Spurring research and energizing current and future talent in tech innovation at UdeS

Sherbrooke, le 16 avril 2025 – The Université de Sherbrooke’s Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT) inaugurated its new facilities today at an event attended by many dignitaries and government representatives. This extensive infrastructure will stimulate not only basic and applied research but also technology transfer, particularly in the fields of emerging materials and embedded AI.

This expansion and new equipment will strengthen 3IT’s essential mission to train talented and innovative students while developing disruptive technologies that can meet our society’s challenges. At 2,000 square metres, the expansion, along with additional specialized equipment, represents an investment of $29 million. This project was made possible thanks to $19.1 million from the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie for the infrastructure project.

Funding of $8 million, part of which came from the Innovation Fund of the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($3.2 million) and from the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur ($3.2 million), also went toward an ultrasensitive electron microscope for 3IT’s equipment fleet. The new instrument can magnify the structure of very small-scale matter up to eight million times instead of the approximately two-million magnification that was previously possible. This unrivalled imaging accuracy will be used to develop new materials to manufacture miniaturized next-generation devices in various high-tech fields.

One of the country’s invaluable research centres

3IT has consolidated its position as one of Canada’s leading research and technological innovation centres thanks to this additional state-of-the-art space and new specialized equipment that will be made available to the scientific community, partners, and students. Open to anyone who needs specialized expertise and equipment, this unique centre stimulates collaborative research, partnerships, and innovation.

As explained by Pierre Cossette, Rector of the Université de Sherbrooke, 3IT plays an essential role in the region’s economic and technological development. “The Université de Sherbrooke generates annual spinoffs of over $1.1 billion for Sherbrooke and the surrounding area, while 3IT plays a first-tier role in the technological development of the region and of Quebec and Canada. This Institute is at the core of the digital and quantum Integrated Innovation Chain, which acts as a bridge between fundamental research and commercialization. In addition to contributing to research and training, these new facilities will enhance synergy with the Institut quantique, with the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) in Bromont, and with companies that work in our two innovation zones (DistriQ and Technum Québec).”

“This expansion marks an important milestone in 3IT’s development, as it has considerably expanded the Institute’s holdings of advanced micro-nanofabrication equipment to support industrial innovation. With these new facilities, 3IT has bolstered its world-class research activities, which will attract the best talent to develop technological solutions that meet our society’s needs,” said Paul Charette, Director of 3IT.

“In these uncertain times, local innovation must be stimulated. We must also diversify and develop new markets. This is why it is essential for us to support our university network and its researchers. They are one of the best tools we have to rise above the rest in these fields. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who worked on this amazing project,” said Pascale Déry, Minister of Higher Education.

“The current geopolitical context impels us to invest in expansions like the one at 3IT to strengthen our capacity for innovation and competitiveness both here and internationally. Here in the Eastern Townships is where the next breakthroughs in quantum science, photonics, and biomedical technologies are coming together,” said Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism, and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.

Geneviève Hébert, MNA for Saint-François and Assistant Government Whip, said that “at 3IT, ideas take shape and create vectors for growth for all of Quebec. This expansion will also boost our ability to innovate here in Sherbrooke and turn today’s discoveries into tomorrow’s concrete solutions. Here, we are inventing the technologies that will reshape how we experience, care for, and connect with the world.”

More space and resources for cutting-edge research

This new space will enable a number of major initiatives, such as a new sector for telecom-network equipment that can meet industrial needs and provide different types of testing.

A new ultrasensitive electron microscope has also been added to 3IT’s equipment fleet so that the atomic structure of materials can now be analyzed at eight million times magnification. These high-level analysis capabilities are also possible at every stage of the development of advanced materials that go into manufacturing miniaturized next-generation devices in various high-tech fields.

Overall, 3IT will have a distributed digital intelligence network in which thousands of sensors can be manufactured and networked. With five Quebec institutions, this network will let researchers bring intelligence closer to home and directly onto devices rather than store the information on the cloud, which may be kept at data centres hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

“These incredible initiatives are closely linked with the success of our faculty, whose research activities and whose culture based on interdisciplinarity and partnership let them push boundaries and advance knowledge,” said Jean Proulx, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

About 3IT

The Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation is a Université de Sherbrooke research centre that works in 5 main areas: health, digital technologies, renewable energies, robotics, and technology transfer to society. Its community has 53 member researchers and 120 research support staff. Over $30 million is invested annually in collaborative research projects at 3IT, which also trains 350 students every year in partnership with the industry. Its 6 different technology platforms contain equipment worth $60 million, while 12 research chairs conduct their activities at the Institute. Currently, 3IT supports 17 start-ups and SMEs. It is also home to the Laboratoire Nanotechnologies et Nanosystèmes (LN2), an international research laboratory run in partnership with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique in France.

Find out more about the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT)

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Information:
Isabelle Huard, Media Relations Advisor
Communications Department | Université de Sherbrooke
medias@USherbrooke.ca | 819-821-8000, extension 63395 | 819-560-2373