Highlights

RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2024
15-18 September, 2024, Québec City

The RLS-Sciences Conference 2024 took place in Québec City from September 15th to 18th, 2024 at the invitation of the Québec Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie. The overall theme of the event was “Innovation Zones- A Regional Development Tool in the International Context”.

Altogether, over 100 participants from six RLS partner regions joined to exchange within and between the RLS-Sciences themes (Renewable Energy, Aerospace, Small Satellites, Digitalization, and Digital Health). Each day, there were joint sessions with presentations and panel discussions, especially highlighting the four Innovation Zones in Québec, and the research and development ecosystem. Speakers included representatives from academia, industry, the Québec government, and funding agencies. Innovation management was a key theme throughout- how best to foster innovation, synergies, and economic development in specific areas and topics. Models from other regions, including those focusing on intersecorality, links with industry, and international collaboration, were also presented from Bavaria, Georgia, and São Paulo.

Following the conference, participants were invited to join site visits to different parts of the province, where they were able to hear more about the actors and infrastructure supporting science and innovation for different fields: l’Institut de recherche sur l’hydrogène (IHR) and the Société du parc industriel et portuaire de Bécancour for energy and the Ville Longueil, École nationale d'aérotechnique and the new MET - Aéroport métropolitain de Montréal terminal with the Aerospace Innovation Living Lab (LIA) for aerospace. The Digital Health group had the chance to visit the CHU Sainte-Justine as well as the Command Centre at Jewish Hospital. These were arranged together with key partners like CRIAQ, Consortium Santé Numérique, and UQTR.

Photo Credit: Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie, 2024

This marked the third iteration of the RLS-Sciences Overall Conference. The first was hosted by FAPESP and INPE in São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo in 2019. In 2022, Bavaria hosted the second conference in Herrsching. The conferences create an opportunity for the entire RLS-Sciences network to meet in person, deepening work in the parallel thematic sessions and exchanging with other groups in joint interdisciplinary sessions and during networking.

During the conference, the successors of two members of the RLS-Sciences presidency group were announced. Dr. Sebastian Goers, Upper Austria, who has served as RLS-Sciences president since 2019, was succeeded by Prof. Louis Gosselin, Québec. Prof. Kodjo Agbossou, Québec, who has served as one of the two RLS-Sciences Vice Presidents since 2019, was succeeded by PD Dr. med. Sebastian Bickelhaupt, Bavaria. 

The next RLS-Sciences Overall Conference will take place in 2026, in connection with the 10th Anniversary of RLS-Sciences.

View the 2024 programme here.

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About RLS- Sciences

The Regional Leaders Summit (RLS) is a forum comprising seven regional governments: Bavaria (Germany), Georgia (USA), Québec (Canada), São Paulo (Brazil), Shandong (China), Upper Austria (Austria), and Western Cape (South Africa). Within the framework of RLS, RLS-Sciences seeks to leverage the unique composition and strengths of the RLS network to support scientific research within and between the RLS regions. The goal is to generate and support academic, scientific, and technological exchanges, as well as the initiation of multilateral research projects. RLS-Sciences is comprised of its scientific network, the existing bilateral relationships between the RLS members, and its five research projects: RLS-Energy Network (the RLS-Sciences pilot project), the RLS-Expert Dialogue on Digitalization, the RLS-Global Aerospace Campus, RLS-Small Satellites , and RLS-Digital Health.

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Contact Us

RLS- Sciences
Dr. Florence Gauzy
wks(at)bayfor.org
tel.: +49 (0) 89 9901 888-0