Université de Sherbrooke, 10th for research in Canada

What is the secret behind the Université de Sherbrooke’s (UdeS) 10^th place ranking among Canada’s most research-driven universities in 2023? A key factor in our success has undoubtedly been our ability to bring together different areas of expertise to carry out large-scale projects and find solutions to major current and future challenges.

Breaking boundaries to achieve new heights in innovation is at the very heart of the UdeS’s DNA. The UdeS makes such unique scientific discoveries as a result of its interdisciplinary approach. Researchers with diverse backgrounds collaborate in creating bold solutions that are then implemented by experienced teams and strong partnerships within the industry. Interdisciplinarity is a driving force that has propelled the Université de Sherbrooke into Canada’s top 10 most prolific research universities.

Redeveloping the landscape of research to advance society

In establishing its cooperative internship program over 60 years ago, the UdeS laid the foundations for a culture of exchange and sharing by interweaving knowledge, discoveries, and concrete advances for society.

Today, these values set apart the UdeS scientific community, whose teams are currently in the process of carrying out hundreds of large-scale interdisciplinary research projects.

Among such projects, the Research Centre on Aging brings together some fifty researchers from several scientific disciplines, including Professor François Michaud from the Faculty of Engineering, and Professor Mélanie Levasseur from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Her expertise in clinical research combined with that of her colleague in electrical and computer engineering has led to the development of a social assistance robot, T-top, used to complement home care for seniors.

Seamlessly interconnecting disciplines has enabled original solutions to emerge and accelerated discoveries aiming to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Moreover, a large number of our researchers head major research groups, positioning the UdeS as a force to be reckoned with in research. For example, Professor Julie Lane of the Faculty of Education was awarded $2.8 million by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur to set up and manage the Observatoire sur la santé mentale étudiante en enseignement supérieur in collaboration with Benjamin Gallais, Cégep de Jonquière. Prof. Lane’s interdisciplinary, partnership-based approach has clearly set her apart and earned her the position of director of this one-of-a-kind observatory in Quebec. More than 66 partners will work together under her guidance using the data gathered to produce concrete policies and actions to generate a genuine culture change within post-secondary institutions. The project will also be linked to the Initiative sur la santé mentale étudiante en enseignement supérieur—also funded by the Ministère—to promote knowledge mobilization and dissemination.

Even more recently, the Centre d’applications et de recherches en télédétection (CARTEL), one of Canada’s leading university research centres in the field of remote sensing, was mandated by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canadian Space Agency to participate in developing what may, by 2030, become the most important source of information on the composition of snow cover anywhere on the planet: a satellite-based radar for continuous precision measurements. Headed by Professor Alexandre Langlois and affiliated with the Department of Applied Geomatics, CARTEL brings together researchers in electrical engineering, biology, mathematics, and computer science, and includes a network of some 15 associate researchers in Canada and abroad.

Governance-driven networking

Stimulating research development through interdisciplinarity is a priority for the administration of the UdeS. Not only has it incorporated this into its strategic plan, but it has also invested time and money in creating support structures. Six unifying research themes have been incorporated to support this orientation. Each theme is led by a coordinator supported by a team of professors from different faculties.

By promoting and creating opportunities for encounters on these themes, the UdeS is fostering a crossroads for disciplinary knowledge, giving rise to bold ideas that researchers develop together, whether on climate change and the environment, the aging population, or innovative materials, processes, and quantum sciences.

Since we firmly believe in passing on our discoveries to society, the UdeS provides its scientific community with comprehensive means to make solutions a reality. Experienced professional teams, such as that of the Research, Innovation and Creation Support Service, help researchers prepare grant applications, protect intellectual property, and manage data.

Proving that interdisciplinarity stimulates its teams, there are hundreds of UdeS groups of excellence including 6 research institutes and 19 research centres. Such a large number of groups dedicated to the advancement of knowledge illustrates the research vitality on its three campuses.

Sharing strengths to launch to new heights

Over the past six years, UdeS research revenues have doubled from $129.2 million in 2017 to $248.6 million in 2023. In the humanities and social sciences, they have as much as quadrupled! What reasons are behind such continued success?

As a responsible university, the UdeS is keen to ensure that the meteoric rise of technology is in harmony with the advancement of responsible societies. This drives the belief that the humanities and social sciences have a key role in supporting the industry and research in the responsible development of technologies.

Two research projects linking the humanities and social sciences, quantum sciences, mathematics, and engineering have each received funding of $300,000 per year for 3 years as part of the STIMuleS program of the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies to address this issue. Professor Isabelle Lacroix, from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Professor Alexandre Blais, Director of the Institut quantique, intend to establish an inclusive dialogue on the responsible development of quantum technologies. The aim of their project is to integrate ethical considerations into research and potential applications, and to create practical tools to help researchers take into account the societal impact of technological development. The second project is led by Professor Marie‑Luc Arpin of the School of Management and Professor Serge Ecoffey of the Faculty of Engineering. It consists of an approach to the convergence of socio-ecological and digital transitions at the very heart of the Technum Québec innovation zone in Bromont, a future ambassador for technological development in Quebec for anything related to microelectronic circuits and systems.

The UdeS ranks 10^th among Canadian universities in terms of research revenues because it does research differently. From the outset, these projects are designed as solutions to be implemented in people’s everyday lives. Here, disciplinary boundaries get transformed into bridges of innovation, and research is driven to the power of 10!

UdeS 10^th in Canadian research
The harmonious union of partnership, mutualization, and interdisciplinarity is a strength unique to the UdeS. Learn about this innovative approach of building knowledge that has propelled the UdeS into the top 10 of Canada’s most research-intensive universities.