Outcome of an academic collaboration between Defence Scientists of the radiological and nuclear technology group at Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield Research Centre and Toronto Metropolitan University

In Canada, defence security sciences are typically taught within specialized programs and institutions, such as the Royal Military College of Canada, and as such, graduates from programs outside these specializations tend to be unfamiliar with the world of defence science, its applicability and relevancy to their program. Such limitation was observed in an academic collaboration between defence scientists of the Radiological and Nuclear Technology group at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) – Suffield Research Centre and the Physics department of Toronto Metropolitan University in Ontario (formerly called Ryerson University). The collaboration, which took place during the Winter 2021 semester involved the contribution of course material by DRDC – Suffield Research Centre defence scientists, Dr. Anna Rae Green and Dr. Helen Moise to the Physics graduate level course titled, “Radiation Protection and Dosimetry,” which is led and taught by course professor and Physics department chair, Dr. Ana Pejović-Milić. The outcome of this collaboration was a first for all parties involved and proved to be successful allowing students to utilize their knowledge to the challenging field of defence science—an opportunity that they have very likely never received as part of the regular science stream.