Hosted by Volta and Springboard, this virtual and in-person session focuses on IP for startups. Join the hosts for an engaging and practical session on the fundamentals of intellectual property (IP) with special focus on AI & Software inventions, and discover essential tips for protecting your trade secrets. Whether you’re a startup founder, researcher, or growing company, this session will provide valuable insights into safeguarding your innovations and building a strong IP strategy. 🎁 Special Bonus Kushal will be available for 1-on-1 meetings with companies on March 16. Spots are limited — book a session during Office Hour Mondays to receive tailored guidance for your business. Speaker Kushal Shah Associate & Patent Lawyer Gowling WLG Kushal Shah is a lawyer and registered patent agent in the at Gowling WLG. He works closely with patent agents in the life sciences group, and high tech groups, supporting the drafting and prosecution of patent applications across areas such as biotechnology, pharmaceutical formulations, artificial intelligence, software platforms, clean technology, diagnostics, and medical devices. As an internationally trained patent agent and lawyer, Kushal brings experience advising startups, universities, and multinational organizations. His work spans international patent protection strategies across jurisdictions such as the United States, Europe, China, the Middle East, […]

ESG for Business Resilience: Thriving in Periods of Uncertainty is a practical, interactive training program designed to help small and medium sized enterprises in Nova Scotia strengthen their competitiveness and resilience in an increasingly volatile global environment. As trade conditions shift, tariffs remain uncertain, and sustainability expectations vary across markets, this program focuses on how the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles can be applied as a strategic business tool – grounded in risk management, operational efficiency, and long-term value creation. Participants will learn how ESG-aligned practices can support business continuity, unlock new opportunities, improve productivity, attract capital, and support market expansion locally, nationally, and globally. The program will show how a “business-first” approach to sustainability can help companies create value, open doors to new partnerships and export opportunities, and position businesses to succeed in an increasingly sustainability focused marketplace. The training also builds workforce capacity by teaching participants how to identify, measure, and clearly communicate key non-financial sustainability metrics that matter to investors, customers, and supply chain partners. Participants will gain an understanding of the evolving local and global regulatory landscape, how public policy is shaping business expectations, and how transparent reporting builds credibility and trust with […]

Want to understand why machine learning models fail — and how to fix them? This hands-on session dives into practical ML debugging using visualization-driven techniques. Learn how to diagnose hidden model failure patterns, interpret learning curves and confusion matrices, analyze ROC performance, and investigate error patterns before changing model architecture. You’ll build a stronger, more systematic approach to developing reliable ML systems. Led by Sheida Majouni, PhD Candidate in Computer Science at Dalhousie University and AI/ML Lead at DeepSense.  March 26, 2026 6:00–8:00 PM Room 143 FREE  Register here! https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events