Université Laval

With many existing collaboration arrangements and the signing in 2003 of a framework agreement followed by agreements concerning 8 disciplines, Université Laval is a key partner of UNIL, as confirmed by the vitality of student exchanges.

Objectives

The desire of both institutions is to develop collaborative relationships in education and training, research and governance and to join forces in order to better serve their respective audiences. They have set themselves the following objectives:

Foster student mobility by building on the strengths of each institution
Collaborate in innovative education projects
Collaborate in the organisation of scientific events (conferences, study days, doctoral seminars, etc.)
Strengthen synergies in view of joint research projects
Strengthen the exchange of good practices at the administrative and governance level

Projects selected in 2020 (first call for projects)

Joint Research Fund

UNIL and Université Laval have set up a joint research fund with the aim of granting impulse credits to collaborative research projects submitted jointly by teams from both universities. This fund aims to bring out strategic and innovative projects that have the potential to create a leverage effect for other funding and that present medium-term perspectives for the development of the privileged partnership.

The first call for projects was launched in 2020 and was focused on digitalization issues. For your information, you can consult the text of the 2020 call (call closed) and the funded projects appear above.

The second joint call for projects, launched in 2023, focused on sustainable health.

Third call for projects (launched in April 2024)

Four joint projects can be funded for a maximum of CAD 15'000 (approx. CHF 10'000) each. In addition, four MITACS mobility grants for students and postdocs can be awarded.

The joint research fund covers new projects. Existing projects can be funded, if the added value and the innovative aspect are demonstrated and justified. The funding is awarded for a maximum duration of two years.

All the details are available in the call text (in French). The call is now closed.

Two flagship collaborations

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International Joint Unit in Child Psychiatry

The International Joint Unit (Unité mixte internationale - UMI) in Child Psychiatry is an inter-institutional structure aimed to pool the resources of UNIL and Laval University in the field of identification of the biomarkers/risk endophenotypes of major psychiatric disorders. This UMI is run jointly by UNIL and Université Laval.

Two important cohort studies are currently being conducted at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and at the Research Centre of the University Institute in Mental Health of Quebec. These studies are very similar in their modes of recruitment, evaluation and monitoring, and the scientific goals being pursued in Lausanne and in Quebec concerning the identification of the biomarkers/risk endophenotypes of major psychiatric disorders are also very close. These findings have naturally led to a project that aims to create a UMI articulated around the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurophotonics, currently held by Prof. Pierre Marquet, who is also affiliated with UNIL.

This UMI will allow to bring together unique skills and will provide the critical mass needed to create a global centre of excellence in the field of neurodevelopment in child psychiatry.

Psychiatry and Neurophotonics Research Laboratory at Université Laval

Joint international laboratory in complex hydrogeological systems

The plan to create a joint international laboratory in complex hydrogeological systems was formally launched in December 2017. The laboratory involves researchers from UNIL (Faculty of Geosciences and Environment), Université Laval, the University of Neuchatel and the Canadian National Institute of Scientific Research. It focuses primarily on the hydrogeology of fractured media, the hydrogeology of Nordic and Alpine regions, and characterizing hydrogeological variations for the study of groundwater.

Joint courses and workshops, exchanges for PhD students and post-docs, visits from professors and organizing joint field trips are some of the activities planned in relation to the international joint laboratory.