McMaster International Forum on R&D

The McMaster International Forum on R&D was held in Hamilton (ON) back in September, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend. The Forum brought together a group of academic, business and government leaders to explore the role of research-intensive universities and other stakeholders in stimulating innovation, with a particular view to international collaborations. I was one of the panellists in the International Partnerships in Humanities and Social Sciences session, and you can catch my comments (including a spontaneous round of applause for sticking to the 4-minute time limit) from 21:40 below:

All materials from both days of the conference are archived on McMaster’s website (linked above). I was particularly inspired by comments to the effect that universities should not try to emulate the business sector too closely (Paul Martin; former Prime Minister of Canada), that university research should be put to work for the greater good (Patrick Deane; President and Vice-Chancellor of McMaster University) and that businesses have to move on from quarter-to-quarter thinking (Kevin Lynch; Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group). The Royal Society report Knowledge, Networks and Nations, which we reported on back in April, was also cited (by Gilles Patry; President and CEO of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation) in the context of access to Canadian world-class infrastructure being a key enabler for international collaboration.