About IDEAWORKS

Our Mission

Catalyzing practical solutions through collaboration.

At IDEAWORKS, we empower innovation by equipping partners with expertise, resources, and infrastructure, providing students with experiential learning, and fostering collaboration that drives sustainable societal and economic prosperity.

Our Approach

We Help Organizations Who Have Hit a Wall.

Our business-first approach means we focus on your success, finding solutions even when you don’t know which direction to go in. By delving into your organization’s most significant challenges, we provide invaluable insights and solutions across multiple areas of focus.

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Collaborative Excellence

Our strength lies in collaboration. We bring together diverse expertise from our dedicated staff, faculty, and passionate students, forming teams that are tailored to the unique needs of each project. By serving as a connector across academia industries, SMEs, communities, and students, we foster meaningful collaborations.

Customized Support

We recognize that every challenge is unique. Our dedicated teams work tirelessly to understand the intricacies of each problem, delivering insights and strategies that drive success. We connect the dots between research and solutions, ensuring that our partners receive tailored support at every stage of their journey.

Building Bridges

We use a multi-disciplinary approach to build a support network tailored to your needs. Together, we'll create a roadmap designed to help you work with our experts to reach your specific goals. We actively cultivate external relationships with various research and community organizations, advocating for ecosystems that enrich local and regional communities.

State-of-the-Art Resources

Equipped with industry-leading facilities and specialized equipment, we offer unparalleled resources to our partners, ensuring the technology chosen is the perfect fit for the project. This comprehensive infrastructure allows us to conduct rigorous testing and trials, de-risking the adoption of new technologies and innovations.

Research Networks

Elevating applied research around the world, IDEAWORKS serves as a leader and active contributor in research organizations to bring new perspectives and innovation to our business partners.

Meet the Team

Our multi-disciplinary applied research team brings a diverse skillset to every project. Meet the team or browse our full team index.

Rebecca Ellis

Victoria Coffin

Acting Manager, Bay Area Climate Change Council

Sherif Abdou

General Manager
Business Development
Acting General Manager
m-Health & e-Health Digital Innovation Centre

Stephen Adams

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Irene Amog

Professor, School of Engineering Technology & Aviation

Maanas Arora

Team Lead, Fullstack Development

Mariano Arriaga

General Manager, Energy and Power Innovation Centre

Amin Azmoodeh

Mesut Baltaci

Fullstack Developer

Rutul Bhavasr

Industrial Communications Programmer

Our Story

Founded in 2008, IDEAWORKS is a dynamic applied research department based at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. Our team drives innovation not only regionally, but globally. Specializing in areas like Digital Health, IIoT, Unmanned Systems, and Sustainability, we bridge theory and practice, ensuring impactful solutions for the organizations that we partner with.

IDEAWORKS’s impact is far-reaching. We’ve developed open-source software for vaccination records in Africa and aided Northern Canadian communities with energy challenges. Our projects prioritize lasting sustainability and impact, benefiting partners and communities. We lead in student research engagement, providing hundreds of Mohawk students with hands-on research assistant roles every year.

Recognized as the fourth-best Canadian college for Applied Research, we’ve earned numerous grants and accolades, showcasing our dedication to fostering innovation. In 2016 and 2020, we established Technology Access Centres, the mHealth & eHealth Development & Innovation Centre (MEDIC), and the Energy & Power Innovation Centre (EPIC) to further applied research and create industry-focused resources.

Discover the Mohawk College Strategic Plan

Our Facilities

Where innovation happens.

Our centers serve as living labs and innovation incubators, inspiring new ideas to tackle global challenges. While IDEAWORKS physical research labs are located in Hamilton, Ontario, we collaborate virtually across the country.

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