URSA Research
Meet the Team
Project Lead
Prof. Amir Albadvi
Amir is the Project Lead and Principal Investigator for URSA project is a dedicated Professor of Information Systems with nearly 30 years of experience bridging academia and industry. After earning his PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE), he has supervised 167 MSc and PhD students, co-authoring over 250 publications with them. His expertise in complexity science and complex adaptive systems modeling fuels his drive to find innovative solutions to real-world challenges.
Principal Investigator, MOSAIC I
Dr. Arifusalam Shaikh
Arif has a PhD in Management Science from Kent Business School (University of Kent, Canterbury, UK) with a background in Industrial Engineering. He worked as a business school faculty member in Saudi Arabia, Canada and China. Dr. Shaikh currently works as an Associate Professor at University Canada West, Vancouver, Canada. He is passionate about innovation and sustainability, and has research interests in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, translational research, urban resilience, and sustainability.
Principal Investigator, MOSAIC II
Dr. Aigerim Shilibekova
Aigerim is an Associate Professor at University Canada West (UCW). She completed her postdoctoral research at Harvard University, focusing on international security strategies. Currently pursuing a second PhD in Educational Technology and Learning Design at Simon Fraser University (SFU), she researches AI-powered inclusive instructional design for future-ready faculty and workforce development. Dr. Shilibekova speaks on AI in education, lifelong learning and consults enterprises on capacity building, helping professionals and organizations develop adaptive strategies to thrive in an evolving world.
Principal Investigator, MOSAIC III
Dr. Abedeh Gholidoust
Abedeh has a Master and Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tehran Poly Technic University. She has worked as a Research Engineer with the National Petrochemical Company of Iran for almost a year. In 2010 she started working as a “Research Scientist” with the Air liquid Company at ENSTA ParisTech. She then began her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta in 2011. She is passionate about science advocacy, business intelligence and communication. She has served as a Business and Compliance Analyst with the peace officer sections at the City of Edmonton (COE) for 4 years and then joined the City of Vancouver as a Data Analyst in 2021. Dr. Gholidoust is currently an Assistant professor at University Canada West.
Co-investigator for MOSAIC IV and V
Dr. Mohsen Ghodrat
Mohsen earned his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta in 2018, following his MSc and BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Shiraz University in Iran. With over 10 years of industrial experience, Mohsen has worked across various sectors, including transportation, gaming, natural resource management, and banking. He has applied his expertise in mathematical modeling, control systems, machine learning, and deep learning to address complex challenges in robotics, automation, customer relationship management, and data-driven decision making.
Principal Investigator for MOSAIC I Replication
Cheryl Thomas
Cheryl has consulted to over 250 organizations in the public and private sectors across Canada, the Americas and the Middle East. She is an expert in organizational transformation from both a process implementation and an organizational culture point of view. She aligns leaders, teams and other stakeholders with the strategies to achieve the organization’s vision and goals. Her clients have included startups through to large multinational companies and governments. Her interest in Urban Resilience comes from facilitating numerous meetings with municipalities as they struggled to make critical financial decisions. Cheryl has taught in Business programs at many universities in Canada and the Middle East as an adjunct to her consulting practice; and, has supervised hundreds of MBA Capstone Projects.
Co-Investigator Mosaic VI
Mozghan PourmoradNasseri
Mozhgan holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Tartu, Estonia. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in France and then served as an Assistant Professor in Mobility Modeling in Tartu. During this time, she contributed to multiple collaborative projects with cities, industry partners, and academic institutions across Europe, focusing on data-driven urban mobility. Her research interests include active mobility, network science, and urban informatics, with an emphasis on developing data-informed solutions for complex urban challenges to help shape smarter, more sustainable cities. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the University Canada West (UCW).
Research Partnership
Dr. Renata Faizova
Renata is a sustainability scholar whose work focuses on climate governance, corporate sustainability strategies, and the role of institutions in advancing resilient and equitable development. Her research and professional experience bridge academia, policy, and industry, particularly in the areas of energy transition and regenerative sustainability. Dr. Faizova holds a Master of Sustainability and PhD in International Politics. She has professional experience in the energy sector, contributing to sustainability initiatives and ESG-related projects that support responsible business practices.
Research Partnership
Dr. Ali Marjaie
Ali is an Assistant Professor at University Canada West (UCW). He holds a PhD in Information Technology Management, followed by an MBA in Systems and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and IT. With nearly 20 years of industrial experience, his work bridges technology, business, and society. His research interests focus on AI transformation, AI-first business models, and the integration of advanced artificial intelligence into legacy information systems.
He is passionate about empowering communities and shaping the future through education, helping prepare the next generation of business leaders to navigate and implement inclusive technological advancements.
Research Partnership
Dr. Daniel Oskooei
Daniel is a faculty member in Marketing and International Marketing at University Canada West and a global technology and business strategist with more than 35 years of experience across AI, Industrial IoT, telecommunications, SaaS, and digital transformation. His expertise includes international market expansion and international partnership development, helping organizations design scalable global ecosystems and cross-border collaboration frameworks. Throughout his career, he has held senior leadership roles in multinational companies including IBM, Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Alcatel, and Xiaomi. Dr. Oskooei holds a Post-Doctorate in Business Administration (Post-DBA). His work focuses on technology-enabled innovation for smart cities, including Industrial IoT ecosystems and strategic frameworks for UAV Traffic Management (UTM) and urban air mobility systems.
Research Partnership
Dr. Olfat Ganji Bidmeshk
Olfat is a scholar-practitioner whose work connects information technology, business strategy, and digital transformation. With a PhD in Information Technology Management focused on Business Intelligence, an MSc in Business Management specializing in Change Management, a BSc in Computer Engineering, and research experience at UBC Sauder, she has built a career across academia, research, and industry. Her work includes municipal research and projects in business-IT alignment, information systems strategy, smart city ICT, and data informed decision making. She has worked as a Technical and Business Analyst in the BC Government and in SAP Commerce, and is passionate about building adaptive, resilient, and sustainable digital systems. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at UCW.