This is a press release from Sherbrooke Innopole:
“SHERBROOKE (Quebec, Canada), June 6, 2023 – As part of the Franco-Québec Year of Innovation, Sherbrooke Innopole will lead an economic development mission in France from June 7 to 23. The mission, focused on information and quantum technologies, aims to foster partnerships for the benefit of the Sherbrooke ecosystem and to accelerate the development opportunities of innovative companies in these sectors in Sherbrooke and France.
Six technology companies and educational institutions from the Sherbrooke territory will also take part in certain portions of the mission. These are Station SSCA (software publishing), Skinaptiks (technological solutions in the field of tactile perception), Webico (Web company), the NAD-UQAC School specializing in digital arts, animation and design – which has announced the opening of a campus in Sherbrooke for the start of the 2023 academic year –, the Séminaire de Sherbrooke, as well as the BISOUS laboratory (Bureau d’Infographie, de Simulation et d’Optimisation de l’Université de Sherbrooke). A7th company based in Montreal, EdLive (integrating tools for video creation and distribution), also joins the mission in order to create links with the French and Sherbrooke ecosystems.
Two professionals from Sherbrooke Innopole are leading the mission: Marc-Henri Faure, Director, Business Services for the Information Technologies and Quantum key sector, and Jérémy Laplante-Chapdelaine, project manager for the development of strategic initiatives.
More specifically, the program of visits and meetings was built around three technological verticals that are key sectors or with high development potential in Sherbrooke: quantum technologies; video games; and cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
“As an economic development organization, the objective of Mission France is to initiate or solidify the foundations of partnerships on several fronts, whether to identify collaboration opportunities for our companies, to facilitate the growth of Sherbrooke companies abroad or to exchange best practices with our French counterparts. Implicit in all of these objectives, we are always looking to amplify Sherbrooke’s reputation and expand Sherbrooke Innopole’s network internationally,” explains Jérémy Laplante-Chapdelaine.
During the mission, Sherbrooke participants will stop in several French cities: Toulouse, Montpellier, Rennes, Nantes, Paris, as well as the Grand Est region, including Strasbourg. More than a dozen visits to innovation hubs , incubators, universities and companies, as well as about fifty meetings with potential partners are on the program.
Also, three major technological events are on the mission’s agenda:
- Viva Technology (VivaTech), the largest gathering for startups and technologies in Europe, from 14 to 17 June in Paris. Sherbrooke representatives will then join the Québec delegation led by Investissement Québec for a program of visits, meetings and activities;
- France Quantum Conference on June 13 in Paris;
- 360 Grand Est, an event focused on innovation and transformation, on 22 and 23 June in Strasbourg.
“These three events are essential in their field,” says Marc-Henri Faure. In addition to forging links with ecosystem players, it is also an opportunity to conduct crucial sector monitoring to stay on the cutting edge of trends. The influence of DistriQ, Sherbrooke’s Quantum Innovation Zone, will obviously be at the heart of several meetings, as much to promote its expertise and infrastructure, as well as to attract talent – students and researchers – and investments. »
For École NAD-UQAC, the mission is taking place at an opportune time: “With the accelerated development of the video game sector in Sherbrooke and the upcoming establishment of a NAD-UQAC campus downtown, it is important for us to create links with French educational institutions and companies in order to develop partnerships that will strengthen the ecosystem that is being enriched here,” says Christian Beauchesne, interim director of École NAD-UQAC.
For Sylvain Durocher, General Manager of Sherbrooke Innopole, the mission in France is a continuation of the actions already deployed by the organization: “In recent years, we have successfully attracted French investments in local companies as well as large French companies in Sherbrooke, such as Ubisoft, Pasqal, Exaion and Soprema. Bridges with the Rennes region are already being built with the Sherbrooke-Rennes-Arizona Entrepreneurial Triangle, as well as with the private entrepreneurial office LEDEN. Finally, Sherbrooke and Montpellier are twin cities, and the Université de Sherbrooke maintains strong inter-university collaborations. »
The Sherbrooke Innopole Mission France is made possible thanks to the financial participation of the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec as part of the 2023 Franco-Québec Year of Innovation and Global Affairs Canada through the CanExport – Community Investments program.
Sherbrooke Innopole would also like to thank the partners who facilitated the organization and conduct of its Mission France: the Québec Government Office in Paris, Business France, Agence AD’OCC, Grand E-Nov+, Destination Rennes, Nantes St-Nazaire Développement and Choose Paris Region.
About Sherbrooke Innopole
Sherbrooke Innopole is the paramunicipal economic development organization that serves the industrial and tertiary-motor sectors in Sherbrooke. Its mission is to accelerate the development of companies in key sectors – manufacturing and advanced manufacturing, Information and Quantum Technologies, Clean Technologies, Life Sciences and Micro-nanotechnologies – and to act to make Sherbrooke an attractive and innovative business environment. It is funded in large part by the City of Sherbrooke through the Economic Development Coordination Office. www.sherbrooke-innopole.com “
