Establishment of the first Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship at the heart of Université de Sherbrooke's development priorities

SHERBROOKE, QC, June 17, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - In the wake of the community's drive to renew and stimulate Quebec's entrepreneurial culture, and to further contribute to society's development, the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) in recent years created a new and unique type of partnership ecosystem encompassing fundamental and applied research, technological transfer and social innovation, and also its own characteristic entrepreneurial spirit. Now to better reflect this new approach, UdeS announces that its former Office of the Vice-President, Research will henceforth be known as the Office of the Vice-President, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

« The Université de Sherbrooke has reinvented the model for collaborative action with businesses, governments and communities », explains UdeS President, Professor Luce Samoisette. « Recognized among Canada's most research-active universities and at the heart of one of Québec's three main research poles, the UdeS strives to throttle up innovation, multiply partnerships and intensify entrepreneurship to strenghten its contribution to society's developement and help maintain the living standards of all citizens. »

To achieve this, the Université de Sherbrooke currently deploys a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing businesses' current innovation capacities and at accelerating knowledge transfer from research labs to the market place. It relies on Academic Chairs distinctively created for industry professionals or scientific experts, on state-of-the-art laboratories, on a very efficient cooperative teaching system, and also on partnerships with businesses and major players  in economic development. « This is version 4.0 of the most original innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives ever put into place at the Université de Sherbrooke », added President Samoisette.

A program to launch new businesses

« It is of paramount importance for us to promote entrepreneurship, stimulate the establishment of research partnerships with industry, favor technological networking and create a context for the success of inventions in the commercialization phase », explains Professor Jacques Beauvais, newly appointed Vice-President, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Professor Beauvais also took the opportunity to unveil a new institutional grant program to support concept proofing and protoyping for inventions from professors. « The results of this program will make it much easier for our inventors to grab investor's attention, seek out partners and promote the start-up of new businesses », he explains.

Funding for this exclusive UdeS program comes from the General Research Fund (GRF) of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research council of Canada (NSERC). This Fund supports research through innovative approaches in line with NSERC's objectives, programs and partnerships.

« It is with great satisfaction that we unveil this new milestone in our partnership-promoting initiative, which will be front and center in the enhancement of businesses' innovation capacity and the acceleration of knowledge transfer in the field of consumer products », concludes Vice-President Beauvais.

Entrepreneurship at the Université de Sherbrooke

Thanks to its strong partnership culture, the Université de Sherbrooke is an exceptional contributor to the development of Québec. The institution is especially known for its open-innovation, trans-sectoral initiatives in partnership with social and industry leaders such as the C2MI (MiQro Innovation Collaborative Center), the 3IT (Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation) and the CTA (Centre de technologies avancées BRP-Université de Sherbrooke). The UdeS also supports emerging entrepreneurs through the ACET (Accélérateur de création d'entreprises technologiques) and the PAEIC (Programme d'apprentissage expérientiel par l'intervention communautaire), extrarodinary commitments strongly focused on social entrepreneurship.

SOURCE: Université de Sherbrooke