Two New IP Case Study Videos Launched April 26, 2013   The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) wishes everyone a   Happy  World Intellectual Property Day April 26: Creativity — the next generation!   This morning CIPO unveiled two new intellectual property (IP) case study videos, Samantha Chang and AutoPaint .  We i nvite you to take a look and share this information.  IP Case Studies reflect realistic career situations, particularly for those studying engineering, science, business and industrial design. The Samantha Chang, AutoPaint and John Thomson videos are a fun and interactive way for people to learn more about IP.  You can find them on the CIPO web site  here .

If you were fortunate enough to have taken part in CanSIA's Solar Canada 2012 Conference on December 4 and 5, you may have seen a group of 13 graduate students and young professionals hosting our display booth.  These "highly qualified personnel" (HQP)

are not only full of enthusiasm for solar technology, but are part of a photovoltaic innovation network formed to bring together bright individuals with the goal of inventing the technology of Canada's solar future.  A future where power is produced where you use it, in any location the Sun shines, is nearer than you think.  The idea behind the NSERC Photovoltaic Innovation Network is to help foster technological development and the training of individuals who might turn this technology into a real innovation.  Theory to reality, invention to innovation, R&D to a commercial product:  when Canada's young solar R&D members meet with Canada's solar industry members, this is what we want to start happening.  For your viewing enjoyment, our HQP put together a collective photojournal from the event, and produced this brief video.  You can learn more about their experiences in our Network blog!

Read our annual Fall Newsletter. Find out about all the exciting activity within the NSERC Photovoltaic Innovation Network since the Spring. 

We Were an Active Part of the World’s Largest Specialist PV Solar Conference!.... The Network is pleased to announce that 15 of our students and young professionals recently participated in the 27th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibit in Germany  (EU PVSEC) September 24-28, 2012.  International professionals from the entire PV value chain gathered together in the financial and business hub of Frankfurt, Germany to discuss new concepts, trends and developments in science and industry. The EU PVSEC provides the most inspiring platform for dialogue and information exchange about photovoltaics across the World.  Dr. Jeff Wheeldon, (a postdoctoral fellow with the Network at the University of Ottawa), gave an informative overview on the NSERC Photovoltaic Innovation Network and its research projects, and Alex Walker and Olivier Theriault (both PhD students with the Network at the University of Ottawa) created several large posters for display, and a laptop slide deck for our booth, which attracted a lot of interest from and discussion with potential international academic and industrial collaborators.  Select photojournals and stories from our members are posted below so you can learn more about their experiences in Germany, and you can also follow our blog and video channel .  Special thanks to Dr. Sandra Schicho (a postdoctoral fellow with Sherbrooke University, aligned with our Network) - Sandra is originally from Germany and took good care of our members by organizing special excursions, networking dinners, and even teaching some German, so that participants could get the most out of their experience in Germany both professionally and personally. 
Thomas Kraft's photojournal and video
Jeff Wheeldon's photojournal
Alex Walker's photojournal
Françoise Provencher's video
Danny Rosenbloom's blog
Ben Zhang's blog
Kevin Boyd's photojournal and blog
Pratish Mahtani's photojournal and blog
Olivier Theriault's photojournal
Kitty Kumar's photojournal

Lecture Series....Kitty Kumar will be taking the lead on organizing a virtual lecture series on photovoltaics for our extended Network that will include lectures being given at universities across Canada throughout the year.  We are considering using various formats such as filmed presentations, and live interactive webinars which will also be filmed for later review, as well as making on-line webinars that are already available, more accessible to you.  Please get in touch with Kitty at kitty.kumar@utoronto.ca if you are aware of any relevant upcoming lectures at your own institution, currently existing quality material, or if you have ideas of what you'd like to see and learn, and if you'd like to help coordinate filming of the lectures at your location.

Kitty is one of the Network's PhD students (Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Year 4).  She received the best poster award at the 38th annual IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference in Austin, Texas in June 2012, and also won third place for the Research Talk Awards at our Next Generation Solar 2012 Conference in Montreal, Quebec in May 2012.

Network BLOG...We invite you to follow our new blog at the following channel [http://nsercpvin.wordpress.com] and share your thoughts!  Erik Janssen  is our resident blogger and one of the Network's MSc students (Engineering Physics, McMaster University, Year 2).  We also invite guest bloggers to periodically contribute their various perspectives on timely solar ideas and issues.

Have you seen our YouTube Channel yet?!...We have close to 20 public videos for you to learn more about solar industry developments, policy, financing (government incentives), international perspectives, and the exchange experiences of our Network students.  Check us out on the tube and subscribe at [http://www.youtube.com/pvinnovation].

Stories From Our Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP).... Archives from our series of Network events in Ottawa in May 2011 (Annual Network Meeting, Scientific Conference, and Industry Workshop). It was an exciting and educational experience that included scientific presentations, discussions, posters, tours, and networking opportunities within the photovoltaics community. Many of our HQP attended the events and were asked to share their experiences, including answers to three burning questions they had. Click on their pictures below to see what some of them have to say!