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Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature and technologies. The Next Generation of Researchers , Central to our Actions. Maryse Lassonde Scientific Director The Conference Board of Canada November 5, 2013. Post- Secondary Education.
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Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature and technologies The NextGeneration of Researchers, Central to our Actions Maryse Lassonde ScientificDirector The ConferenceBoard of Canada November 5, 2013
Post-SecondaryEducation • Of crucial importance for a developed society like Canada. • Knowledge transfer and training of individuals will contribute to tomorrow’s society. • A competent and qualified skilled labour force, in tune with the needs of society. • The importance of developing a scientific culture → the PNRI (Quebec National research and innovation policy).
The Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) Quebec Chief Scientist: Rémi Quirion FRQS- Health Sciences Scientific Director: Renaldo Battista FRQSC- Social Sciences Scientific Director: Normand Labrie FRQNT- Natural Sciences and Engineering Scientific Director: Maryse Lassonde
The FRQ Mission with a Focus on New Researchers • To fund and promote university and college research. • Programs aimed at new generations of researchers. • Close to 4000 master’s and doctoral students funded in 2012-2013. • New researchers: a priority for the renewal of ideas, approaches and expertise.
FRQ Research Funding: A Global Portrait • More thant1,000ResearchProjects • College’sResearchers • Partnershipprojects • Innovation networks • Team’sprojects • CareerAwards • Reviews • Etc… • The New Generation • 3,659Scholarships (Master’s, Ph.D. and Post-doc • 990 Start-up funding for new researchers $39M 20% $76,6M 39% $80,7M 41% • Infrastructure of Clusters • 238Research Centres, Networks, Groups, Institutes, etc. Budget : $196,3M ResearchFundingAgencys’sAnnual Reports 2012-2013
Future Generations of Researchers • As granting agencies, the three Fonds de recherche du Québec are committed to promoting discussion and debate around the issue of the training of future generations of Québec researchers. • April 30, 2013: A one-day symposium on research training. • 95 participants from universities and colleges. • Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, representatives of student federations and associations, government ministries and public agencies.
General Findings about postgraduate studies • Stabilization of graduate enrolment of Québec students → due to demographic changes. • Average length of study at the master’s level is particularly long. • Dropout rates for doctoral studies are high. • Doctoral programs are long and intensive. • Necessity of acquiring cross-disciplinary skills in addition to scientific expertise.
SomeQuebecContextualElements • Student enrolment • Graduation rates • Foreign students • Situation of women in NSE • Job market
Graduation Rates • Slow-down in the growth of master’s and doctoral graduation rates → R&D performance indicator. • The PhD graduation rate in Canada is lower than the OECD average (Jenkins report (2008 data) and Education at a Glance 2012 (2010 data)). • Wide disparity between different Canadian provinces: Québec has the highest PhD graduation rate in Canada. The Québec rate for 2010 is 1.5%, higher than the Canadian rate (1.2%). • The PhD graduation rate in Québec (1.5%) is close to the OECD average (1.6%) for 2010.
Graduation Rates • Graduation rates for Québec students: 74.0% at the master’s level and 61.4% at the doctoral level. (2009-2010 data, Indicateurs de l’éducation 2012, MESRST) • The proportion of university graduates in NSE is around 30% at the undergraduate and master’s levels, and between 50% and 60% at the doctoral level. (OST 2010)
ForeignStudents • Foreign students represented 21.8% of full-time students at the master’s level and 30.1% at the doctoral level in 2011-2012. The increase in the number of foreign students over the next 10 years is estimated at 31% at the master’s level (+1150 students) and 68 % at the doctoral level (+1980 students). (Prévisions du MELS, June 2011) • The percentage of foreign students is higher in NSE (43.7% at the doctoral level, 37.5% at the master’s level). (MESRST, GDEU September 2013 for autumn 2012) • Attracting foreign students is a priority for Québec and Canadian universities. • Higher graduation rates are increasingly dependent on attracting foreign students.
Underrepresentation of women in NSE • ⅓ of registrations. • Economic impact: low retention of female students leads to annual losses of 3 billion dollars (United Kingdom). • Proportion of women at different academic levels in Canada. Source: Council of Canadian Academies, 2012
Labour Market • Need for workers with the knowledge and expertise to fill jobs requiring scientific and technological skills. • Demands versatility and adaptability → acquired through a collaborative and multidisciplinary research training environment. • ⅓ of doctoral graduates pursue an academic career; ⅔ work in industrial and public R&D or other professions. • The unemployment rate for PhD graduates was lower than that of Québec’s active population, at 5.5% compared with 9.3%, in 2012. Men had a higher unemployment rate than women (6.8% vs. 4.4%).
Labour Market • Employers are unaware of the skills acquired by students through research training; companies do not recognize the benefits of investing in research and innovation. • Industry could play a greater role in the definition of training needs.
A new generation of researchers • Once fully trained, the new generation of researchers will take its place within colleges, universities, government ministries and businesses. • In its next strategic plan, the FRQNT intends to address the issue of attracting a new generation of researchers.
A new generation of researchers • Begin the introduction to research at the college and undergraduate levels. • → Acquire skills and experience • Pay particular attention to encouraging female researchers • Boost the development of a new generation in all NSE fields. • Increase support for internships in the workplace to facilitate the integration of new researchers into the workforce. • Foster the mobility of NSE students. • Sustain efforts to attract the best foreign students.
Industrial Innovation ScholarshipBMP Innovation Program offered jointly by FRQNT and NSERC; provides an alternative to traditional university education. Objectives: To foster the development of companies' innovation capacity and to improve employment prospects for recent graduates of master's and doctoral programs through university-industry partnerships: • by enabling students to acquire experience, as well as personal and employment skills; • by developing innovative training initiatives; • by building networks of collaboration and knowledge-transfer; • by encouraging companies to invest in training and R&D; and • by contributing to increased innovation in key sectors of the various regions in Quebec. Value: Master’s: NSERC: $7,000 + FQRNT: $7,000 + Private: minimum $7,000 = $21,000 or more per year Doctoral: NSERC: $9,000 + FQRNT: $9,000 + Private: minimum $9,000 = $27,000 or more per year
Accelerate Québec – FRQNT-MITACS Program administered by Mitacs (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems). Objective • To provide an opportunity for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to apply their specialized expertise to business research challenges. Value • Each 4-month internship project receives $15,000 in direct funding, with the partner organization and Mitacs each providing $7,500. Renewable. • It is required that the intern receive a stipend of a minimum of $10,000 of the total grant per 4-month internship; any remaining funds will be used to support research related to the internship. In 2012-2013:
In addition, with the PNRI... • Increase the number of internships: • At the college level • At the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels → with NSERC • Build new programs with Mitacs. • Establish an industrial research fellowship program.
Centre for Skills and Post-Secondary Education • Great initiative of the Conference Board of Canada in the current context. • Importance of tracking PSE with studies. • Importance of building a national strategy for PSE. • The participation of Québec universities and agencies should increase in the future.
Thank you for your attention! maryse.lassonde@frq.gouv.qc.ca www.frqnt.gouv.qc.ca