Summer students go behind the scenes of research security

Andrea Canada spent 26 years at Manitoba Hydro. This summer, she found the topic for her master’s research in a field she knew little about. 

“I have been ten by the research security bug,” she said. 

Canada, a master’s student in political science, and Kara Loudon, a PhD student in chemistry, spent the summer with UM’s Office of Research Security. They joined the team as it prepared to host the 3rd Canadian Research Security Conference (CRSC 2026) in May, which brought together people from across the country and around the world who work to safeguard research.  

Research security is about keeping research open and collaborative while protecting sensitive data and knowledge. 

Loudon joined the team just a month before the conference began. She helped coordinate speaker presentations and organize travel reimbursements. At the event, she worked the registration table and took notes in some sessions. 

“I feel I learned a lot about the care and passion that goes into planning a conference as I got a glimpse of what they had spent the last year doing to organize this amazing event,” she said.

Canada supported event planning in the lead-up, including planning the Speakers Event held the night before the conference opened. After the conference, she was tasked with writing the final report, which was shared with attendees. 

“As someone who loves learning and writing, being tasked with developing the final report was a great summer project,” she said. 

Writing the report gave Canada unique insight into what research security practitioners care about most. Among them was the challenge of building research security into the systems universities already have. 

That question, combined with her extensive experience at Manitoba Hydro, became the focus of her major research paper on how research security is being institutionalized in Canadian universities. 

“As an undergraduate student I did not know that there was an office I could consult with for questions on how to best keep my research secure,” she said. “I now know and understand the importance of safeguarding my research and who to reach out to with any further questions.” 

Both students credited the people they worked with. 

“The research security team as well as all the other teams in VPRI at the University of Manitoba can be described as welcoming, knowledgeable and kind,” Loudon said. 

Canada said she is grateful for how welcomed she felt, and for the support she continues to receive while finishing her paper.