Ehsan Daneshi (edaneshi@mitacs.ca), Fraser Pogue (fraser.pogue@sauder.ubc.ca), Jade Salazaar (jade.salazaar@rci.rogers.com), Raymond Chau (raymond.chau@ubc.ca)
Introduction
At the University of British Columbia (UBC), innovation doesn’t end in the lab – researchers are generating social, economic, environmental, cultural and health impacts through partnerships, knowledge mobilization, venture building and commercialization.
Through commercialization, the university translates academic research into tangible benefits for Canadians (including new technologies, medicines and products) and drives economic development through startup creation and industry partnerships, which generate additional revenue to support further research, and help train future generations of entrepreneurs.
The partnership between the UBC, Rogers Communications, and Mitacs represents a new model for mobilizing university-based research into meaningful economic, societal, environmental, and commercial impact. The collaboration was created to address long-standing challenges in translating early-stage research into outcomes that can benefit communities, industries, and the economy.
Operation EInsTein emerged from this collaboration as a structured framework for assessing research opportunities, guiding interdisciplinary teams, and supporting decisions grounded in technical, market, and economic evidence. Developed and run at UBC's Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS), the framework enables researchers and industry partners to evaluate feasibility early, recognize risks, and direct resources toward opportunities with the strongest potential for long-term impact.
Governance and Structure
Since 2018, UBC’s growing partnership with Rogers has been reimagining the process for accelerating the path from discovery and innovation to real-world impact. Aligning research priorities to pressing societal challenges — from climate change and healthcare access to housing affordability — the collaboration is evolving to support short, medium and long-term impact horizons.
The Rogers UBC partnership is organized around shared governance, ensuring alignment across priorities, project selection, and execution. A tri-party Steering Committee provides strategic oversight, while a Working Group oversees operational delivery, monitors research progress, and evaluates new opportunities. Program managers from UBC and Rogers coordinate activities, track risks, and maintain communication among teams.
Rogers contributes industry insights, network engineering expertise, operational challenges, funding, and customer access. UBC offers research leadership, interdisciplinary expertise, and infrastructure including laboratories, faculty expertise, and student talent. Mitacs provides financial support essential for iterative research and economic validation cycles with the Accelerate and Business Strategy Internship programs.
This structure ensures that research advances are aligned with industry needs while supporting academic excellence and student development, creating a “living lab” environment in which evidence-driven innovation enabled by advanced connectivity can thrive.
A TEA for EInsTein Framework
Turning extraordinary research outcomes into economic and societal impacts requires new tools, new processes and new ways of working. At the centre of this effort is EInsTein, a framework developed through the UBC-Rogers Research and Innovation Partnership to address universities’ long-standing challenge of how to effectively translate promising research into viable products, services and ventures.
EInsTein—Economic Impact Analysis plus Technology Readiness Acceleration Enablement—integrates technical evaluation, market research, customer discovery, and economic analysis into an agile decision-making model. The framework supports early, systematic assessment of research ideas to determine whether they warrant further development.
Core elements of the framework include:
Employing qualitative analysis as a measurement framework, the approach implements a Learning Research System to drive the knowledge translation process in which science, technology, informatics, incentives and culture are aligned for continuous improvement and innovation. This creates a multidisciplinary union of expertise that enables researchers to consider scalable and sustainable pathways in early stages of project planning and pivot quickly when necessary.
By combining technical assessment with market and economic insights, EInsTein ensures that promising research initiatives are strategically evaluated and their outcomes are prepared for scaling, transition to product concepts, or further applied research. This framework allows teams to test assumptions early, adapt quickly and reduce the uncertainty that can often surround emerging technologies.
Case Studies
For example. a research project on Human Teleoperations developed remote ultrasound imaging supported by mixed reality and advanced wireless connectivity. Through EInsTein’s structured interviews and validation cycles, the team clarified clinical needs, identified adoption challenges, and defined potential commercialization pathways. The outcomes informed the creation of Coact Technologies and produced clinical evidence demonstrating the viability of long‑distance remote imaging for rural and remote communities. Co-founder of the venture, Dr. David Black at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was a Mitacs supported intern who also won a Mitacs Innovation Award for Outstanding Innovation for this technology.
As another example, a research project on building community and ecological fire resilience using real-time monitoring of forest condition, led by Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, applied the EInsTein framework to examine challenges in wildfire response, data integration, and prescribed fire training. Early interviews identified gaps in operational capabilities and training infrastructure. Supported by evidence gathered through EInsTein, the project advanced rapidly into a proof‑of‑concept phase with BC Wildfire Service. The work contributed to a joint project with the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of BC, creation of Canada’s first National Prescribed Fire Training Program, and catalyzed more than $10 million in public and philanthropic investment.
Talent Development
A core goal of the EInsTein framework is to cultivate talent capable of navigating the intersection of research, innovation, and commercialization. Students participating in the program gain hands-on experience conducting interviews, analyzing markets, developing business models, and assessing economic impact. These skills complement their technical training and better prepare them for careers in Canada’s innovation economy.
Mitacs-supported interns play an essential role within the EInsTein workflow, providing analytical and business capacity while developing real-world experience. Several interns have transitioned into industry roles, including a Sauder Business School graduate who completed an EInsTein internship and subsequently joined Rogers full-time. Her experience illustrates the framework’s success in developing talent that meets the needs of both academia and industry.
Why The Framework Works for Industry Academic Partnerships
Industries seeking structured collaboration with universities often encounter challenges related to timelines, IP, commercialization uncertainty, and research alignment. Operation EInsTein addresses these obstacles through systematic evidence collection and validated decision‑making. For partners like Rogers, the framework provides predictable timelines, transparent evaluation criteria, and pathways for transitioning research into product or business development pipelines.
This combination of clarity, speed, and structured learning makes EInsTein a replicable model for large organizations seeking high-impact research partnerships.
Conclusion
The UBC–Rogers–Mitacs partnership demonstrates how structured frameworks such as EInsTein can accelerate innovation, improve decision-making, and generate responsible innovations with meaningful societal and economic impact. By integrating technical analysis, customer insights, and economic evaluation, the framework provides a roadmap for translating academic research into scalable, real-world solutions. The Mitacs umbrella option can provide a programmatic approach in which projects can be initiated and expanded dynamically, allowing validated use cases to scale while new opportunities are continuously onboarded. As global challenges intensify, models like EInsTein offer a powerful foundation for purpose-driven collaboration between universities and industry. Please contact the authors to learn more.
