Delivery partners

Dr. Rafiq Ahmad is a Professor at the University of Alberta, educator, innovator, and distinguished researcher. He is the founder of SMART Lab and Agile Learning Factory and the University of Alberta Engineering Research Chair in Smart Manufacturing and Industrialized Robotics, advancing human-centered innovation, education, and leadership development. Drawing on his experience across academia, industry, and global collaborations, Dr. Ahmad developed the 10P Leadership Cycle to help individuals turn purpose into meaningful action and lasting impact. His work on sustainable technologies has received recognition from NASA, alongside the ASTech Award and Edify’s Top 40 Under 40 recognition.

Quamrul Huda, Ph.D., P.Eng. is the JR Shaw Research Chair in Industrial Automation at the Centre for Sensors and System Integration at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology under the Commonwealth Scholarship award in the U.K. and completed post-doctoral research at the Nanoelectronics Research Institute in Japan under a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship. He has over 20 years of experience as a university professor, 8 years in the Government of Alberta, and 7 years in industry research. He received the Government of Alberta’s Innovation Fund Award for leading the development of IoT-based low-footprint air monitoring systems. Quamrul has led industry-oriented projects on robotics, electro-opto-mechanical sensors and actuators, embedded systems, automation, digitization, remote sensing, predictive maintenance, environmental monitoring, wildland fire, and greenhouse emission reductions.

As an innovation leader, Dr. Rajani has devoted his career to pioneering research and innovation in advanced manufacturing and materials science, with over 15 years of experience spanning both industry and academia. To date, Dr. Rajani’s research projects and initiatives, including the Alternative Construction Technologies (ACT) hub, the Automation and Robotics Technologies (ART) hub, and the Alberta Aerospace Research Centre (AARC), have secured awards exceeding $19 million. Dr. Rajani’s laboratories at SAIT are designated as one of NATO DIANA’s testing centers, facilitating the development and dissemination of unclassified dual-purpose technologies among NATO nations. His work is featured in reputable journals, and he holds multiple patents. His multidisciplinary team and laboratories at CIRAMM are committed to advancing various industries by fostering innovation in manufacturing and materials science.

Debjyoti Sen, M.Sc., P.Eng. is a robotics and industrial automation leader with over 12 years of experience in real-world technology deployment, robotic systems integration, and advanced manufacturing. As Director of the Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing – Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC) at Red Deer Polytechnic, he leads a portfolio of more than 50 industry-sponsored projects annually, helping companies adopt, integrate, and commercialize advanced technologies. Previously, as founder of an Alberta-based tech company, he led the design, integration, and deployment of industrial automation systems, bringing extensive hands-on experience in solving complex manufacturing challenges on the factory floor. Bridging the gap between emerging technologies and practical industrial applications, Debjyoti focuses on accelerating the adoption of robotics, intelligent automation, and Physical AI to improve manufacturing productivity and competitiveness.