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Rendez-vous du Savoir: A resounding success across the board
Montréal, October 14, 2011 – The organizing partners of the Rendez-vous du Savoir are giving the second edition of the event very high thumbs up. Held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal on October 5 and 6, the event once again proved itself an essential part of the process of harmonizing the efforts of universities and businesses for the purpose of establishing durable, productive and innovative collaborations. Just over 3,000 people attended the event’s various activities.
“The Rendez-vous du Savoir’s objectives are primarily to celebrate the collective wealth universities help create, to welcome international students, and to build vital synergies between the academic and business communities that will render our society more competitive. The event’s activities enabled us to showcase various types of rewarding partnerships and to start thinking about the types of actions we could be moving forward as a means of encouraging closer working ties between universities and corporations, along with measures that could help speed up the process,” indicated Dr Pavel Hamet, full professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Université de Montréal, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Predictive Genomics, and the event’s co-spokesperson.
“We wish to foster and solidify the creation of new ties between business and universities, which would translate into palpable benefits for society as a whole. It’s a rallying call we are sending out to everyone who has a role to play. We must bolster the synergies our society requires to become prosperous, creative and knowledge-driven,” explained Monique F. Leroux, President and CEO of the Desjardins Group, and co-spokesperson for the event.
A reminder that a survey conducted during the Rendez-vous du Savoir by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal, jointly with the Léger Marketing firm, found that:
Nearly half of Québec companies do not see the relevance of collaborating with universities.
Most Québec companies view the university system merely as a talent incubator.
Universities stand to gain by doing a better job promoting their ability to contribute to business success.
Companies must try to diversify and increase their collaborations.
The survey results helped spark the many discussions that were held throughout the Rendez-vous du Savoir.
Rendez-vous du Savoir highlights
The Rendez-vous du Savoir kicked off with the Cocktail Conference organized by the Montréal Council on Foreign Relations (MCFR), during which a panel of executive heads of universities and business leaders debated the issue of How can companies and universities better cooperate in order to attract top talent? Before an audience of over 230 people, they concluded the following: as a result of the growing power of many developing countries and fiercer competition among developed nations, Québec must innovate and give itself the means to remain competitive if it is to persuade companies, professionals and students to settle here. Among the ideas proposed by the panel members were the creation of a decisional centre linked to all of Québec’s socio-economic players, better ways of promoting the wealth being generated by current partnerships, and making it easier for foreign students and workers looking to settle in Québec to obtain a visa. Nearly 1,500 international students enrolled in a postsecondary school attended a welcome party held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in their honour. The friendly and festive event provided an opportunity to underline in numbers just how much Québec values their presence! Igloofest gave the students a pleasant advance preview of Québec winters. The deejays’ high-charged performances helped crank up the heat and show the students that Québecers never let the cold weather get in the way of a good time.
On October 6, panel discussions organized by the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ) and Montréal International showcased five duos, all collaborative university-business success stories. The participants learned about how to develop similar collaborations and about the tools available to help them meet the challenges associated with making them work.
The discussions were followed by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal business luncheon, where 550 participants came to hear Professor Rémi Quirion speak about his new role as Chief Science Officer of Québec. Professor Quirion seized the opportunity to talk about his vision for the coming years with regard to the excellence and status of Québec research, and promoting it throughout Canada and globally. He also touched on the importance of supporting young researchers and his future role as a facilitator of more diversified university-business collaborations.
Monique F. Leroux then paid special tribute to the 13 recipients of a Fondation Desjardins university scholarship, and also awarded the Prix Reconnaissance Jeunes dirigeants Desjardins for young officers, in the presence of Desjardins representatives and Québec university rectors. Nearly 150 guests were on hand to salute the quality and perseverance the recipients demonstrated in acquiring their skills, and also to recognize their cooperative spirit, volunteerism and entrepreneurship. Well known for distributing more university bursaries than any other private foundation in Québec, Fondation Desjardins continues to fulfil its mission of helping the province’s youth achieve their dreams and ambitions.
The Palais des congrès de Montréal Recognition Award Gala helped close the 2nd annual Rendez-vous du Savoir in noteworthy fashion. Over 600 guests attended this remarkable evening dedicated to celebrating the contribution of 11 Ambassadors who helped attract 10 major conventions to Montréal that will generate over $42 million for the city’s economy between now and 2015. The Recognition Award Gala also recognized the exceptional work of four star researchers: Caroline Boudoux, Krista Byers-Heinlein, Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry and Éric Deneault. And the CRIAQ Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Québec Consortium was honoured as a Québec model of “business-university” collaboration.
Buoyed by the success of the second annual Rendez-vous du Savoir, the event’s organizing partners are already planning a new edition for Fall 2012. The event will remain faithful to the goal of increased “business-university” collaboration, and as such, will continue to serve as a forum for sparking ongoing partnership agreements.
About the Rendez-vous du Savoir
The Rendez-vous du Savoir (www.rendezvousdusavoir.com) is jointly organized by the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal, the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ), the Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) de Montréal (Montréal region conference of elected representatives), Montréal International, Ville de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal and the Montréal Council on Foreign Relations (MCFR). Desjardins is the presenting sponsor of the event, and Bell is associate sponsor. The event aims to highlight the collective wealth Québec universities help create and to recognize their important contribution to our society, locally, provincially and internationally.
For information :
Karrel Cournoyer / Caroline Couillard
Morin Public Relations for the Rendez-vous du Savoir
514 289-8688 ext. 234 /233
514 233-3211 / 514 755-5729
karrel@morinrp.com / caroline@morinrp.com
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