Professors shaping the future of artificial intelligence in Canada

Launched in 2016 as part of its Data Serving Canadians (DSC) project, the IVADO Professorship Program has been supporting the recruitment and development of specialized faculty at Quebec universities for nearly a decade. A new cohort, which will include more than 40 people, is strengthening this network as part of the R³AI initiative in artificial intelligence.

This new phase of the program, made possible by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), aims to consolidate Canada’s research capacity in artificial intelligence and university training by enabling the hiring of new professors distributed among IVADO’s five partner institutions: Université de Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, HEC Montréal, Université Laval and McGill University.

This network of talent is helping to build an interdisciplinary scientific community dedicated to robust, reasoning, and responsible AI capable of addressing the technological, ethical, and societal challenges associated with its development.

Complementary and strategic research expertise

IVADO faculty members conduct their work in fields that cover the entire spectrum of artificial intelligence, from its theoretical foundations to its applications in various domains. Their expertise includes deep learning and natural language processing, drug discovery, the environment and sustainable development, responsible governance, and autonomous systems.

By combining methodological and thematic approaches, these researchers are helping to advance AI that can meet society’s needs while respecting the principles of rigor, transparency, and accountability.

This interdisciplinary approach is in line with IVADO’s strategic objectives: to increase research and teaching capacity in artificial intelligence in Quebec and Canada, promote cross-sector collaboration, and ensure balanced representation of major research areas, including the humanities and social sciences.

Structured support for a faculty of excellence

The IVADO – R³AI Faculty Program is based on an integrated approach that aims to support the next generation of faculty, strengthen the diversity of expertise, and encourage collaboration between institutions and disciplines. Candidates are selected by a scientific committee of excellence based on the quality of their profiles and the research they undertake. This selection is also based on principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, so that artificial intelligence research can evolve in an open and socially responsible environment.

Each person receives start-up support of up to $300,000, along with support and training measures to promote research career development. The program also includes mentoring for early-career researchers and networking opportunities between the various partner universities.

“This initiative reflects IVADO’s ambition to cultivate a research environment where both foundational science and AI applications advance hand in hand. These researchers strengthen an ecosystem that brings together the natural sciences, engineering, and the humanities and social sciences, forming the foundation of R³AI. In doing so, we create the conditions for AI to be fully integrated into today’s scientific and societal challenges.”

— Aaron Courville, Scientific Director, IVADO

Ultimately, the initiative should lead to the appointment of more than 40 IVADO professors, 30 of whom have already been appointed in recent months.

Discover IVADO professors by clicking here.