Acfas Congress 2023: unity is strength

To address the social and environmental transitions that our society must face today, collaboration and interdisciplinarity are more essential than ever. It is in this spirit that the University of Montreal, HEC Montreal and Polytechnique Montreal are joining forces to welcome thousands of scientists to the next Acfas Congress, in May 2023, which will have as its theme 100 years of knowledge for a world sustainable.

The celebration of the centenary of the Association francophone pour le savoir (now Acfas) on the campus of the Université de Montréal and its affiliated schools is a true homecoming for the organization. It should be remembered that it was founded here by a group of visionary professors, including the economist Édouard Montpetit, the radiologist Léo Pariseau and Brother Marie-Victorin, founder of the Montreal Botanical Garden, who gave themselves up to mission to promote scientific research throughout the Francophonie.

Their unifying approach, bringing together expertise in disciplines such as biology, medicine, engineering, physics, mathematics, astronomy, natural history, economics and philosophy, has enabled the emergence of a large French-speaking scientific community. A century later, it is more relevant than ever, as evidenced by the three co-presidents of the 2023 Acfas Congress, Louise Millette, Anne Pezet and Lise Gauvin.

Collaborate for the future

According to Louise Millette, professor in the Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering and head of the Office of Sustainable Development at Polytechnique Montréal, the theme of the 2023 Congress is obvious. “It is certain that the evolution towards a sustainable society corresponds to the mission, vision, values ​​and strategic plans of the three institutions. This concern is rooted in the activities we already carry out together. The ambition of a more sustainable world is a colossal task that requires the collaboration of all disciplines. »

She reminds us that the climate changes we are facing today are the result of a series of bad decisions taken over the past decades by people and political, economic, social, media and, yes, scientific authorities. “We won’t get out of this without mobilizing all these aspects, because the problems are complex. Communication and the transfer of knowledge between researchers and society are essential to achieve acceptability, understanding of the facts and, ultimately, behavior change. »

Anne Pezet, full professor in the Department of Management at HEC Montréal, adds that innovations, however promising they may be, can lead to new problems if they are not subject to a concerted scientific approach. “A good example: electric cars, which are proving to be a good solution for reducing GHG emissions. But the need for rare metals essential to the construction of their batteries is leading to an upsurge in mining activities in conditions that are not always sustainable. Hence the importance of sharing knowledge, as will be done at the Acfas Congress. »

Science, innovation and creativity on the agenda

Creativity is spontaneously associated with the fields of arts and humanities, while it is also an essential component of innovation and the resolution of scientific problems. “To build a sustainable world, we must celebrate the development of everything related to knowledge in the broad sense,” explains Lise Gauvin, Full Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health at the Université de Montréal. . It is for this reason that the call for proposals of the Acfas Congress is open not only to disciplines such as health, mathematics and engineering, but also to social sciences, educational sciences, humanities , arts and letters. This multi-sectoral approach ensures that everyone is invited to contribute, and that is precisely what is interesting. »

“We hope that participants will leave with new ideas, that new collaborations will emerge and that projects will develop to enable us to build a sustainable world for the next 100 years. »

Like her colleagues, Lise Gauvin wants to co-construct an open program that can accommodate new interdisciplinary partnerships, a question of mixing ideas. “Some knowledge will not be completed in the next year or even the next five years, but we need partnerships between actors in the field and researchers in order to put all the available knowledge into practice. »
The three institutions have been working on environmental issues for many years. The Université de Montréal has set up the innovation laboratory Building the future sustainably, which reflects on ways to address current and future socio-environmental and humanitarian challenges. Polytechnique Montréal has set up the Sustainable Development Office, headed by Louise Millette, which has ramifications in all of the institution’s spheres of activity. And HEC Montréal is no exception. “We have launched several initiatives, which relate in particular to the complex question of the circular economy, specifies Anne Pezet. This is also one of the subjects on which we communicate a great deal, and which will certainly be addressed during the Congress. »

Among the issues that will also be on the agenda is the question of human health, which is affected by environmental upheavals. “The well-being of populations around the world is closely linked to the health of the planet, as demonstrated by the considerable burden of zoonoses,” notes Lise Gauvin. A better understanding of this type of interaction allows the implementation of concrete actions. And, finally, we will discuss transportation planning, which calls upon skills in engineering, urban planning and economic development. “Since the built environment directly influences transportation options, we must work hand in hand to reconcile this immoderate love for the vehicle larger than that of the neighbor and the reduction of the impacts of the car fleet on our health and on our planet”, comments Louise Millette.

A leading scientific community

The three co-chairs are committed to the advancement of science in the Quebec, Canadian and international Francophonie, which has 300 million speakers worldwide. “Our common commitment is to offer top-notch French-language programming to future generations of students,” says Lise Gauvin. At a time when research and scientific communication are essentially carried out in English, Acfas’ mission takes on its full meaning. “This event gives us a golden opportunity to communicate our research results in our language, more directly than when we do it in English,” says Anne Pezet. The Acfas Congress also allows us to highlight the vitality of the French-speaking scientific community. »

The world is changing, so are students

According to Anne Pezet, the new cohorts of students at HEC Montréal are increasingly challenged by issues of sustainable development. “There is a tendency to believe that students enroll in business schools in order to earn a lot of money. However, more and more of them are motivated by environmental projects, whether to engage in responsible entrepreneurship or to change the way a company is run. Louise Millette, who has been working with Polytechnique students for twenty years, has a front-row seat to follow their development. “They are not necessarily a homogenous group – there are techno-enthusiasts and environmental activists – but they are bound by their concern and their thirst for power to build a sustainable world. They have expectations, they want tools. »

The students evolve, the faculty too, and the result is a constantly growing movement of interaction. The next Acfas congress takes this dynamic into account by inviting undergraduate students for the first time to submit proposals for free papers alongside students at the graduate and postdoctoral levels. “The congress offers them a unique opportunity to enter the academic world of science, innovation and creation,” concludes Lise Gauvin.

Together, the University of Montreal, Polytechnique Montreal and HEC Montreal form the first university complex in Quebec and are among the 100 best universities in the world, according to Times Higher Education.

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