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Bridging Divides TMU Spring Retreat

Date
March 26, 2026
Time
9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
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Location
Ted Rogers School of Management, 7th floor, TRS Commons, 55 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Open To
Bridging Divides researchers, affiliated researchers and HQPs
Register for Bridging Divides TMU Spring Retreat (external link) 

A one-day meeting designed for all researchers, affiliated researchers and HQPs at TMU who are part of the Bridging Divides team

The Bridging Divides biannual retreats at Toronto Metropolitan University aim to foster collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing among researchers working on various Bridging Divides projects across TMU. The retreat is an opportunity to reconnect, share updates, explore emerging ideas, and learn what is happening across labs, themes, and teams.

Register  (external link, opens in new window) 

Spring Retreat 2026

Join us for the third annual Bridging Divides Spring Retreat, hosted by Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan and the Cybersecurity Research Lab, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The topic of this year's retreat is Barriers and Bridges: Technology, Hiring, and Health for Newcomers. It will highlight innovative work in cybersecurity, digital systems, and equity, while creating space for colleagues to share projects at various stages of development. 

Whether you are experimenting with new methodologies, working with digital tools and platforms, or refining an ongoing project, the retreat offers a collaborative setting to exchange ideas and gain fresh perspectives from across the program.

Retreat Sessions

This year’s program will feature three sessions designed to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange:

  • Digital Frontiers: Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Equity in a Connected Society

  • Digital Gatekeepers: Platforms, Credentials, and Equity in the Labour Market

  • Poster and Demo Session

 (PDF file)  Read more: Book of Abstracts for all presentations and exhibit
 Program
08:30–08:45 AM Poster presenters bring their posters to TRS 1-148
09:00–09:15 AM Welcome coffee
09:15–09:20 AM Opening Remarks and Land Acknowledgment | Anna Triandafyllidou (Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration and Bridging Divides Scientific Director)
09:20–09:30 Welcome Remarks | Hong Yu (Associate Dean Research, TRSM)
  Digital Frontiers: Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Equity in a Connected Society
09:30–10:00 AM Cybersecurity Research Lab| Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan (Canada Research Chair & Associate Professor, TRSM)
10:00–10:40 AM Generative AI in Computational Social Science (CSS): Opportunities and Challenges Ahead| Anatoliy Gruzd (Canada Research Chair & Professor, TRSM)
10:40–11:00 AM Access to Telehealth Modalities of Care Among Immigrants and Refugees in Ontario, Canada: A Population-health Study | Vess Stamenova (Assistant Professor, TRSM)
11:00–11:30 AM Coffee Break & Networking
  Digital Gatekeepers: Platforms, Credentials, and Equity in the Labour Market
11:30 AM–12:00 PM Searching in the Black Box: How Advanced Digital Technology-Driven Hiring Platforms Shape Immigrants' Experiences in the Canadian Labour Market | Rupa Banerjee (Canada Research Chair in Economic inclusion, Employment and Entrepreneurship of Canada's Immigrants and Professor, TRSM)
12:00–12:20 PM Vocational Credentials and Hiring Intentions for Foreign-Trained IT Professionals | Pedro Seguel Varas (Assistant Professor, TRSM)
12:20–1:00 PM Lunch & Networking
  Research Exhibit and Competition 
1:00–2:15 PM Poster presentations and demonstrations from Bridging Divides researchers.
  1. Developing GeoTEAM: A Geospatial Tangible User Interface that Bridges Spatial Knowledge Divides Amongst Migration Researchers | Karen Natalie Penaranda Valdivia (TMU), Nujaimah Ahmed (TMU), Aswah Butt (TMU), Mashrufa Orchi (TMU), Sarah Hoyos-Hoyos (Wilfrid Laurier), Gabby Resch (Ontario Tech), Robert Mcleman (Wilfrid Laurier), Jamy Li (TMU), Roozbeh Manshaei (TMU), and Ali Mazalek (TMU)
  2. Optimistic or Uncomfortable? Examining Privacy Perceptions of Immigrants Towards Blockchain-based Personal Health Record Adoption Intentions | Dane Vanderkooi and Atty Mashatan (TMU) 
  3. Outpatient Telehealth Access and Patient Experience Among Immigrants and Refugees: A Scoping Review | Balikca Visvalingam, Mahdiar Khodabakhshi, and Vess Stamenova (TMU)
  4. Decentralization for True Patient Agency in Personal Health Records: A Cultural Study of Self-determination and Privacy Calculus Perspectives Among Immigrants to Canada | Mohamad Sangari and Atty Mashatan (TMU)
  5. Embodied Migration Analytics: A Mixed-Reality Platform for Exploring Urban Migration Dynamics | Roozbeh Manshaei, Jordan Hoss, and Ali Mazalek (TMU)
  6. Introducing the Migration Ad Observatory: Tracking Influence, Power, and Narratives in Migration Ads | Anatoliy Gruzd, Philip Mai, and Ricky Yu (TMU) 
  7. Using Large Language Models to Map Immigrant-Serving Organizations: Design Choices and Implications for Digital Governance Data | Pedro Seguel and Tharindu Yakkala Arachchilage Don (TMU)
  8. Patient-centred Health Information Systems: Expert Perceptions of Migrant Population Challenges and Opportunities | Holly Gardner and Atty Mashatan (TMU) 
  9. IMRAG: A Retrieval-Augmented Generation System for Canadian Immigration Knowledge | Augustine Farinola (U of A)
  10. Understanding Migrant Neighbourhood and Commuting preferences using Immersive Virtual Reality | Thomas Zhao, Isabel Kim, and Bilal Farooq (TMU)
  11. The Personal Health Dossier: A Proposed Decentralized Personal Health Record System using Verifiable Credentials | David McKay, Holly Gardner, and Atty Mashatan (TMU)
  12. AI Use and Immigrants in Workplaces | Wendy Cukier, Kevin Wu, and Guang Ying Mo (TMU)
  13. Observatory on Immigration Discourses (IDIO) | Muhammad Rehman Zafar and Naimul Khan (TMU)
  14. What Does It Mean for AI to Be Culturally Capable? A Taxonomy Grounded in Intercultural Communication Theory | Isar Nehadgholi (NRC), Masoud Kianpour (TMU), Maryam Molamohammadi (Mila), and Krishnapriya Vishnubhotla (NRC)
  15. Unveiling the Experiences of Racialized Immigrant Women in Cybersecurity - An Intersectional Qualitative Inquiry | Sepideh Borzoo, Rupa Banerjee, and Atty Mashatan (TMU)
  16. Towards Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Labour Market Dynamics for Integrated Transportation and Land Use Systems | Lina Waqfi, Bilal Farooq (TMU) and Zachary Patterson (Concordia)
  17. Using Machine Learning to Predict Cross-Border Migration from Least Developed Countries | Vaidehi Atodaria and Yousef Khalifa Aleghfeli (TMU)
  18. Hybrid Quantum-Efficient Solutions for Last-Mile On-Demand Delivery Problem | Farzan Moosavi and Bilal Farooq (TMU)
2:15–2:30 PM Closing remarks and Best Poster/Demo Awards Announcements | Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan

As part of this year’s retreat, we are introducing a dedicated Poster and Demo Session to create more space for in-depth conversations around ongoing research, tools, prototypes, data visualizations, and works in progress.

This session is an opportunity to:

  • Share a project at any stage of development

  • Demonstrate a tool, platform, dataset, or method

  • Present early findings and receive feedback

  • Engage in longer, informal discussions with interested colleagues

The goal is to showcase the breadth of work happening across Bridging Divides and to encourage cross-lab connections.

How to Submit

Please submit a short poster/demo abstract outlining:

  • Title

  • Name of authors/presenters
  • Thematic area
  • Short abstract

Abstract deadline EXTENDED: March 11, 2026

If selected, poster preparation and printing will be the responsibility of individual researchers. Files must be prepared by March 15, 2026 to allow adequate time for printing. The Cybersecurity Research Lab will provide detailed guidance and support upon acceptance. All posters must include Bridging Divides branding and logos (guidelines will be shared upon acceptance). 

 (google form)  Submit your short abstract  (external link, opens in new window) 

Please register to let us know you will attend.

For questions about the retreat or the poster/demo session, contact:
bridging.divides@torontomu.ca