The University of Montreal and the Courtois Foundation announce a record donation: 159 million for research in the natural sciences. This is the largest donation ever made in this sector in Canada.
Posted at 1:21 p.m.
A significant portion of the donation – $100 million – will fund the expansion of the Science Complex on the MIL campus. The rest of the sum, granted entirely by the Courtois Foundation, will be used to create the Courtois Institute, focused on research into new materials, quantum physics and artificial intelligence.
This is not only the largest donation granted to research in the natural sciences in Canada, but to a French-speaking university in the country.
“I pinch myself a bit,” said Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras. “This is a gift that will change the University in a lasting way, a new beginning for fundamental research, here and everywhere across Canada. A gift that will enhance the scientific leadership of Montreal, Quebec and Canada around the world,” continued Mr. Jutras.
He made the announcement on Tuesday morning in the presence of the Minister of Higher Education, Danielle McCann, and the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
“To see a great French-speaking university like this crowned today with the most important donation [au Canada]that fills me with pride. […] I can only hope that this announcement will be followed by many others,” rejoiced Minister McCann.
Creating greener batteries, discovering less polluting materials, using robotics to accelerate research: the research carried out at the Courtois Institute will aim to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow, starting with the climate crisis.
Above all, it will allow researchers to work on long-term projects – a luxury in the world of research. “In Canada, research, for the most part, is funded by governments. And this is not a criticism of those who govern us, but the political pressure is always for short-term research,” noted the president of the Courtois Foundation, Jacques Courtois.
In this sense, the donation will allow the creation of six permanent chairs, which will work on research in chemistry, physics, computer science and operational research for decades to come.
The Courtois Foundation has made several major donations to Quebec universities in recent years, including McGill and the University of Quebec in Montreal.