According to a businessman and philanthropist of Quebec descent who is making a $50 million donation to a Montreal university in order to establish an institute devoted to “disruptive innovation,” it has never been more crucial to invest in talent produced in the country. The donation made by Pierre Lassonde to Polytechnique Montréal, which will be made public at an event on Monday, comes at a time when Canada is engaged in a tariff dispute with the United States, which is its largest trading partner and ally. According to Lassonde, Canada had gotten used to being dependent on the United States, a relationship that the United President Donald Trump has turned on its head since he took office in January.
“The relationship was easy. In a recent interview from his Toronto residence, Lassonde stated, “Well, it isn’t anymore, and we have to wake up to that.” “Never waste a good crisis … this is a good crisis, so let’s do something about it,” Lassonde added. “This hopefully will kick-start something even bigger. Every moment matters, and this one is especially significant. Lassonde, a Polytechnique graduate and an expert in mining and precious metals, heads the school’s board of directors, and the family name already adorns a number of pavilions at the institution thanks to previous donations. The engineering school, which is part of the Université de Montréal, said that the $50 million was the most money it had ever received. Lassonde said the idea formed as he roamed the labs and spoke to professors and students. He detected untapped potential, due in part to a lack of money. “In terms of deep technology, Polytechnique does have incredible brains. We are in some respects at the very cutting edge of the domain,” he said. That’s why the new funding will be used to invest in those minds before they are recruited into the private sector.Disruptive innovation is a process where a new product or service, often with a simpler or less sophisticated design, initially targets a specific market and then gradually or eventually replaces the existing product.“ Lassonde stated, “All of it is about intellectual capital and creating intellectual properties that will really be meaningful, that will create jobs, that will create economic activity, growth in Canada hopefully, and impact the world.” None of it is going into bricks and mortar. Additionally, he intends to encourage others with financial resources to support forward-looking projects. He stated that more can be done, despite the fact that Quebecers have begun “throwing their weight around” and contributing more to higher education in recent decades. “It’s a recurring issue in Canadian universities, simply because we don’t have the philanthropic model that the U.S. universities have,” Lassonde said.
Oussama Moutanabbir, a professor at Polytechnique, said the new institute’s main focus will be developing technologies to address immediate problems.
“Since the beginning of humanity, people develop technology based on what they have in hand and what they need, and that paradigm continues today. There are many universities and research labs doing the same thing,” Moutanabbir said.
“However, Polytechnique has committed to concentrating on this innovation by utilizing brand-new fundamental knowledge, thereby bridging the gap between discovery and application.” Moutanabbir gives the example of medical imaging and cancer — developing technology that can detect the first small clusters of tumour cells that appear in the body and to test as many patients as possible.
For people who are at risk, the current technology requires them to be exposed to a high dose of radiation from an X-ray. Therefore, the plan is to develop a new tool that is much smaller and easier to use. That involves going back to the drawing board.
Moutanabbir stated, “To address that challenge, we have to go to the fundamental nature of matter and manipulate it.” “The institute would be concentrating on these kinds of issues… the driving force will always be to maximize the impact of academic research on society,” reads the statement. Forward-looking also means the need to invest in young minds, Moutanabbir said. “The very precious resource that we need to focus on is really young scientists,” he said.
Lassonde said he is worried about recent measures that limit the number of international students coming to Quebec. Last month, the province announced it would issue 20 per cent fewer acceptance certificates to foreign students this year compared to last.
“I am very concerned about our ability … to attract the very best minds and bring them here,” Lassonde said, noting that two-thirds of doctoral candidates at Polytechnique are international students and there are not enough Quebecers to meet the demand.
Lassonde stated, “It’s really like cutting off your nose to spite your face” if that ability to attract them is lost. “It’s going to be a terrible blow to our university programs.”
Polytechnique Montréal receives $50 million gift to create disruptive innovation hub
