Montreal is the city with the largest concentration of university students per capita in North America. It has a completely unique mix of French and English and attracts students from more than 155 countries worldwide. Montreal is not just Canada’s leading centre for university research, it’s a world leader in several breakthrough fields.
The challenge is how to leverage and give visibility to these extraordinary assets in ways that distinguish Montreal from other innovation hubs. Since 2019, Concordia has been ranked as North America’s top university under 50 years old (QS World University Rankings). This speaks to the outstanding quality of our academic programs and research, but also to our commitment to innovation.
Diversity is critical to sparking innovation because it challenges convention, broadens skill pools, demands adaptability and incentivizes creative communication. At Concordia, more than 25% of our 51,000 students are francophone and close to 25% are international.
We encourage students and researchers to work across disciplines. We also put a premium on experiential learning for every student, sending a clear message that students will go further faster if they seize opportunities for work integrated learning during their studies.
All this is intended to create a culture where students instinctively cross boundaries in search of difference and inspiration. This culture is integral to our incubator, District 3. We mentor qualified startups, regardless of whether the founders have a Concordia connection or not. With the support of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, our venture builder studio, V1, offers lab-to-market entrepreneurship training for any Québec grad student in STEM and social sciences.
Ultimately, the big challenge for Québec and its universities is to create an innovation runway in breakthrough fields of research. That’s what drives Concordia’s Scientific Ventures Program. Unique in Canada, the program is designed for postdocs — young research stars who want to become founders. And yes, to harness talent and diversity in the quest for creativity and innovation, the program is open to entrepreneurs from anywhere in Quebec and Canada.
