Professor Emeritus Edwin Bourget wins the 2012 Gérard Parizeau Award
May 22, 2012
HEC Montréal is pleased to announce that the 2012 Gérard Parizeau Award has been presented to Université Laval Professor Emeritus Edwin Bourget. The award, with a cash prize of $30,000, this year recognizes the exceptional contribution of a person in charge of public services and, in particular, of university administration.
As winner of the Gérard Parizeau Award, Professor Bourget will give a speech tonight entitled “Science, gestion et service public : réflexions d’un administrateur universitaire,” looking back on his career in university administration. He will talk about how science is used to integrate knowledge essential to innovative management and high-level administration. He will also discuss the conditions required for the successful implementation and completion of original projects, especially at universities. His speech will be published.
Edwin Bourget is a retired professor with the Department of Biology and a Professor Emeritus of Université Laval. He is known worldwide for his marine ecology research, and for his key role in public administration and in encouraging innovative start-ups in Quebec.
Professor Bourget holds a PhD from the University of Wales, in the United Kingdom, with an interdisciplinary background in biology, ecology and ecophysiology. Interestingly enough, he was the first marine ecology researcher to apply advanced techniques from other disciplines: civil engineering, geometry, hydrology, electrical engineering, genetics and mathematics. A world-renowned researcher, he has also received the Michel Jurdant Environmental Award from the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS).
He held many positions in university administration and forged countless research partnerships in Quebec. In his role as an administrator, he always showed leadership that mobilized others and helped advance the institution and Quebec’s economic development, by strengthening the bonds between the university and society. He has many achievements to his credit as Vice-Rector of Research at Université Laval (2007-2010) and the Université de Sherbrooke (2001-2007):
At Université Laval
- He successfully launched a program for research advancement and innovation, the only one of its kind in North America, with the goal of creating 100 new chairs, in partnership with local companies and organizations, for total investment of $100 million over five years. Two and a half years after it was launched, 26 new chairs had already been created, representing total investment of over $125 million.
- He founded a research office, a business-university liaison office and an office to promote research chairs. Their complementary missions enhanced the effectiveness of research management.
At the Université de Sherbrooke
- Professor Bourget founded the environment and sustainable development institute, two organizations responsible for commercializing research findings, and the innovation park, a home for high-tech companies applying research findings. During his time as Vice-Rector, the volume of grants and contracts at the university doubled.
In addition to his university career, he has always been highly committed to a large number of organizations, many of them devoted to encouraging entrepreneurship. He is a mentor to innovative start-ups in the Quebec City region and sits on the boards of directors of business incubators or liaison and knowledge transfer companies, as well as serving as an ambassador for the Boîte à science, an organization founded to interest young people in science and technology.
The Gérard Parizeau Fund and Award
The Gérard Parizeau Fund was created as a tribute to a leading figure in the Quebec insurance industry. Gérard Parizeau founded Sodarcan, an insurance and reinsurance brokerage and actuarial consulting firm, and taught in this field at HEC Montréal. He also started and for 50 years directed the Assurance journal and was one of the co-founders of Actualité économique. The goal of the Fund is to recognize, through the Gérard Parizeau Award, leading lights in management and history. The annual award is presented alternately by HEC Montréal and the Université de Montréal.