Recognized internationally for its state-of-the-art research infrastructure, the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC) has been contributing for more than 50 years to scientific, cultural and economic advances in Quebec society. Well anchored in the welcoming environment of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, it also offers an exceptional living environment for its researchers.
Founded in 1969, UQAC offers more than 200 study programs and annually welcomes some 6,500 students, attracted by the quality of the teaching staff as well as by the laboratories, infrastructures and research chairs. These are all factors that mean that, among the 1,600 students enrolled in master’s and doctoral studies, more than half come from some fifty countries around the world.
“The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi is a local institution on a human scale,” explains Mohamed Bouazara, full professor for more than 20 years in the Department of Applied Sciences and vice-rector for research, creation and innovation at UQAC. As the groups are relatively small, contact between professors and students is more personalized. We offer programs across a range of disciplines, with particular distinction in the areas of digital ecosystems, humanities, culture, sustainable health, natural resources, innovative materials, environment and climate change. climatic. Moreover, since it is well connected to the needs of local industries, it is only natural for our institution to carry out research in partnership with them. UQAC ranks first among Canadian universities with predominantly undergraduate programs for its volume of research funding. »
A BUILDING UNIVERSITY
UQAC currently hosts seven Canada Research Chairs, which is remarkable for a nearby university. “These chairs are awarded and funded following a highly competitive pan-Canadian competition, which requires very high-level infrastructure, researchers and student guides from applicants,” notes Mr. Bouazara. We also welcome within our structures a dozen institutional chairs in various fields. »
The University relies on several niches of excellence to attract professors and students. For example, its International Laboratory of Anti-icing Materials (LIMA) stands out internationally. “It is the only laboratory in the world that holds the certifications required for the approval of de-icing fluids widely used in the aviation sector”, specifies the vice-rector. We should also mention the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in the Genomics of Asthma and Allergic Diseases. Its data acquisition work, deployed over a period of 20 years, has had a concrete impact on the health of the population and has earned international recognition for its holder, professor and researcher Catherine Laprise.
In Saguenay–Lac Saint-Jean, the forest, mineral resources and aluminum are ideal breeding grounds for UQAC to carry out its teaching and research mission. Thus, since its beginnings, the University has been interested in aluminum – from bauxite to finished parts – with several research units dedicated to this material such as the University Center for Aluminum Research (CURAL). The University is also addressing the needs of indigenous communities, with whom it is working to create a chair on the indigenization of higher education. “In total, the volume of research at UQAC reaches 25 million dollars annually, which is remarkable for the size of our university,” says Mohamed Bouazara.
VALUING COLLABORATION
As the Vice-Rector maintains, the expansion of fields of expertise and research is inseparable from the future development of UQAC. “The development of knowledge through research, especially at the master’s and doctoral levels, is a powerful vector of training and development for our students. Research projects foster collaboration between teachers, students, and professional and technical staff. They deliver real results that empower our graduates to change the world in their own way. »
For information: www.uqac.ca
Founded in 1969, the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC) is part of the largest university network in Canada, that of the University of Quebec. Renowned for the close relationship that exists between its students and its professors, UQAC offers a unique experience and more than 200 study programs. In terms of research, the institution is recognized as one of the most productive universities in relation to what is being done in the field of partnership research in Quebec.
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