ÉCOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPÉRIEURE
Promising projects and partnerships - ÉTS on a mission to France

The executive delegation of the École de technologie supérieure has returned from the first diplomatic mission of its Director General, François Gagnon, to France. As a strategic and essential partner, France offers ÉTS multiple opportunities for growth and collaboration. Mr. Gagnon was accompanied by Christian Casanova, Executive Director of Research and Partnerships, Annie Bouthillette, Executive Director of Institutional Relations, and Tanguy Bantas, Director of International Relations.

"This first international institutional mission allowed ÉTS to consolidate longstanding relationships with its international allies, in addition to stimulating new collaborations. We already welcome more than 1,600 French students each year and can count on bilateral partnerships in the development of innovation and technology. The warm welcome given to my team, the rich exchanges and the agreements signed guarantee a promising future for ÉTS in France," explained François Gagnon, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of ÉTS.

Annie Bouthillette, Executive Director of Institutional Relations, François Gagnon, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of ÉTS, and Christian Casanova, Executive Director of Research and Partnerships

The delegation was received by the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada's Ambassador in Paris and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe, as well as Ms. Michèle Boisvert, Delegate General of Quebec in Paris and Personal Representative of the Premier of Quebec for La Francophonie, with whom they exchanged views on ÉTS's unique educational model, but more importantly, on the school's active participation in various large-scale projects and partnerships.

"By increasing ÉTS's international presence, we hope to strengthen our research and innovation partnerships, while offering our students access to opportunities that will open up their horizons and favourably influence their professional careers and personal journeys. This is achieved through the strength of our relationships with our partners and our ability to seize opportunities for outreach," explained Annie Bouthillette, Executive Director of Institutional Relations.

As one of Canada's leading research universities and Quebec's leading engineering school, we met with institutions and potential partners with similar profiles, particularly in training and entrepreneurship. The ÉTS delegation met with strategic partners to develop and sign agreements, particularly with universities and engineering schools, and well-established French research centres.

ÉTS and the Assemblée des directeurs d'instituts universitaires de technologie (ADIUT) renewed their partnership at the national level to offer students from the IUT network the possibility of pursuing their studies in Canada, particularly in the context of the new French Bachelor Universitaire de Technologie (BUT) diploma, the only diploma outside of Quebec recognized for admission to engineering training. In addition, ÉTS has partnered with key allies by signing agreements with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), the CentraleSupélec of the Université Paris-Saclay and the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM) in order to promote international academic training and research. The delegation also met with the executive management of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), one of the world's leading research institutions and a strategic partner of the International Laboratory on Learning Systems (ILLS).

"This mission allowed me to present our five-year strategic research plan and to see with fellow researchers the interesting similarities between their work and our own priorities. It also showed that we share a common vision of the importance of interdisciplinarity in advancing innovation to meet the real needs of society," concludes Christian Casanova, Executive Director of Research and Partnerships.

ÉTS graduates in France also gathered at an event at the residence of the Delegate General of Quebec in Paris. This first event of its kind, organized in collaboration with the ÉTS Alumni Association, provided an opportunity for inspiring exchanges, as well as an opportunity to reconnect with numerous alumni from outside Quebec and overseas.