13 February 2014

PRESS RELEASE – Today, close to 150 participants from businesses, research centres, funding agencies, and consulting services are taking part in the 4^th edition of the event L’innovation, c’est payant! (L’innovation, c’est payant!) at the Centre culturel de l’Université de Sherbrooke. The day creates an opportunity for business-researcher partnerships to be developed and provides information on the funding and support available to carry out innovative projects.

Organized by Sherbrooke Innopole and its various partners, this activity presents a unique opportunity for networking between the scientific and business communities of the Eastern Townships. For Sherbrooke Innopole Director General, Josée Fortin, business innovation is a must in the current global context. “The manufacturing industry is one of the pillars of our economy. A number of companies are already turning towards innovation, and an event like this will help build momentum. By linking the business and research milieus, we are contributing to the launching of innovative projects that will help businesses improve their productivity and remain competitive on an international scale.”

The day unfolds with a dynamic program featuring a luncheon address, panel discussion, elevator pitches on funding programs, personalized business meetings, and visits to research labs.

In the opening speech, René Vézina, columnist for the newspaper Les Affaires and blogger on LesAffaires.com, stressed the importance of collaborative innovation, given the challenges posed by fierce worldwide competition, demographic changes, and ever-shorter product life cycles. On a panel moderated by Vézina, three companies – BRP, American Biltrite, and Arkel; the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS); the Centre technologique en aérospatiale (Aerospatial Technology Centre); as well as a chemical engineering student intern at the UdeS shared their collaborative innovation experiences.

The much-appreciated networking session is conducive to expanding business contacts and laying the foundations for promising collaborations between businesses and researchers. More than 150 B2B meetings are scheduled. Throughout the event, to help guide participants in their innovative projects, some 20 kiosks provide exceptional access to the technical and financial resources available in the Eastern Townships.

New this year, participants have an extraordinary chance in the afternoon to visit research centres and labs from among the 10 or so made available at the Université de Sherbrooke, the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT), the Centre de technologies avancées BRP-UdeS (BRP-UdeS Centre for Advanced Technologies), the Centre de productique intégrée du Québec (Québec Centre for Computer-Integrated Manufacturing), and the Cégep de Sherbrooke.

Another innovative aspect in 2014, L’innovation, c’est payant! is taking place concurrently with the Université de Sherbrooke’s Journée de la recherche (Research Day), bringing together master’s and doctoral students. For the businesses, researchers, and experts on hand, the poster session is an opportunity to discover a broad range of expertise and innovative research projects.

The 4^th edition of L’innovation, c’est payant! is being held thanks to the collaboration of numerous partners, among them Sherbrooke Innopole, the Ministère des Finances et de l’Économie du Québec (Québec Ministry of Finance and the Economy), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Université de Sherbrooke, the Cégep de Sherbrooke, Défi Innovation Estrie, and Réseau Trans-tech.