Next-Gen discovery & innovation
Research with purpose
Highlights
Childhood affluence and adversity affect kids’ chances to become leaders
Children who grow up in affluent households are significantly more likely to hold formal leadership positions by their mid‑twenties than those from families facing adversity, according to a Concordia-led study. The research shows that while both groups can succeed, the paths they take differ sharply.
Affluent children tend to benefit from job opportunities gained through family and personal connections. These advantages accumulate over time, increasing their chances of becoming supervisors or managers. In contrast, children in adverse circumstances often lack access to such networks and face additional barriers, including chronic stress and limited developmental resources.
The study — led by Steve Granger, assistant professor of management at the John Molson School of Business — analyzed data from nearly 6,800 participants in the British Cohort Study, which tracked individuals born in 1970 from birth to age 26. While financial hardship did not directly predict leadership outcomes, early exposure to instability and stress was found to limit long-term opportunities.
The authors suggest that investing in programs that help disadvantaged youth build skills and professional networks could help them reach leadership roles in adulthood.
Concordia’s student-built rocket takes flight
After years of design, testing and perseverance, Space Concordia students successfully launched Starsailor, a 13‑metre liquid‑fuel rocket built by the student group from the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. The rocket lifted off from a remote site in northern Quebec, about 250 kilometres north of the Cree community of Mistissini.
Powered by a custom-built engine capable of exceeding five times the speed of sound, Starsailor carried cameras, an onboard flight computer and commemorative items. Although the rocket separated earlier than planned, the mission became the first Canadian launch in the 21st century and the first-ever space launch in Quebec.
More than 700 Concordia students have contributed to the project since its inception in 2018, which received major support from donors, including Concordia Chancellor Gina Cody, Lorne Trottier and the Trottier Family Foundation. The project is led by the Rocketry Division of Space Concordia and has grown into one of the most advanced student rocketry initiatives in the world.
Photo credit: Space Concordia
Photo credit: Gabriel Dupras
Music makes us move even when we don’t like it
The pleasurable urge to “groove” to music is a psychological response separate from musical enjoyment, according to new Concordia research. The study, led by Isaac Romkey, a PhD student in the Department of Psychology, shows that even people with musical anhedonia — those who don’t typically enjoy music — still feel compelled to move. The research highlights that movement itself can generate enjoyment, and that pleasure and motion are processed through partly distinct brain systems.
Isaac Romkey, PhD student in the Department of Psychology
Abundant Intelligences research program is indigenizing AI
A Concordia-led initiative is working to indigenize artificial intelligence by embedding Indigenous knowledge systems, values and worldviews into AI design and governance. The international, multi-institutional and interdisciplinary Abundant Intelligences program seeks to reshape how AI is developed, used and taught in Canada and beyond.
Researchers involved believe this alternative approach can create an AI that is oriented towards human thriving, preserves Indigenous languages, addresses pressing environmental and sustainability issues, reimagines public-health solutions and more.
Social media’s fake news is the target of a new tool developed at Concordia
Researchers at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science have developed a digital tool aimed at combatting fake news on social media. Through probabilistic models and deep learning, SmoothDetector helps users identify misleading or unreliable content by analyzing how information spreads online and by flagging patterns associated with disinformation. Designed to support media literacy rather than censor content, the project aims to empower users to better understand and resist the dynamics of online misinformation.
Can AI transform art education and pedagogy?
A research team led by jessie beier, assistant professor in Concordia’s Department of Art Education, is exploring how AI can reshape art education by rethinking creativity, learning and pedagogy. Their research-creation initiative, titled Learning Machines, uses collaborative, experimental approaches — including a live-streamed TV show — to examine how algorithms influence teaching and perception. The work emphasizes accessibility, collective learning and critical engagement with AI, asking broader questions about intelligence, education and what it means to learn in an age of machine-driven technologies.
Left: Sarah Bélanger-Martel. Right (from left): jessie beier and Natalie Pavlik.
Policy reform could be key to easing Canada’s housing and affordability crisis
Research led by Erkan Yönder, associate professor at the John Molson School of Business, in partnership with Canadian private-equity firm Equiton, finds that policy reform — especially reducing red tape and speeding up approvals — could significantly boost housing supply and improve affordability in Canada.
Using AI to analyze market data, the study shows that streamlining regulations could raise housing completions by up to 10 per cent. Rising construction costs and labour shortages, however, remain major barriers. The authors say that solutions must be tailored by city and supported through collaboration across governments, industry and communities.
Concordia partners with National Bank of Canada to advance trustworthy AI systems
A $1.5-million research initiative led by Emad Shihab, associate dean of Research and Innovation, and professor at the Gina Cody School, will help develop more trustworthy AI systems.
The project, a partnership between Concordia and National Bank of Canada, focuses on improving how AI is used in software development — automating tasks like coding and testing, while ensuring reliability, security and transparency. It will also create tools to verify AI-generated code and train graduate students through hands-on industry experience, helping bridge academic research and real-world financial-sector needs. The initiative is co-funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Emad Shihab, associate dean of Research and Innovation, and professor at the Gina Cody School
