Innovation Fuel: Real-World Business Cases

Career growth and job search strategies for newcomers, students, and professionals in Canada. In this episode, we sit down with Boris Poludo, a veteran IT leader with nearly three decades of experience across telecom, healthcare, and finance. Boris shares his inspiring journey from a newcomer in Canada to the founder of START Group Consulting Inc. and the Start Canada Initiative — platforms dedicated to helping job seekers, students, and newcomers build their employability skills and thrive in their career development journeys. Discover how Start Canada is transforming interview preparation, career coaching, and employability assessments through innovative tools and personalized strategies. Whether you’re a new immigrant, a recent graduate, or a professional looking to grow your career in Canada, this conversation offers actionable insights to help you showcase your skills, gain confidence, and stand out in today’s job market. Shownotes:(00:00) Boris Puluto is a seasoned IT leader with nearly 30 years experience(00:34) Start Group Consulting is a business entity that we formed just a couple of years ago(03:59) Paludo Institute helps people prepare for interviews using a quiz based assessment(11:04) Start Canada aims to help people build their professional profiles on the job market(14:47) How do you make sure someone's skills are visible in those first 10 seconds(19:47) Boris: Isn't starting something new a great way to start life

In response to UNESCO's call to promote AI competency frameworks for both teachers and students, Dr. Noosha Mehdian from University Canada West has collaborated with AI to produce this podcast. Leveraging the power of Gemini API avatars, Dr. Mehdian explores how UNESCO's AI competency framework can help prepare educators and students to become responsible, creative citizens in the AI era. She discusses the importance of integrating AI competency into curricula and educational policies, and how these frameworks can shape the future of education in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.Thanks to our hosts Gelareh Farhadian, and Dave Keighron for making the space to such an interesting experiment in the constant search of innovation.

In another episode of Innovation Fuel, Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian chat with Tess and Ariss, co-founders of Awl Together Leather in Vancouver. They share their passion for sustainability and inclusion in leatherwork and shoe repair. They started their own business focused on passing down craftsmanship and prolonging the lifecycle of leather goods through repair. Their creativity shines through in the problem-solving required for each unique repair job. Listen to learn how two entrepreneurs are preserving tradition while building community.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Pat Chaisang, Founder & CEO at Isempower Canada's first job search platform for international students. She joins hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian to discuss starting November 15, 2022, international students in Canada will be allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. They also talk about the challenges of international students finding jobs in Canada and some misconceptions employers may have about hiring international students.

Digital Transformation what does it really mean? On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian discover the misconceptions about digital transformation and define it as more than just the word technology. To solve this debate, they talk to the President & Founder of Cyper in this episode. It's a great conversation about how digital transformation will add more value to your company culture and business. Have a great week, and I will talk to you when I'm back 😊

How do we solve the talent gap here in Canada that he's been going on for over 20 years? We discuss this critical problem in this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, where we welcome back our very own Sheldon Levy, President of University Canada West. Sheldon joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to dig deeper into Canada's talent gap issue and find realistic solutions that education institutions can implement to help our society move past this obstacle. We need to fix the talent gap to grow our businesses and create a better future for all Canadians.

In this episode of Innovation Fuel, we delve into the world of beauty e-commerce with Adam Chunz, co-founder and CMO of Blanka. Discover how Blanka is democratizing the beauty industry by enabling anyone to create and scale their own beauty product line. Listen to learn about the innovative platform that's changing the game for entrepreneurs, influencers, and existing brands.Learn more about Blanka's platform for creators here