If innovation takes place in all strata of society, from citizens’ initiatives to the development of industries, the university nevertheless remains its parent institution. It is higher education that provides access to research, through their resources and their environment. Funding grants are awarded there, to professors as well as to students and, in principle, graduates leave with a solid training in research. What happens, however, to this skill once the loop of education is complete?
Unless you carve out a place for yourself on the faculty of a university, there are not many opportunities to reinvest your flair for the advancement of knowledge. Certain private sectors undoubtedly represent an interesting career prospect, this is particularly the case of the technological industry for researchers in artificial intelligence. But for most graduates, life after studies relies more on soft skills than on scientific thinking per se.
However, should we oscillate between a job at university and a career in the pay of private companies? In 2021, the University of Montreal granted 527 doctorates and 3,737 master’s degrees, all categories combined. For its part, McGill University had 10,411 students enrolled in graduate studies for the same year. It goes without saying that there are too few teaching positions that allow for an academic career beyond the degree to absorb such a mass of individuals.
Time passes and new minds emerge, but teaching positions are becoming available in dribs and drabs. Those who wish to pursue their research may be able to find employment in a private laboratory, such as within a pharmaceutical company. Otherwise, university affiliation is paramount to the researcher’s survival.
Funds that are not easily accessible
Indeed, the main research granting agencies require you to be linked to a higher education institution in order to benefit from their funding programs. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Funds of Quebec (FRQSC), to stick to this branch of science, offer a range of stimulating calls for research projects. But ordinary citizens, even with a doctorate, the seal of their competence, are not eligible.
In other words, you have access to generous financing options while you’re still in school, but once the mortar is thrown in the air, you lose all those privileges. Even public-facing journalistic initiatives, such as the media The Conversation, only accept paper submissions from professors or doctoral students. For former university students, what a pity!
It was made clear to me during training in writing grant applications: no money without institutional ties. No doubt we want to ensure the scientific rigor of the contributions, which is understandable. What would a free spirit actually do with a research fund and no supervision? In my opinion, this is a false dilemma, since mentoring and peer assessment do not have to be exclusive to the university campus.
Looking more closely at the role that money plays in research projects, we see that this model could be exported outside of school. For professors, a research fund is used to cover project-related expenses, not salary. But the student community, on the other hand, benefits from scholarships which act as subsistence funds.
Such funding is similar to operating grants, which allow many organizations of all genres and artists to pursue their activities without financial pitfalls. If such valves were opened for the scientific minds of this world, the social prosperity of tomorrow would only be enhanced.
Create new resources
Still, there are a few resources outlining a solution to the problem. The provincial Youth Volunteers program is a good example. It allows someone aged 16 to 29 to design a professional project under the supervision of an experienced mentor, regardless of the nature of the project. In theory, this program could therefore finance a research project spanning a year and offer an opportunity to carry it out outside university walls. In the same vein, the LOJIQ Foundation finances travel associated with very diverse projects for adults aged 35 and under.
While these avenues are attractive to a new graduate, they are not sustainable. These funds are not specifically devoted to research, and it is only through rhetorical contortions that one manages to accommodate a project of a scientific nature. What’s more, once you reach your mid-thirties, these resources become inaccessible.
Their model is nonetheless inspiring, since one could imagine SSHRC or FRQSC programs intended specifically for qualified graduates, but without university ties. This would make it possible to cushion the transition to the labor market without resolving the scientific minds who want to continue their research activities to fall into a profession that risks curbing this momentum.
Funding agencies could open research grants specifically for graduates, but not require them to be part of a student body or faculty. This would encourage the pursuit of careers dedicated to innovation, rather than betting on the “employability” of future workers. It would also prevent the atrophy of brilliant minds forced to deviate under the weight of economic imperatives. Original lines of research and more independent approaches to the hierarchical structures of academicism would thus be facilitated.
However, the university should also be involved in this process. As an institution that guarantees scientific rigor that is disseminated in society, it must reflect in depth on the place that science will take in the lives of all those people who will never be part of a research chair.