Montreal has the great good fortune to be blessed with many institutions of higher learning and research - which bodes well for its future. Among these institutions, Concordia University is unique in many respects - not least of which is the way its history and culture position it for emerging and future imperatives.

The rich legacies of Loyola and Sir George Williams, its founding institutions, have melded over the last three decades. Today’s Concordia combines the historic Loyola values of academic rigour and excellence with Sir George’s focus on community service, accessibility, and innovation. The resulting academic culture celebrates freedom and collaboration in ways that are ideal for today’s fast-moving interdisciplinary economy of innovation.

In the following pages, we will introduce you to some of the great Concordia researchers and projects that are directly or indirectly related to the industrial clusters that Montreal has identified as strategic to its future. Their stories illustrate tangible contributions to the advancement of Montreal’s economy and global positioning.

Concordia University welcomes partners and collaboration from all sectors of the economic, social and cultural life of this city.

For a full list of research chairs (Canada Research Chairs, Concordia University Research Chairs and Endowed Chairs/Distinguished Professorships) see www.concordia.ca/chairs.

“Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field. Clusters encompass an array of linked industries and other entities important to competition. They include, for example, suppliers of specialized inputs such as components, machinery, and services, and providers of specialized infrastructure. Clusters also often extend downstream to channels and customers and laterally to manufacturers of complementary products and to companies in industries related by skills, technologies, or common inputs. Finally, many clusters include governmental and other institutions - such as universities, standards-setting agencies, think tanks, vocational training providers, and trade associations.”

Porter, M. E. (1998). “Clusters and the New Economics of Competition”, Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1998.