Open to everyone, the IMI BIGDataAIHUB Seminar Series is designed as a learning and developmental opportunity to gain knowledge and hands-on exposure to big data and artificial intelligence.
About the Seminar Series
The IMI BIGDataAIHUB Seminar Series covers a range of topics related to big data and artificial intelligence. Students, staff, faculty, alumni and members of the broader community are welcome!
Seminars are listed below. Seminars are typically offered remotely via Zoom. Occasional sessions may be offered in person.
Students will have their participation added to their Co-Curricular Record (CCR).
Members of CPA Ontario may receive CPD credits for attending the seminar. Please email claire.westgate@utoronto.ca for more information.
Seminar Series Details
Date: ongoing
Location: Virtual (unless otherwise noted)
Entry is FREE and open to everyone
Select each seminar below to register ►
2023 - 2024 Seminar Series Schedule & Registration
Registration for the IMI BIGDataAIHUB Seminar Series is open to anyone that would like to attend. No prior knowledge is required.
Select each seminar below to learn more & register, or visit IMI's Eventbrite collection page:
IMI BIGDataAIHUB Seminar Series Registration
Upcoming Events
Description:
The City of Mississauga has always been compiling a robust data set on development and housing. But historically not much was done with it. This presentation will show how the city is making the data accessible to the public and the story it tells.
About the Presenter
Date: October 4, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM
Presented by: Jason Bevan, Planning Strategies Director, City of Mississauga
Description:
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) works to protect investors, foster fair and efficient markets, and contribute to the stability of the financial system by monitoring compliance with rules governing the capital markets in Ontario. In this seminar, we will discuss the types of investigations the Enforcement Branch of the OSC works on, with real-life examples, the type of data we use and how we leverage that data to fulfill our mandate efficiently and effectively. We will also discuss how close collaboration between the forensic accountants and data scientists from the onset of an investigation is key and how technologies can assist in uncovering wrongdoing.
About the Presenter
Daniel Tourangeau is a Case Lead & Senior Forensic Accountant in the Enforcement Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission and has over 15 years of experience in the field of forensic accounting and litigation support. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and holds a master’s degree in forensic accounting from the University of Toronto. He is also a Sessional Lecturer in the Master of Forensic Accounting program at the University of Toronto.
Vince La Marca is the head of eDiscovery and Analytics within Enforcement at the Ontario Securities Commission. He leads teams in evidence management, digital forensics, eDiscovery, OSINT and advanced analytics, with a focus on operational support of all ongoing regulatory, quasi-criminal and criminal investigatory matters. As a former investigator with 20 years of enforcement experience, Vince looks to add operational value in all steps of a matter and is constantly pushing for innovation within the regulatory industry. He is consulted as a subject matter expert within his branch, across the OSC and from external law enforcement and regulatory bodies.
Bruce Meng has worked for over 10 years in the field of data and analytics and is a Data Scientist in the Enforcement Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Toronto (Mississauga). He has also received recognition of an automated extractive text summarizing app he developed, autoSmry, from the Reddit community.
Date: October 25, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM
Presented by: Daniel Tourangeau, Vince La Marca, and Bruce Meng from the Ontario Securities Commission
Past Events
Watch on demand recordings and gain insight into key topics within big data and artificial intelligence.
Description:
Aaqib Azeem (VP, Strategy and Innovation at Wysdom) will introduce ChatGPT for the enterprise, and present three sample use cases of how companies today are tapping into this innovative technology to fast track chatbot development, and build more engaging virtual agent experiences for their customers.
Members of CPA Ontario may receive CPD credits for attending the seminar.
About the Presenter
Aaqib Azeem is the VP, Strategy and Innovation at Wysdom.
Description:
The rise of AI & its implications for the Canadian healthcare landscape are significant. With the rise of large language models like Chat GPT and concerns around safety and regulations, what can we come to expect in the Canadian context? How will this shift policy and ultimately delivery of care?
Members of CPA Ontario may receive CPD credits for attending the seminar.
About the Presenter
Dr. Kassam is an award-winning physician, professor and health systems leader. In 2021, he was elected the youngest president in the history of the Ontario Medical Association and guided the profession during the pandemic. During his term, he oversaw public policy, advocacy and vaccination efforts, while leading the OMA through successful negotiations with Ontario's Ministry of Health, culminating in the largest physician services agreement in North America.
Dr. Kassam currently serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and is an officer of the board of the Ontario Medical Association. He has previously served on the advisory boards of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Medical Post.
Dr. Kassam holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, a Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University. He completed his Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency at Western University where he served as chief resident, and has been on faculty in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Kassam maintains an active clinical practice focused on musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation in the Greater Toronto Area.
Date: June 7, 2023
Time: 9:00 AM
Presented by: Dr. Adam Kassam, Toronto Metropolitan University
Description:
Do you want to make GPT-3.5, and GPT-4 do cool things with just a few words? Then you need to learn prompt engineering, the skill of writing magic words that make these models happy. In this session, you will learn how to write prompts that work, how to avoid prompts that don't, and how to make your own chatbot that talks like a human (or an alien, or a cat, or whatever you want).
You will also get to play with the OpenAI API and see what these models can do. Join us for a fun and interactive session on prompt engineering, and become a wizard of words!
About the Presenter
Laurent Boinot is a life-long learner, an entrepreneur and a Senior Digital Advisor at Microsoft with more than 15 years of experience in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.Laurent holds a CA designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Scotland and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. He has published in the International Journal of Sustainable Development “Algorithms smarter than experts? AI methods applied to assessment of environmental risk of World Bank projects”. Laurent also published an illustrated a Harvard case study on Designing and Optimizing a Supply Chain to Keep Drivers Safe in the Winter. Laurent is French and Canadian and lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Bruno Capuano is a Sr Cloud Advocate at Microsoft.He is a technology enthusiast who has spoken in at least 2 different countries, so he is also an international speaker.Bruno was a Microsoft MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional) for 14 years. He was awarded in various categories, Artificial Intelligence, Windows Developer and ALM/DevOps. In the past, Bruno spent his time helping to connect real Business with cool technologies in Europe and North America. Because he is the father the greatest kids on the earth, he developed a passion to run (to run a lot!). Bruno likes to make things, to challenge himself, and to improve and learn new stuff all the time.
Date: June 22, 2023
Time: 12:00 P
Presented by:
Bruno Capuano, Sr. Cloud Advocate, Microsoft
Laurent Boinot, Senior Digital Advisor, Microsoft
Description:
TBA
About the Presenter
Date: July 12, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM
Presented by: Monique Crichlow, Executive Director, Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society
Description:
Did you know that according to The State of Synthetic Data Survey by KDnuggets, 28% of AI practitioners say a lack of data access is the main reason for failed AI projects? Of the same cohort surveyed, over 80% report wanting to work with synthetic data and 72% plan to adopt invest in the next three years. In this presentation, we'll discuss the latest advancements in synthetic data, and why synthetic data is a key component in the future of AI. We'll also discuss Arima's contribution to the space and how the Synthetic Society has changed the field of consumer analytics.
About the Presenter
Arima is a Canadian based startup that specializes in providing consumer behavioural and mobility data to our users. Our flagship product, the Synthetic Society, is a privacy-by-design, individual level database that statistically mirrors the real society. Built using trusted data sources like census, market research, mobility and purchase patterns, it contains 100,000+ attributes across North America and enables machine learning modelling at the most granular level.
Date: September 22, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM
Presented by: Winston Li, founder of Arima
2022 - 2023 Seminar Series
On-demand recordings and seminar summaries are now available.
A CPA who can do accurate sales forecasts and budgets is indispensable. Past sales data is only half of what you need as the past alone does not predict the future. You will need to add leading indicators to your forecast. How to pick and measure the right leading indicators is pure science, and can be verified and measured. This talk will teach you how A.I. and machine learning can better help you find and measure those leading indicators.
About the Presenter
Erin Kelly is a chartered professional accountant and the CEO of Advanced Symbolics Inc. a company that uses AI to properly sample populations for human behaviour research and forecasting. Their patented AI, "Polly", is leading choice in consumer and medical research. Erin is frequently called on by national and international media for her insights into AI and its future impacts on society.
Date: November 29, 2022
Time: 2:00 PM
Presented by: Erin Kelly, CPA: CEO, Advanced Symbolics Inc.
Learn more about resources to help with your big data and artificial intelligence projects. As a Carpentries Instructor, I will give insights and an overview of the Data Carpentries and Software Carpentries workshops that offer lessons in Python, R, Git, OpenRefine, Data Cleaning, Data Management, and including how and when to sign up for workshops. Additionally, learn about resources available to you at the U of T Library system.
About the Presenter
Mike Serafin is a Library Technologies and Liaison Librarian. He is responsible for the technology that is used in the library by students, staff, and librarians. He also supports the library's online presence including the main library website as well as other library web tools, both internal and external. You can find Mike teaching Library 101 and Library 501 workshops in coding, Unix shell, Git, and privacy & security. Mike’s research interests include topics like digital making, makerspaces in academic settings for research and teaching, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. A recent research project involves examining experiences of non-expert students as they learned about artificial intelligence and its intersection with topics like healthcare, privacy, bias, arts & culture.
Date: December 7, 2022
Time: 3:00 PM
Presented by: Michael Serafin, Library Technologies and Liaison Librarian, UTM
As organizations undertake their digital transformation journeys, they need to put in place appropriate governance guardrails. Michel Girard’s presentation introduces the concept of data value chains including data collection; access and analytics. It then looks at systems and controls that should be considered to facilitate data sharing and reuse while respecting ethical norms and regulatory/ contractual obligations. Concepts such as digital transformation strategies, digital governance policies and data comptrollership will be covered in the presentation
About the Presenter
Michel Girard is a senior fellow at CIGI, where he contributes expertise in the area of standards for big data and artificial intelligence (AI). His research strives to drive dialogue on what standards are, why they matter in these emerging sectors of the economy, and how to incorporate them into regulatory and procurement frameworks. He highlights issues that should be examined in the design of new technical standards governing big data and AI in order to spur innovation while also respecting privacy, security and ethical considerations.
Date: January 25, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Presented by: Michel Girard, CIGI
Organizations want real-time and trusted data to support their critical business operations and generated AI powered insights. In this session, we will discuss how IBM is helping clients with their digital transformation initiatives with the power of data & AI providing tangible business outcomes. We will discuss Canadian client case studies on how we are transforming legacy data systems into modern Hybrid Cloud Data Fabrics and embed ethical principles into AI applications to build systems based on trust and transparency.
About the Presenter
Ashek is leading IBM Consulting Practices focusing on emerging technology led business transformation such as Data, AI & Analytics, IoT Edge, Automation, and Blockchain. He has founded practices from ground up to 100+ consultants, triple digit annual revenue growth ($50-100M / year) and implemented first-of-a-kind digital transformation at scales across Industrial, Transportation, Financial Services, and Public sector domains. Ashek is recipient for 3 patents in the area of AI Computer Vision, 3D Object Detection, and Industrial IoT Operations. He is an advisory council member for multiple global tech startups and innovation incubators with utmost passion for future skills, inclusive culture, and ecosystem development.
Date: January 31, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Presented by: Ashek Mahmood; Lead Partner, Data, AI & Analytics, Edge IoT, Automation, Blockchain, IBM
More than just a buzzword, Hybrid Cloud is the reality for business today and in the future. In this session we will explain what Hybrid Cloud is and why it is a foundational capability for Big Data and AI. Using real-life examples from Canadian projects we will discuss benefits, best practices, skills required and the future evolution of hybrid cloud.
About the Presenters
Mark Dymond
Mark believes that the art and science of good partnership lies in the time we take to truly understand each client’s business goals, so that we can build them the teams, systems, software and business practices that will take them where they want to go. Mark derives deep satisfaction from building and leading top calibre teams that integrate the best of business and technical expertise; from putting in place the project management and technical support best practices so that the solution not only gets delivered on time, on scope, and on budget, but continues to meet client business needs over the long term. His expertise is in: Leading large IT and business transformations; Managing application teams and Leading and growing people
Cynthia Unwin
Experienced Solutions Architect with a demonstrated history of working in the Financial Services industry. Skilled in providing highly supportable solutions to diverse problems and overcoming operational challenges with innovative solutions.
Date: February 9, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Presented by: Mark Dymond, Senior Partner & Canada Leader, Hybrid Cloud Services, IBM Consulting;
Cynthia Unwin, Executive Architect, Hybrid Cloud and Site Reliability Engineering
The way we leverage big data and AI continues to reshape the way work is done across all industries, and cybersecurity is no exception. Whether it be in threat prevention, hacker identification, or post-facto damage analysis, big data and machine learning techniques are becoming increasingly popular and pervasive in the ways cybersecurity and legal professionals approach tackling cyber incidents. In this seminar, join BLG’s Shane Morganstein (Associate, Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Protection group) as he shares stories from the cybersecurity war room, and insights into how big data, machine learning, and AI are helping to transform how organizations respond to increasingly complex cyber incidents.
About the Presenter
Shane practices in the corporate commercial group, with a focus on privacy, cybersecurity, and mergers and acquisitions. Shane is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/C) who regularly advises clients in the public and private sectors on a wide variety of corporate and privacy matters, including in incident response and breach coaching, technology and SaaS contracting, and privacy considerations during corporate transactions.
Date: February 16, 2023
Time: 3:00 PM
Presented by: Shane Morganstein, Associate, BLG
New advancements in technology constantly challenge the area of intellectual property law, including the onset of rights in digital assets like software and data. It is critical to ensure that intellectual property is properly protected, not only does it help a business stand out from a competitor, but it is no secret that many early-stage companies show strength with a well-managed IP portfolio, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyright. Join us for this interactive seminar co-presented by LaBarge Weinstein LLP’s Kyle Lavender, partner in the firm’s corporate group, and Laura Crimi, an associate in the firm’s technology group, where they will share their first-hand experience advising early-stage technology companies on the ins-and-outs of protecting intangible assets and navigating day-to-day corporate needs.
Members of CPA Ontario may receive CPD credits for attending the seminar
About the Presenter
Laura is an associate lawyer with the firm’s Technology & Intellectual Property Group. Her practice is focused on intellectual property, technology contracting, privacy and commercial matters. Prior to attending law school, Laura obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree focused on the implementation of pharmacogenomic medicine into clinical practice. During law school, Laura completed an internship at the World Health Organization under legal counsel for the world’s first global health treaty and graduated with a concentration in Intellectual Property, Information and Technology Law.
Date: March 1, 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Presented by: Laura Crimi & Kyle Lavender, LaBarge Weinstein LLP
Description: Please note that while this was originally a technical workshop for the Case Competition, it has now been moved to the Seminar Series for March 13, 2023.
An accessible overview of quantum computing highlighting recent advances in the industry will be given, with applied examples of how quantum algorithms can be used to solve applied problems in finance. In particular, a quantum machine learning framework to solve a credit scoring problem and a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm to solve a portfolio optimization problem are demonstrated. The talk will also feature an interactive Q&A session to answer any questions the audience has about quantum computing in general and its current and near-term applications.
Members of CPA Ontario may receive CPD credits for attending the seminar
About the Presenter
Co-Curricular Record (CCR) Notation
The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) is an official U of T document that recognizes the value of student engagement and co-curricular involvement as an important part of your holistic university experience.