Agenda - Canada West Defence & Dual-Use Research and Innovation Forum | UBC Applied Science

UBC Applied Science

Location and Dates

Reception: January 25, 2027, BCIT Marine Campus, 265 Esplanade W, North Vancouver, BC
Forum: January 26-28, 2027, Ponderosa Commons Ballroom, 6445 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC

January 25, 2027 Reception Evening
17:00 - 17:30	Registration and Networking
17:30 - 17:45	Welcome Remarks
17:45 - 18:30	Fireside Chat with Dr. Gaëlle Rivard Piché, Executive Director, CDA Institute
18:30 - 20:00	Networking; Marine Innovation & Simulation Showcase

DAY 1 - January 26, 2027 Advanced Dual-Use Research Ecosystems & Emerging Frontier Tech
08:30 - 09:00	Registration and Breakfast
09:00 - 09:45	Keynote Address: The Evolving Battlefield: AI, Autonomous Systems, Drones, and the Next Era of Multi-Domain Warfare
09:45 - 11:00	Panel 1: Multi-Institutional research and innovation clusters, collaboration across BC's ecosystem, regional capabilities roadmap Dr. Adam Clare, Professor, University of British Columbia Dr. Vicky Bungay, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Applied Science, UBC Dr. Colin Bradley, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, UVic Dr. Jeffrey Smith, Associate Dean of Marine and Head of Marine Campus, BCIT Dr. Kevin Oldknow, Principal, Surrey Campus, Simon Fraser University
11:00 - 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 - 12:30	Panel 2: Leveraging AI for situational awareness across air, land, and sea Major Dr. Dugald Thomson, Air Liaison Officer, DRDC Dr. Eric Saczuk, Head, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, BCIT Patrick Gall, Manager, STAR, University of British Columbia Dylan Neid, Head of Engineering, Juno Industries
12:30 - 13:30	Networking Lunch Break
13:30 - 14:45	Panel 3: Personnel protection and biomedical countermeasures Dr. Roza Bidshahri, Senior Manager, CIEBH, University of British Columbia Paul Eagan, Strategic Medical Countermeasures Program Manager, Canadian Forces Health Services Headquarters
14:45 - 15:00	Coffee Break
15:00 - 17:00	Guided lab tours of UBC facilities

DAY 2 - January 27, 2027 Commercialization, Procurement, ITBs & Defence Funding Landscape
08:30 - 09:00	Registration and Breakfast
09:00 - 09:30	Keynote Address: DND/CAF Vision for Defence Procurement, Innovation Pipelines, and Capability Priorities
09:30 - 11:00	Panel 1: Engaging defence Primes, integrating regional SMEs and PSIs into supply chains Roz Seyednejad, Founder and CEO, Stratesol Consulting Dr. Anoush Poursartip, Professor and Director, CRN, University of British Columbia Chad Hey, Director of Industrial Participation & Strategic Initiatives, Seaspan Shipyards Matthew Stone, Defence Contracts & Commercial Manager, KF Aerospace Richard Summers, Head of Technology and Innovation, Babcock Canada
11:00 - 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 - 12:30	Panel 2: Research security, STRAC and NSGRP compliance and practical risk mitigation Akshay Singh, Director, Research Security, UBC Jonathan Miller, Co-founder and principal, Pendulum Geopolitical Advisory Vina Nadjibulla, Co-Founder and CEO, Centre for Strategic Statecraft (CSS)
12:30 - 13:30	Networking Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:00	Panel 3: Capital platforms & Dual-use venture scaling, regional defence funds Lucas Bjorgan, Senior Economic Advisor, Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada Robert Waye, Head of Growth, Dominion Dynamics Luan Tolosa, Director of Growth, Alacrity Canada
15:00 - 15:15	Coffee Break
15:15 - 17:00	Dual-use innovation pitch & showcase

DAY 3 - January 28, 2027 Operational Validation, Field Testing & Tactical Deployment
08:30 - 09:00	Registration and Breakfast
09:00 - 09:30	Keynote Address: From Lab Bench to Extreme Environments: DRDC's Test, Evaluation, and Field Validation Roadmap
09:30 - 11:00	Panel 1: Autonomy, counter-UAS & unmanned systems in extreme environments, resilient communications in GPS-denied situation Dr. Adrien Desjardins, Professor, University ofBritish Columbia Jozsef Hamari, Co-founder and CTO, TerraSense Analytics Mark Thibodeau, Director of Sonar Systems, General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada
11:00 - 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 - 12:30	Panel 2: Accelerated field testing, closing the testing gap for extreme tactical deployment Tenille Houston, Director, One9 Capability Labs Cdr. Matthew Arthur, Commanding Officer, Advances Naval Capabilities Unit, Royal Canadian Navy
12:30 - 13:30	Networking Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:30	Regional strategy & 12-month action plan working session for Western Canada
15:30 - 15:45	Coffee Break
15:45 - 17:00	Closing roundtable and wrap-up

BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE VIEW SPEAKERS

Yaser Roshan

Senior Manager, Research Partnerships

yaser.roshan@ubc.ca

UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm people (Musqueam; which means 'People of the River Grass') and Syilx Okanagan Nation. The land has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam and Syilx peoples, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history and traditions from one generation to the next.