after one of Scotland’s national delicacies), developed a pitch based on building automated components for the photonics industry using 3D printed technology. The business would place itself between the expensive equipment and the Makers market. We also identified a potential to use this product for the training of technician in vocational career paths, a subject close to my heart! We had the opportunity to pitch the idea to 3 serial entrepreneurs and business development experts. The exercise and feedback was very insightful into what is needed in the process of developing a business.

Final poster presentation of my research in integrated optics and Bragg gratings from the University of Southampton!
My final poster presentation on my research in integrated optics and Bragg gratings from the University of Southampton!

The week was very enjoyable, busy and packed full of educational and social activities. The social highlights for me were the traditional Scottish Ceidh, a very active evening of dancing, and the banquet dinner in the luxurious university Lower College Hall (see cover picture!). I also had the opportunity to present one of my last projects that I have conducted in Southampton as a result of research done during my PhD, which was a great opportunity to reflect on the work I had conducted in the past 4.5 years.  Thanks to the school I have gained a lot of insight into how innovation takes place in the tech sector. It has given me lots of pointers to look out for as I embark on the next stage of my career (announcement on job situation to follow!).

To sign off, I wish to extend a thank you to Prof. Derryck Reid and Kasia Sulima for the organisation of the summer school, Munadi Ahmad for the cover picture, and the local student organising team for a week packed of social activities. Thanks for tuning in. Bye for now.

Every day is a school day

The 14th International Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics has offered me a unique perspective into how local community and institutional education work ties into the bigger picture. The conference featured 1 plenary, 16 keynotes and 16 invited talks, in addition to 8 parallel sessions. I have developed my understanding of classroom teaching methods and been inspired by case studies at regional, national and international level. I have found out about useful tools and evaluation techniques that I wish to integrate into my future activities. I am struck by the overwhelming desire to better the global education system and prepare the skilled workforce needed for the next photonics technology revolution.

Coming into this conference I was hoping to get some insight on the role of industry in the education sector. This came, often in unexpected places! I attended a workshop given by Judith Donnelly (Judy) in Problem-Based Learning, a pedagogy that was adapted to the photonics technology sector as a result of an industry demand for students to be better prepared for the workplace. Some educators related their experiences of delivering successful projects working alongside industry, where students trained in technical photonics skills were being scooped up by companies in the private sector. It was encouraging to see a small number of members of industry participating in this conference with stands and talks. Tsutomu Hara from Hamamatsu offered some perspective on outreach programs offered in the private sector to develop the public’s appreciation of Optics and Photonics technologies, as well as educational and training activities implemented to train students.

Creating a world "wherein the intriguing nature and limitless potential of light are communicated and educated to the younger generation.
Creating a world “wherein the intriguing nature and limitless potential of light are communicated and educated to the younger generation.”

I was also going to attend a second workshop organised by Judy, which is called Dumpster Optics. It aims to teach graduate students how to use simple experiments to explain optics phenomena to children. I’d developed a workshop with similar aims in the past (see TS Squared) so I was looking forward to getting some new perspectives. To facilitate the communication exercise Judy, had invited conference attendees to bring their children; as a unforeseen consequence, the children outnumbered the adults considerably. Doff the student cap, don the teacher hat, and here I am, bemused, standing with Mei, local student turned translator, Judy and her assistant-son Matt, in front of 40 very excited Chinese children. It was unsuspectingly amusing to be faced with exactly what got me there: a classroom full of very excited primary school students with bags of experiments at their disposal! I learnt that “Wow” does not get lost in translation, and I it was a pleasure to give these children the opportunity of practising hands-on experiments and experiencing various optics phenomena.

"How did this happen?", I must be thinking. Teaching under the guidance of Judy, and saved by our excellent student translator Mei.
“How did this happen?”, I must be thinking. Teaching under the guidance of Judy, and saved by our excellent student translator Mei. Picture courtesy of Judy Donnelly.