Higher Education in Québec – OECD’s review

Québec is mobilised to become an innovation and entrepreneurial leader in North America, giving higher education institutions (HEIs) a central role in this drive. HEIs are pivotal in developing skills and nurturing talent, connecting and contributing to their communities, including firms, public authorities and civil society. The Stratégie québécoise de recherche et d’investissement en innovation (SQRI) has placed HEIs at the fore front of the provincial innovation and entrepreneurship efforts, including with an explicit spatial approach, through the “innovation zones”. This review assesses the “geography of higher education” in Québec through the examination of ten case study HEIs. These case studies represent examples of innovative and entrepreneurial HEIs that support entrepreneurship and innovation in their communities. In particular, the case studies tell the story of the province of Québec in creating sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation, connecting actors and mobilising resources and policies. The review offers actionable policy recommendations to generate further progress in this direction.

Main recommendations

The review identified four key recommendations based on the interviews, surveys and desk research carried out in support of the work:

• Create more collaborative spaces (colliders) underpinning entrepreneurship education. While blossoming, entrepreneurship education activities in Québec HEIs appear often fragmented across academic disciplines (e.g., economics, health, etc). This affects effectiveness and scale of entrepreneurship education. Provincial authorities could consider the creation of common spaces to reinforce a transdisciplinary approach. The last point is particularly relevant in Montreal, which is on the verge of becoming an international entrepreneurial leader.
• Capitalise on CEGEPs and CCTTs to strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems in all regions. In particular, CCTTs could deliver entrepreneurship education to individuals and firms (including established ones) thus promoting innovation and growth, across Québec regions.
• Involve the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur (MES – Ministry of Higher Education) in entrepreneurship and innovation policies, promoting piloting interventions and reforms in Innovation Zones. The MES could use innovation zones as test beds to introduce incentives and career opportunities for academics and students (e.g., by promoting the status of “student entrepreneur”) to unlock the potential of collaboration activities and of the start-up movement, in these zones. Once tested in innovation zones, initiatives could be extended to the rest of the province.
• Promote the social and urban development sides of innovation zones to connect the start-up movement and entrepreneurship education to other agendas related to well-being and sustainability, in all regions of Québec. The social and urban development components are relevant, and they should not be overlooked when implementing innovation zones.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @  The Geography of Higher Education in Québec, Canada | OECD Skills Studies | OECD iLibrary