More than ever, Quebec SMEs must innovate to develop and carve out a place of choice in a market in full digital transformation. The Network of Collegial Centers for the Transfer of Technology and Social Practices (CCTT) is there to support them by playing a leading role in knowledge transfer. Overview.
The primary mission of the CCTTs is to equip Quebec entrepreneurs for success in order to promote regional economic development. Its extensive network includes 59 research centers specializing in different sectors of activity – such as health, education, agriculture, aerospace, tourism, forestry, sustainable development or artificial intelligence – and each is directly linked to a college institution in its region, whether it is a CEGEP or a private college.
These centers serve SMEs by providing them with research and development services, technical support and training. “We want to encourage and support innovation by supporting local organizations and businesses in the development of new products, new processes or in the integration of new processes,” explains Marie Gagné, President and CEO of the CCTT Network. . Technology transfer and applied research make them more productive and competitive in the face of labor challenges and the new environmental realities of today’s world. »
A value-added service
The CCTT Network has no less than 2,400 experts, who serve 6,000 clients and participate in the realization of 11,000 projects annually. In all, this represents approximately $195 million in annual investments that generate more than $2.5 billion in economic spinoffs. “We want to respond to major societal challenges and align our programs with the government’s national priorities in terms of social innovation and digital transformation,” continues Marie Gagné. To achieve this, we have chosen, among other things, to set up squads specializing in the fields of energy, agri-food, forestry and more particularly digital technology. Fourteen CCTTs have come together in this last squad to form a major strike force that is able to intervene in many aspects of the digital shift, such as artificial intelligence, the development of algorithms and robotization. »
A lever for digital transformation
The CCTT Network also acts as a partner in innovative projects such as the My Digital Success initiative, driven by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy’s Digital Transformation Offensive. This acceleration program, which has a budget envelope of $11.5 million, will support a total of 600 Quebec companies over a three-year period. “We help SMEs wishing to develop in this field to carry out a first digital transformation project, underlines Marie Gagné. Our goal is to work closely with the company and give it the skills that will allow it to carry out a second, larger-scale project. It can be the development of a mobile and tablet solution, the implementation of a dashboard, the realization of a diagnosis, the development of a preliminary concept. Digitization, let’s not forget, is an ongoing process if you want to stay at the forefront of your market. »
The Network is currently actively recruiting companies for this program. “After six months of activity, around a hundred companies have already started projects,” explains the President and CEO. Our advisors in the field work with economic development organizations to identify companies and projects of interest, but there is still space, so we invite SMEs to contact us directly. We rely on human contact and verbal exchanges, because they allow us to better understand the needs of the company and to clearly identify the CCTT capable of accompanying it in the success of its project. »
Do you want to undertake a digital transformation?
Our raison d’être: to maximize the impact of the collective and individual expertise of the CCTTs in innovation and applied research in the socio-economic development of Quebec and Canada. Both through increased transfer to environments that are interested in more innovative procedures, practices, processes and products, but also through the contribution to the development of a highly qualified and innovative workforce.
This content was produced by Le Devoir’s special publications team in collaboration with the advertiser. Le Devoir’s editorial team had no role in the production of this content.
To find out more about the CCTT Network