About
WHAT WE DO
First, we engage in collaborative multidisciplinary research with partners and affiliates in academia from DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University at large, as well as national and international academics. Second, we actively pursue collaborative research opportunities with various partners across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. We work closely with our partners to study and optimize their specific digital initiatives and ensure their success. Third, we engage in the training of students and highly-qualified-personnel (HQP), as well as support graduate education such as DeGroote’s Executive MBA in Digital Transformation program.
HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT
Information Box Group
State-of-the-Art Research Labs
MDTRC labs are uniquely designed around how people normally interact with technology in their daily lives in a myriad of natural professional, educational, social, and personal settings. Our different and uniquely reconfigurable lab designs allow researchers to unobtrusively study users as they interact with information technology, whether they’re using the technology alone, in the vicinity of others, or in collaboration with others. Our labs afford a deeper understanding of complex digital transformation phenomena with highly rigorous and actionable results.
Cutting-Edge Research Technology
MDTRC labs are uniquely designed to host neurophysiological (NeuroIS) research infrastructure that allows researchers to measure the cognitive and physiological responses of participants in real-time as they engage in various tasks. These include measures such as the live analysis of facial expressions, eye-tracking, pupillometry, brain wave activity through electroencephalography, heart rate, breathing rate, and skin conductance. This infrastructure can also be relocated to study participants in their natural environment in the field.
Academics & HQP
MDTRC is part of DeGroote, McMaster University; a research intensive institution. McMaster is ranked as one of the world’s top 75 universities and the 17th in the world for global impact. MDTRC hosts a variety of multidisciplinary academics with a significant track record of publications in top academic journals. MDTRC also hosts students and highly-qualified-personnel that engage in multidisciplinary research and have specialized and diverse skill sets. Our HQP also have a successful track record of publications in top academic journals.
Our Commitment
Our primary commitment for our various stakeholders is to research and make sense of the digital revolution that is transforming every aspect of our personal, social, and professional lives. Our timely and important cutting-edge research initiatives will lead to a fundamental shift in our understanding of the ever-evolving digital revolution and its challenges and opportunities, with far reaching implications for managerial practice across sectors as well as for society at large.
Industry
We are committed to work closely with our non-academic partners across sectors to deliver cutting-edge research and highly actionable results that helps them understand their digital challenges, effectively manage their digital transformation initiatives, and enhance their practices and user experiences. Our public, private, and not-for-profit partners can also utilize our research infrastructure for their team’s own use.
Academics
We are committed to closely collaborating with academic partners from around the world on high-impact top-tier multidisciplinary research projects focusing on digital transformation. Our academic partners can also utilize our research infrastructure for their own independent projects.
Students
We are committed to provide our affiliated students with rich multidisciplinary research opportunities using state-of-the-art research technology that allows them to develop a unique set of skills and capabilities. The ongoing interactions with our partners in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors will further enrich our students’ experiences making them more attractive for employment upon graduation, given their multidisciplinary training and highly specialized and diverse skill sets.
Local Community
We are committed to provide numerous opportunities for all members of our Southwestern Ontario community to participate in highly innovative research projects and engage with cutting-edge information technology. We highly value and compensate our research participants for their time and effort and are committed to ensure that our research results help deliver have a positive impact on our community. Our mandate bolsters Ontario’s booming position in digital transformation as a key sector for research, development, and innovation.
Social Impact
We are committed to advance our understanding of various societal implications of digital transformation and technology use, and gain insights on not just the opportunities that digital transformation generates, but also on the “dark side” of technology use and its potential negative impacts. We are also committed to understanding the unique challenges that are particularly experienced by vulnerable segments of the population such as older adults, people with disabilities, and understand how technologies can better support users with different needs.
Support
Research at the MDTRC is supported by the DeGroote School of Business, multiple Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) / Ontario Research Foundation – Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI) grants, as well as SSHRC, NSERC, Ontario Centres of Excellence, McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, and contract awards.
