All the universities at this time are of the view that the investment in research needs to encompass and incorporate both fundamental and applied research. You wouldn't get any argument. I could point out that a huge number of incredibly important inventions in this country have started with fundamental research. Therefore, to some extent, differentiating between those two is a bit problematic.
I want to talk about one incredibly important thing regarding investing in research. That is the direct correlation between that investment in research not only contributing to global knowledge transfer for Canada, but also contributing to experiential education for the actual student learning experience.
Research activities and students having those abilities of research and having exposure in research labs to the very best research that is going on is a continuation of that hands-on learning, that experiential education opportunity, the precise type of skills that students need today to be successful. On average, they will have seven different jobs over their lifetime. They need those research skills, those broad-based, transferable skills. An investment in fundamental research is not only an investment in research and development, it's also an investment in learning.
Research infrastructure is one of the primary problems. If I were to list them, faculty complement, research infrastructure and technology are the three big challenges facing universities. Increasingly supporting and making sure that we don't stop that support for fundamental and applied research for universities is incredibly important.