A $5,000 prize is at stake as UWindsor’s Odette School of Business and alumnus and benefactor Richard Peddie (BComm 1970, honorary LLD 2001) partner to launch a real-life business case competition this week.

Teams of students will be challenged to analyze and propose business strategies for Amherstburg’s Downtown Espresso Café and address the functionality of the shop’s adjacent outdoor space. In addition to teams from Odette, students from St. Clair College’s Zekelman School of Business and Information Technology have been invited to participate.

“We’re looking to students to provide creative solutions to enhance the profitability and appearance of the café and make it an even more welcoming space for visitors and people within the Amherstburg community,” Dr. Peddie said.

“Amherstburg is a true gem in our region and the competition will not only help students put their skills into action, but will give tangible support to a local business that contributes to the vibrant atmosphere the town has to offer. COVID and its restrictions have had an impact on all small businesses. I see this as a step in the right direction to get things moving again.”

Teams of three to five students each will compete internally at their own institutions in the hopes of being chosen as one of three teams from each school to participate in the final competition Nov. 26.

Competitors will be tasked with presenting both an oral and written submission and will also be judged through a 10-minute question-and-answer session. The winning team will be awarded a grand prize of $5,000 through the Richard Peddie Leadership Initiative at the Odette School of Business.

“We really feel like we’ll be getting the brightest young minds around to further the success of the Downtown Espresso Café,” said owner Renée D'Amore. “We’re always looking for innovative ideas to make our business more appealing to our customers and the Odette-Peddie Amherstburg Case Challenge is an ideal way to get a new perspective — we’re looking forward to seeing what the students come up with.”

Jim Marsh, dean of St. Clair College’s program, says he is excited to see his students working with Odette students to support the strengthening of businesses in historic downtown Amherstburg: “Supporting our community is what we are all about.”

Odette dean Mitch Fields added that real-life business case studies help students see their work in action and give them a chance to test what they’ve learned in the classroom.

“We are very excited about this competition. The Odette School of Business is very fortunate to have the support of Dr. Peddie and the community connection with the Downtown Espresso Café,” he said. “A chance to help a small business make a real difference in their operations will be an outstanding learning opportunity for all students involved.”

Interested students may submit teams of three to five members to Barb Barone at bbarone@uwindsor.ca by Friday, Oct. 8.

A postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology is the first member of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to be awarded a Banting Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Fellowship.

Debra Mackinnon is a sociologist with a background in surveillance, urban, and technology studies. After completing her doctorate at Queen’s University, she was an Eyes High Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Calgary. She came to the University of Windsor after she was awarded the Banting Fellowship under the supervision of sociology professor Randy Lippert.

“It is fantastic to formally work with Dr. Lippert. He was my PhD external examiner, and since then we’ve been collaborating on a couple of projects and grants,” says Dr. Mackinnon. “He is one of the few people in Canada who has researched BIAs (business improvement areas) and their intersections with policing and surveillance. So, it just made sense.”

Mackinnon’s Banting project is titled “In the Business of Policing: Examining the intersections of private security, surveillance technologies, and public private partnerships in North American business improvement areas.”

“Business Improvement Areas are a particular form of public private partnership,” she says. “The first one was developed in Toronto in the 1970s to try to bring back business to commercial main streets and address ‘free rider’ problems. The premise was for groups of businesses to form associations and collect a levy that would supplement and direct resources to improve the area.”

BIA activities can range from street beautification to safety, security, and crime prevention initiatives, Mackinnon notes: “You will find some form of BIA in most North American cities today.”

This study builds on Mackinnon’s dissertation, which examined early smart city apps used to manage, police, and govern urban spaces and populations in Canadian BIAs, as well as a comparative study of BIAs in London, UK.

“Over the past several years, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic fuel and exacerbate urban decline and commercial vacancy in some cities,” she says. “This has resulted in increased private security foot patrols. And at the same time, social inequalities and discriminatory policing have resulted in widespread calls for police defunding movements and policing alternatives.”

She says her specific interest is in public-private policing partnerships and the adoption of surveillance technologies by North American BIAs.

“I had questions about how the role of private security might have the potential to further limit accountability, deepen systemic racism, and exacerbate unequal service delivery –– or not,” she says.

The goal is to analyze the convergence of public and private technologies used to patrol urban spaces, and specifically the implications for policing and community relationships, in Windsor, Detroit, Toronto, and Chicago.

“Like it or not, BIAs are one of the current forms of corporate governance that we have, and they are doing, in some cases, interesting and inclusive work,” says Dr. Mackinnon. “There is so much going on at the community level, and I want to focus on these grassroots community driven alternatives. This is an important piece often missing from our policy discussions.”

To learn more about Mackinnon’s research, or to read her publications, visit her website: https://debramackinnon.com.

A fun night of trivia is on offer Friday, Oct. 1, as part of Alumni Week.

Hosted by Mack Flash, the online quiz is open to alumni, employees, and friends of the University to team up with classmates, family, or colleagues.

The action gets underway at 7 p.m. and will consist of eight rounds of trivia, including a round to test your knowledge specific to the University of Windsor. The top three teams will receive prizes.

Registration is free but required in advance; sign up as an individual or team here.

Alumni Week activities celebrate all things UWindsor through Oct. 3. Find a full schedule of events on the Alumni Association website.

The recipient of the 2021 Baylis Physics Research Internship plans to investigate the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy on the Mars rovers Curiosity and Perseverance.

“Astrophysics and spectroscopy are two subjects that I am extremely interested in and that I would like to pursue a career in,” says Grace Johnson, a second-year honours physics student.

The internship annually awards $1,000 to a second-year student of physics or medical physics to support their work on a research project with a faculty member in the Department of Physics.

Johnson currently possesses a 97.167 grade point average and while still in high school student worked as a co-op student in the chemistry lab of professor Simon Rondeau-Gagne. Her current research advisor is physics professor Steven Rehse.

She is excited by the opportunity the internship offers.

“Being able to gain research experience in this area of physics so early in my career would be extremely beneficial for my future, and I would enjoy it very much,” Johnson says. “I love learning about different theories and am excited to see how they are tested and used in a real-life laboratory setting.”

The goal of the internship is to expose recipients to the process of performing academic physics research and to more broadly introduce students to the activities of the Department of Physics and the people in it.

It was established by professor William Baylis and his wife Bobbye Baylis to recognize deserving first-year undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional potential and to invest in that potential by engaging them in advanced research opportunities with a faculty mentor.

Apply now for scholarships and bursaries for the 2021-22 academic year.

This ‘How to’ document will assist students with navigating through the application and profile.

Students who require assistance with their application can join one of the drop-in sessions that are being offered weekly.

“Many awards have early fall deadlines,” says Marian Doll, director of Student Awards & Financial Aid. “So we encourage students to log in UWinsite Student > Student Homepage > Award Profile as soon as possible to start applying. There is no limit on the number of awards that a student can apply for and we encourage students to follow the how-to document at least once as they navigate through the profile.”

Director of Graduate Academic Services Marie Hawkins says: “Applications for most donor-sponsored graduate awards are now available through the Award Profile as well.”

Upcoming award grouping deadlines:

• Sept. 30 – Law awards
• Oct. 15 – General undergraduate need-based awards
• Oct. 31 – Application based undergraduate awards (mainly need-based)

Deadlines will vary for awards outside of the groups specified above. Plan to complete your award profile and applications early in order to maximize award opportunities.

Find additional information on applying for scholarships and bursaries for the 2021-22 academic year:

• Undergraduate/Law/Education
• Graduate Students

The 2021 RBC EPIC Business Model Canvas Competition invites student entrepreneurs from across Canada to demonstrate their understanding of the business model canvas and business model validation through their own entrepreneurial experience.

To compete, participants submit a video presentation of five to eight minutes. Successful applicants will compete in the semi-final round. At most, six teams will be chosen to compete in the final round of presentations, this time live via a public Zoom webinar.

Participants will be competing for $10,000 cash, with thousands of dollars’ worth of additional prizes also be up for grabs.

The main goal of the competition is to educate entrepreneurs, providing them with tools to help launch more successful ventures. Registration is free.

Find more information, including eligibility, judging criteria, and a full schedule, on the competition website.

Take control and automate your work flows with Power Automate. This app allows you to optimize your work and reduce repetitive tasks by combining processes with apps you already use.

See Information Technology Services team member Jonathan North walk through scheduling a meeting using a list item from Microsoft Lists to trigger a workflow in a short 124-second Tech Talk video.

Tech Talk is a presentation of IT Services. More Tech Talks are available at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.

Catering Services has sold out of its initial shipment of Wagyu beef from the farm of alumnus Ryan Pearson (BSc 2019).

The premium product was offered as ground meat for purchase by the university community.

Executive chef Paolo Vasapolli now has on hand both the original 1-lb. boxes and a new 2-lb. box he projects will feed a family of four.

“If you appreciate the difference that comes from having the best, you will definitely want to try this local beef,” he says.

The meat sells for $20 per pound. To order, email catering@uwindsor.ca.

Do you like to discuss new ideas? Solve problems? Make new connections? Then WE-Spark Think Tanks are for you.

The event will begin with an update on local health research activities and new funding opportunities, followed by five-minute presentations on three projects that are looking for creative input and collaborators. The majority of the afternoon takes place in breakout sessions to move each idea forward.

The latest round features the following presenters and topics:

New Routes into Fluoroorganics with Medical Imaging Applications
Presented by UWindsor professor Marcus Drover of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who is looking for those with a particular interest in medical imaging and chemical synthesis and drug discovery.

When Signs Don’t Work: Reframing Beach Safety as a Public Health Concern
Presented by Chris Houser, dean of science and professor in the School of the Environment, for those with an interest in public health and expertise in how to communicate effectively with the public around safety issues.

Evaluating the Impact of a Shelter Health Network in Windsor, Ontario
Presented by Jennifer N. Bondy of the Schulich School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, a first-time Think Tank presenter looking to take a very new idea and develop some collaborations and research methodology.

Expertise is welcome but not required; WE-Spark Think Tanks are open to everyone.

This event will take place Friday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Click here to register.

WE-Spark Health Institute is a research partnership between the University of Windsor, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital that brings together health research strengths, expertise, and infrastructure from across the Windsor-Essex region.