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.
Logo, Canadian Bio-Cleantech Applied Research Network.Logo, Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical & Health Innovation Ecosystem.Logo, Tech-Access Canada.Logo, Synapse Life Science Consortium.Logo, Canadian Unmanned & Remote Sensing Innovation Network.Logo, Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery.Logo, Digital Health Canada.Logo, Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation.
Logo, National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada.
Logo, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Logo, Ontario Centre of Innovation.
Logo, Mitacs.
Logo, AMS Healthcare.
Logo, The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Logo, Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Logo, CiCan Career Launcher.
Logo, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

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.
Directory
Mohawk Ideaworks

Majlinda Qarri

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology
Mohawk Ideaworks

Pal Patel

Software Developer
Mohawk Ideaworks

Maria Jose Leon Amaya

Program Manager, Healthcare Robotics
Mohawk Ideaworks

Rebecca Ellis

Mohawk Ideaworks

Victoria Coffin

Acting Manager, Bay Area Climate Change Council
Mohawk Ideaworks

Sherif Abdou

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

Stephen Adams

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation
Mohawk Ideaworks

Irene Amog

Professor, School of Engineering Technology & Aviation
Mohawk Ideaworks

Maanas Arora

Team Lead, Fullstack Development
Mohawk Ideaworks

Mariano Arriaga

General Manager, Energy and Power Innovation Centre

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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Mohawk Ideaworks
Mohawk Ideaworks
Mohawk Ideaworks
Mohawk Ideaworks

TRAINING STUDENTS FOR FUTURE JOBS

Over 2000 students have joined the next generation of applied researchers.

A diverse group of students having a conversation.

They'll bring fresh perspectives to problems that impact our local and global economies.

Professional Headshot of Majlinda Qarri.

Majlinda Qarri

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology

Dr. Majlinda Qarri, a faculty member in the Electrical and Energy Systems Engineering Technology program, collaborates closely with EPIC on applied research in power systems—particularly in her area of expertise: protection and control. She contributes to technical case studies on power quality and protection and control, and supports training initiatives with Ontario Power Generation through applying her pedagogical expertise. In addition to her research, Dr. Qarri mentors students in applied research courses focused on industry-driven projects and teaches core subjects including power systems, power protection, and hybrid electric technologies.  

Dr. Qarri holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering (Polytechnic University of Tirana) and brings a deep commitment to bridging academic learning with real-world energy sector challenges.  

Passionate about outreach, she has led hands-on renewable energy workshops for high and middle school students and delivered guest lectures on grid integration of renewables for Women in Trades and Technology events.  

LinkedIn
Professional Headshot of Pal Patel.

Pal Patel

Software Developer

As a Software Developer at EPIC, Pal supports the development of digital tools that enhance project delivery, data management, and decision-making across community-focused initiatives. Her work involves building and maintaining web applications, automating workflows, and contributing to technical solutions that meet diverse user needs.  

Pal’s expertise is grounded in full-stack development, with a strong foundation in React, Node.js, PostgreSQL, and AWS cloud services. She is also expanding her skills in data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, with a growing interest in applying predictive analytics and intelligent automation to real-world challenges. Her experience includes building scalable backend systems, intuitive frontend interfaces, and working with APIs and cloud-based infrastructure.  

She holds an Advanced Diploma in Computer Systems Technology – Software Development with Honours from Mohawk College and recently earned a Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals certification.  

Outside of EPIC, Pal tutors students in programming and web development, helping others build confidence and practical skills in tech. She enjoys experimenting with futuristic user interface designs and interactive interfaces, always seeking opportunities to grow and apply her skills in meaningful and impactful ways.  

LinkedIn
A professional headshot of Maria Jose Leon Amaya.

Maria Jose Leon Amaya

Program Manager, Healthcare Robotics

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Rebecca Ellis

Rebecca Ellis (she/her) is a professor in the School of Sustainability at Mohawk College. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Geography from Western University and a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from Western University. She is the author of the book Capitalist Agriculture and the Global Bee Crisis, published by Routledge Press (2023). Her research interests include global agricultural systems; human/animal relationships with a focus on bees; multispecies commoning; and the creation of sustainable and socially just cities in the context of climate change. She is currently a collaborator on a SSHRC-funded research project, hosted at Huron University, about the impact of a municipal urban agriculture policy on urban agricultural initiatives in London, Ontario. Through IDEAWORKS, she plans to conduct applied research about opportunities for and challenges faced by practitioners of ecological beekeeping and farming in Canada. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys gardening, cycling, playing the banjo, and spending time with her family, friends, and dog.

LinkedIn
Victoria Coffin

Victoria Coffin

Acting Manager, Bay Area Climate Change Council

Victoria leads the Bay Area Climate Change Council. She is responsible for the overall management of the collective, including the development and execution of BACCC’s strategic plan, supervision of its staff team, and oversight of its budget and operations. Victoria is a lawyer with experience advising hundreds of clients in private sector, government and not-for-profit.  She has deep experience in leading collaborative efforts, first demonstrated as diplomat with the Canadian foreign service, working as part of Canada’s trade negotiations team.  She has a JD from the University of Saskatchewan and a B.Com from Queen’s University.  In her personal time, Victoria volunteers as a director for two not-for-profit organizations. 

LinkedIn
Sherif Abdou

Sherif Abdou

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

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Stephen Adams

Stephen Adams

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Stephen Adams has been a faculty member at Mohawk College since 2014 where he specialized in bringing challenging and engaging topics to Software Development classrooms. Whether bringing GPT AI to introductory programming courses, using gaming to motivate learning mathematical heuristics and advanced algorithms, or leading student teams on applied research topics including facial recognition, handwriting analysis, object classifiers, and other topics, he brings a love of discovery to each project he works on. 

A graduate of McMaster University (HBSc, MSc in Computer Science) he has worked in industry as a team member developing high-performance math libraries at IBM, and on real-time control systems for robotic steel cutting processes at Linatrol Systems. His applied research interests center on the application of emerging technologies to traditional problems. His projects include work within Digital Humanities demonstrated by projects such as “Between the Lines” and “Remembering Their Faces”. 

LinkedIn

Irene Amog

Professor, School of Engineering Technology & Aviation

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Maanas Arora

Maanas Arora

Team Lead, Fullstack Development

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Headshot image of Mariano Arriaga, the General Manager of the Energy and Power Innovation Center (EPIC).

Mariano Arriaga

General Manager, Energy and Power Innovation Centre

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.