Premier François Legault was in the Eastern Townships on Thursday for the announcement of his government’s first two “innovation zones.” The zones, which will be established in Sherbrooke and in Bromont, are meant to be research and innovation hubs that bring together the business community and scientific community.
“For me this is like a dream come true” the Premier said, sharing that he has been peddling the idea of bringing this kind of innovation hub to Quebec since 2013, inspired by international models like California’s Silicon Valley.
Sherbrooke quantique, based at the Université de Sherbrooke, and Technum Québec, based in Bromont, will both benefit from investments of over $690 million over the next five years to develop state of the art, specialized centres focusing on technological innovation.
Legault, joined by a host of cabinet ministers, business and research partners, and the mayors of both cities, explained that the focus of the innovation zone model is to boost the local and provincial economy by providing a natural flow from theoretical research to development, and eventually the marketing and sales of new technologies.
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