$15M supports industry-academic partnerships in Quebec

Montreal, QC – Quebec’s minister of the economy, innovation and exports, Jacques Daoust, has announced a new collaboration with Mitacs to support the province’s innovation agenda, with $15 million in funding.

The ministry is launching several initiatives that will stimulate the creation of partnerships between researchers, small-to-medium enterprises, and not-for-profit organizations — in order to achieve innovation and R&D goals, encourage the use of patents or industrial design to protect innovations, and engage more innovation collaborations with young researchers.

In the partnership with Mitacs, the Stages d’innovation en entreprise initiative will provide Quebec companies and not-for-profit organizations with an affordable platform to access the specialized expertise of researchers.

Building on Mitacs’ Accelerate and Elevate programs, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will perform internships that facilitate knowledge transfer between universities and organizations. At the same time, the programs will provide new experiential learning opportunities that increase students’ and postdocs’ employability and skill set.

“University researchers play a vital role in helping Quebec companies solve real challenges and develop new products, services, and technologies,” said Eric Bosco, chief business development and partnerships officer, Mitacs. “Mitacs looks forward to building on our previous collaborations and fostering new ones to develop an innovation-based economy in Quebec.”

Mitacs is a national not-for-profit organization that develops the next generation of innovators with vital professional skills through research and training programs.