HEC Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine join forces to stimulate healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship
April 6, 2018
Representatives from the School and CHU Sainte-Justine, flanking HEC Montréal Director Michel Patry, CHU Sainte-Justine President and CEO Fabrice Brunet and Minister of Higher Education, and Minister responsible for the Status of Women Hélène David.
HEC Montréal and the Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine are working together to develop training programs in healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship.
The two institutions, long-standing partners, made this announcement on April 6, as part of quality and innovation week (Semaine de la qualité et de l’innovation) at the mother-child university hospital.
The programs will be intended for students seeking academic or professional careers in healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as for current managers, professionals and entrepreneurs in the healthcare community.
Training the next generation of innovators
This initiative comes in response to calls by existing teams for improved training for future managers, professionals and entrepreneurs, so as to better support and benefit from the development and implementation of healthcare innovations.
“Open innovation in healthcare is a driver for improving care, creating and sharing knowledge, growth and development. While we all possess innate creativity, innovation requires the appropriate conditions to implement new ideas, adapt them to the situation and illustrate their benefits,” explains Dr. Fabrice Brunet, CHU Sainte-Justine President and CEO.
“This collaboration with our partners at the CHU Sainte-Justine gives us the opportunity to put this knowledge to work for the good of the community, including through training for the entire healthcare ecosystem in Quebec, and potentially throughout the international French-speaking community,” notes HEC Montréal Director Michel Patry.
The first programs for practising managers, professionals and entrepreneurs should be ready by fall 2018.
“Innovators in residence” program
The CHU Sainte-Justine and HEC Montréal, through the Mosaic hub, will also be partnering with Hacking Health, the Prompt industrial research consortium and the Fonds de recherche du Québec in another project relating to healthcare innovation: a residence program in healthcare, the only one of its kind in Quebec, intended for entrepreneurs and management graduates.
In the first part of the program, participants will work in a clinical setting for 8 to 12 months, alongside interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, researchers and patients, to develop and implement their innovations.
The second part will give them access to a community of practitioners, allowing them to join an innovation ecosystem in healthcare.
The Fonds de recherche du Québec is supporting this initiative with an investment of $375,000 over three years.