QUEBEC CITY, Sept. 30, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - During his trip to Quebec City, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, took the opportunity to visit The National Optics Institute (INO) and officially launch the activities marking the 25th anniversary of Canada's leading national optics/photonics research center.
Mr. Harper was welcomed by INO's CEO, Jean-Yves Roy, who thanked the government of Canada for its "continued and crucial support since INO was created in 1988. This is especially true of your government and your colleague Denis Lebel's ministry, which helped us reach a five-year, $45 million agreement in 2011 through the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec."
A regional economic powerhouse
The mayor of Quebec City, Régis Labeaume, was invited to speak and stated that the celebrations will highlight this regional economic powerhouse's success, and also provide the opportunity to look back and appreciate the Institute's progress since the mid-80s. "It was a turning point for Quebec City, as this was when regional and government partners took up the challenge of diversifying regional economic development."
"Today it's easy to grow, but at the time it was a daring move. I remember that time and the decision-makers' hesitations. You can't talk about INO's success without mentioning the brilliant work of Jean-Guy Paquet, Larkin Kerwin, Jean-Yves Roy, and many others who contributed to this great triumph."
History
In 1985, INO was officially established at the urging of Université Laval and its rector, Jean-Guy Paquet. At the time, Université Laval alone trained half the country's optics/photonic researchers. But it wasn't until 1988, after much wrangling, that the Institute saw the light of day.
"INO is the result of a concerted and unprecedented effort by Université Laval, the towns of this region, economic development officers, and the highest levels of government," explained Jean-Guy Paquet, who is today Chairman of INO's Board of Directors.
National ambitions
CEO Jean-Yves Roy says INO is able to implement its national development plan now thanks to 25 years of successfully achieving its mission.
For three years, INO has had offices in Ontario and Western Canada. "With this expansion, we hope to cover industrial sectors specific to those regions. In Alberta, we're focusing on petro-energy, in British Columbia, green photonics, and in Ontario, the automotive and biomedical photonics industries," concluded Mr. Roy.
The National Optics Institute will soon be announcing the various activities that will mark its 25th anniversary. They will take place until the end of January with a view to acknowledging INO's financial and scientific partners, clients, staff, the Quebec City business community, and the people of the region. The activities will culminate in a high-level Technology Symposium in January 2014.
About INO
A leading technology designer and developer, INO is the largest center for industrial optics and photonics expertise in Canada. The leader in its field internationally, INO has so far completed over 5,000 custom R&D contracts for Quebec and Canadian companies working in a variety of fields. It has also performed 54 technology transfers and contributed to the creation of 29 new companies—all still in business—that employ over 1,000 people. INO has 200 employees representing 13 nationalities, more than 80% of whom are scientists involved in research.
Image with caption: "Standing with Jean-Yves Roy (left), President and CEO of the National Optics Institute, and Jean-Guy Paquet (right), Chairman of the Board and founder of INO, Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute to the pioneers of Canada's largest optics and photonics research centre. (CNW Group/INO (NATIONAL OPTICS INSTITUTE))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130930_C5892_PHOTO_EN_31526.jpg
SOURCE: INO (NATIONAL OPTICS INSTITUTE)
Damien Rousseau, Strategic Consultant
Rousseau Communication Conseil
418-930-4352
[email protected]
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