About Unica Institute
UNICA Community-Research-Learning Institute is an organization fostering research, development, Innovation, academic learning and community support. It serves as a collaborative hub for creation and an incubator for research and development (R&D) in a multidisciplinary perspective.
UNICA CRLI counts on the dedication of the in-house researchers, as well as on several partners worldwide. The establishment of R&D and educational partnerships is a core factor within UNICA’s strategy to promote network based scientific and social advancements.
Community, Research and Learning Institute
Word from the General Manager
Unica Institute takes pride in being an online university and community institute worldwide, ready to meet the higher education and training needs of people, organizations and businesses globally.
This web focus has allowed the school to expand into the International education market, introduce a variety of new programs, and therefore, increase our student body dramatically.
Unica Institute is a private not-for-profit education institution operating under the private education Act, and functioning within the Quebec post-secondary system. The institute offers an emerging eLearning platform.
The institute is moving towards a technology-centred learning model that spreads responsibility for supporting student success as a part of the institute’s commitment to student excellence.
A new academic section will be built at the school to allow for growth in programs related to High School degrees, College and University level degrees such as ACS, Diplomas, Bachelors and Masters.
Unica Institute offers full-time and part-time customized credit programs in several sectors, including: Master and Bachelor degree and Diploma programs in computer science and business administration.
Unica Institute exhibits its commitment to market-driven programs and courses by working cooperatively with UK universities and educational institutions. Unica Institute meets its regional commitment by providing cost-recovery programs through collaborative agreements or other funding partnerships. Through its Continuing Education division, the institute offers certificates and credit programs as an extension of mandated programs. Community services offered on a full or partial cost recovery basis include applied research in learning technology using onsite tutoring, online training management solutions and learning management. Demonstrating its responsibility and commitment as a community college, Unica Institute is able to respond effectively to emerging community needs.
The institute programming is developed with a view to meeting local, and international needs thus preparing people for a future in the global community.
Our Mission
To promote care for life, through arts, education, applied research and support to the community, in favor of people’s health and well-being.
Our Vision
To be an Institute of national and international expression in Teaching, Applied Research, Development and Innovation, whilst bridging Arts and Technology, and sheltering cultural initiatives.
Our Values
Relevance
We serve the needs of diverse industries by keeping technology and innovation at the forefront of our activities.
Accessibility
We believe that everyone and anyone has the right to access education. Therefore we focus on delivering high-level online teaching to a global community.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
At Unica, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are in the DNA of our organization. From employees and professors to students, we take pride in making everyone feel like they belong. Because they do!
UNICA CRLI
The Team
Mr. Karim Blondy
UNICA CRLI Membership: Domain Expert – Associate Professor
Mr. Karim Blondy began working as a sound technician in radio and theater in the United States before attending Musitechnic in 1999. Since then, he has worked as a studio technician in the studio, on set, in post-production, as well as in live. In addition, Karim Blondy is a musician and has performed more than a hundred shows across Quebec with different bands. He has composed for other artists, for short films, as well as for web-series. After a dozen years spent at “Radio-Canada” as a sound recordist, he embarked on new challenges, including the recording of orchestral concerts and an audio application “Frequency Test” for iPhone. Fascinated by history and sound recording, he wrote a book on microphones for Musitechnic as well as about fifty articles for the school’s website before leaving to work in architectural acoustics and then becoming head sound engineer for the City of Montreal. In recent years, Karim Blondy has recorded and mixed albums for artists of various styles: jazz, classical, pop and metal…
Mrs. Kayla Shears
UNICA CRLI Membership: Associate Researcher – Lecturer
Multi-disciplinary artist Kayla Shears is a sonic explorer who garnered international recognition through music production and DJing over an entire decade. She moved to Montreal in 2009 from California to pursue her studies in Communications, and in turn discovered her passion for music, sound design and the interactive arts. She bridged from her music career to the realm of Electroacoustics by completing her BFA at Concordia University in May 2019. Equally obtaining recognition in academia, she has been the recipient of 5 grants and awards during her studies since 2017 for her level of excellence in the music field and commitment to community work and solution-oriented projects. She is recognized by the Canada Service Corps for her valuable contributions towards improving Canadian communities. She has been recognized by her peers through curating the first Loop Sessions WXMN event in Montreal and being commissioned for the 2020 annual Nuit Blanche event at Le Gesù. She has received both Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des Arts et des Lettres grants in 2022 for pursuing research exploration projects in visual arts and music technology, becoming a visiting researcher for CIRMMT and IDMIL for 2022-2023. She has been nominated to join as a research affiliate at UNICA CLRI. Honing in the craft of creating dynamic and memorable experiences, her newfound career as a frequency-architect aims towards designing and creating immersive audio-visual environments through prosthetic reality, music technology, digital arts, multimedia art installations, sound design for film, abstract visual arts, creative writing and other forward thinking endeavors. She defies many stereotypes for people on the autism spectrum, and sits on the board of ELAN Quebec’s Inclusion Committee since 2020 representing artists with disabilities until late 2023.
Mr. Christophe de Pereyra
UNICA CRLI Membership: Domain Expert – Instructor
Christophe de Pereyra is an experienced French music producer of 25 years old, with a proven track record in both music production and performance. He has a strong background of 13 years in music production, with a wide range of software and audio experience, including Ableton Live, Pro Tools, FL Studio, RX 8, Neutron 4, the Fabfilter Suite, Serum, Vital, Massive, Soundtoys Suite, and Waves Suite. He also has experience as a DJ and VFX/video editor. He has completed a Diploma of stage animator option DJ-Professional Composer from Kaith Skool, Paris and Audiovisual diploma specialization “production” / “Sound” from Akademia Filmu i Telewizji, Varsovie.
Mr. Taha Nouri
UNICA CRLI Membership: Domain Expert – Technical Advisor
Taha Nouri, born in 1994 in Morocco, singer, songwriter, and audio technician, alumni from (ESAV) the school of audiovisual arts in Marrakech and also an alumni from Musitechnic school in Montreal. After a great success in Morocco as a performer, Taha tries to broaden his knowledge in the field of audio in order to become an international artist.
UNICA CRLI
Latest News
2023-02-07 | Research and innovation meeting
UNICA CRLI will be hosting a research and innovation meeting with discussions that will address music healing potentials, AI/ML and sound processing, and the application of computer vision to music.
We look forward to welcoming the Concordia University students engaged in the Concordia Innovation Lab challenges addressing health, sound, music and Artificial Intelligence. The multidisciplinary discussion group will comprise undergraduate and graduate students from Concordia, as well as Postdocs affiliated to the McMaster University and to the Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montréal (CRIM). The meeting will take place in our facilities on Friday 10th, from 11 AM to 01 PM.
This event is one of the various activities, developed within collaborative R&D projects established between Unica and Canadian Universities, in support of initiatives that explore the therapeutic power of sound and music in combination with disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Extended reality.
2022-08-01 | Major AI research partnership concluded with Concordia University
UNICA CRLI established a research partnership with the Concordia University Innovation Lab for the project AI+Music+Health&Wellness. The partnership targets a research challenge aimed at exploring the Artificial Intelligence (AI) potential to create combinations of sounds and music that could alleviate health problems and improve wellness.
In the first stage, the Research Team will engage on the development of machine learning algorithms featuring the capability to discover sound patterns that could stimulate the Vagus nerve and alleviate the symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, migraines and epilepsy.
In a second stage, the research will focus on the use of AI to create sound patterns and music in order to alleviate such symptoms in a non invasive, medication-free and personalized fashion.
The UNICA CRLI Team believes it is the first step towards a permanent initiative fostering AI+Music+Health&Wellness.
2022-07-29 | Unica CRLI Director takes part, as an expert in his domaine in the 74th Annual Meeting of the SBPC
The Director of the UNICA CRLI, Dr. Antonio Crespo, participated in the panel “Advanced Methodologies & Applications of Artificial Intelligence” during the 74th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) at the University of Brasília, Brasília. The SBPC Annual Meeting is one of the most relevant scientific events in the southern hemisphere. The AI panel also featured researchers from the George Mason University (US), the George Washington University (US), the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA – France), and the University of Brasilia (Brazil).
2022-07-07 | Important R&D partnership signed with BeatConnect
UNICA CRLI signed an R&D Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BeatConnect, a company that develops collaborative applications for music creation and production. The MoU set the foundations for the project titled “Collaborative Virtual Reality Based Tool for Supporting Sound Design and Music Creation Education”. The project addresses the development of a virtual reality based tool to support the educational processes within the sound recording, sound design and music
creation domains.
2022-05-27 | Unica CRLI Director hosts a panel on how AI is shaping the role of music in the Metaverse era
The McGill University Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) organized the international conference “Le son du futur/Le futur du son”. The conference took place in Montreal on May 24-27, 2022.
The event featured an AI Panel titled “Artificial Intelligence driving the shape of new realities: what to expect from the music in the Metaverse Era”, which was organized and led by Dr. Antonio Crespo, Director of the UNICA CRLI, and counted with precious contributions from Academia, industry and artistic ecosystem representatives.
Featured among the fellow panelists: Dr. Ann-Louise Davidson, Professor and Director of the Concordia University Innovation Lab, Mr. Jérôme Minière, instrumentalist and singer, winner of multiple ADISQ Félix awards, and Mr. Bernard Gariépy Strobl, 2017 Oscar-nominated for the movie Arrival in sound mixing category.