Category Archives: R&D Policy

  The research enterprise is by definition international; if one wants to be a leader in this community, one must be tied in. The European Community has been extremely proactive in promoting collaborative research efforts by supporting European and international … Continue reading →

On Nov. 4, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wrapped up Ontario’s mission to China by announcing a new Trillium Scholarship program designed to attract the world’s best graduate students to pursue doctoral studies in Ontario: 75 scholarships — each one providing … Continue reading →

The news for British universities are particularly bad as of late. Higher education will suffer major budget cuts under a recent spending review released by the British government. Excluding research support, which will remain flat, the amount of money going … Continue reading →

NY Times’ conservative columnist, David Brooks, writes about what America needs to do to achieve success in the future. “Building that America means doing everything possible to thicken connections: finance research to attract scientists; improve infrastructure to ease travel; fix … Continue reading →

“Canada boosts university research funding,” screams the CBC: a whopping $275.6 million into science and technology research. A closer look shows that all what they are announcing (again) is this year’s installment on what past governments had committed a long … Continue reading →

Do we or don’t we want foreign talent to move to Canada? So many mixed signals.

I am supposed to participate in a public debate with Isabelle Blain, NSERC’s Vice-President, Research Grants and Fellowships. Topic: Comparison of NSERC Discovery Grant Application Evaluation
 Systems: New and Old Time: Sunday, December 5, 5 PM – 6:20 PM Place: … Continue reading →

Recent changes in the Canadian immigration policies will have severe effects on our abilities to attract and retain graduate students in Canada. Indeed, UBC international students were surprised to learn recently from a Canada immigration officer that PhD students can … Continue reading →

Can we entice India’s brightest young academic stars to do their graduate work at McGill or UBC instead of Stanford or UCLA? Stephen Toope (who is just back from India where he was heading a delegation of Canadian universities) and … Continue reading →

Yes we can! and even more so with the Obama administration: “We also need to work with our friends around the world. Science, technology, and innovation proceed more rapidly and more cost-effectively when insights, costs, and risks are shared; and … Continue reading →

The government has just announced a six person panel to lead a comprehensive review of all (Canadian) federal programs in support of business R&D (as promised in the 2010 budget). Our own Arvind Gupta (MITACS Director) is on the panel … Continue reading →

Last year’s cuts to the research granting councils, though relatively small, were magnified by their inclusion in a so-called “stimulus budget” full of spending increases in other areas. This year, the opposite is true. Funding increases, though relatively small, are … Continue reading →

Sarkozy et Obama n’ont pas exactement le même discours sur la recherche. C’est ce qu’un jeune chercheur a voulu démontrer en superposant deux de leurs interventions dans une vidéo postée sur YouTube. Le résultat : un président Obama offensif et remotivant, … Continue reading →

At such a difficult moment, there are those who say we cannot afford to invest in science. That support for research is somehow a luxury at a moment defined by necessities. I fundamentally disagree. Science is more essential for our … Continue reading →

“…. the great Michael Faraday, one of the giants that helped shape our modern understanding of electricity and magnetism. He was asked by the British Chancellor (Gladstone at the time) about what was the use of this electricity he was … Continue reading →

Here is a video  link to a famous speech on Research and Innovation by Sarkozy on January 22, 2009. French researchers were so humiliated that they were unified –including those who believed in reforming the system — in rejecting his … Continue reading →