That is a great question. Solving that problem is really essential.
In Quebec, a new development and transfer company called Axelys has been created. We are in the process of devising a new strategy to accelerate development. In partnership with all Quebec universities, we counted the number of technological transfers to companies as well as the number of spin-offs that create value from research. For the moment, the efforts made on the ground are bearing fruit at a rate of 15% per year, but we still have a lot of work to do just to catch up with the North American and Canadian provinces averages.
We have to change the incentives we provide by way of support, particularly the incentives that reward research professors for their publications and the funding they obtain for their research work. A third leg would be providing support depending on how much their work is worth once transferred to entrepreneurs, something that is not valued enough today and is even somewhat penalized. Incentives must be created so that the criteria for granting research scholarships are based on success. We need carrots, so to speak, that encourage more collaboration and transfers to businesses, and we need to be able to register and patent the results of research when they are relevant.
It is very important to remember that basic research must not be overlooked. Research driven by curiosity is essential to the prosperity of nations. On the industry side, such mechanisms must be put in place that will structurally create incentives to increase value and transfers.