Institute Intelligence and Data (IID) at Université Laval
Federate expertise and innovation in artificial intelligence and data science at Université Laval.
Inaugurated in January 2020, IID (Institute Intelligence and Data) at Université Laval brings together the driving forces of research and innovation in artificial intelligence and data valorization in the greater Quebec City area.
From fundamental to applied research, including major ethical issues, IID members, collaborators and associate researchers are actively working today to develop methods, technologies and practices that will support the Quebec of tomorrow.
IID Mission and Objectives
IID (Institute Intelligence and Data) at Université Laval is dedicated to federating and supporting expertise and innovation in artificial intelligence and data valorization in the greater Quebec City area, placing itself at the heart of a global center of excellence of international caliber in these fields and related research areas.
In line with the mission statement, IID strives to fulfill the following objectives:
Pursue and promote innovative and ethically responsible research in artificial intelligence, data science and any other related field, in a spirit of collaboration and interdisciplinarity;
Promote the achievements of its researchers in academia, business networks, public institutions and the population, through dissemination, training and popular science activities;
Contribute to the training of qualified personnel in the field of artificial intelligence and data science, as well as in related research areas;
Develop and support collaborations with partner organizations interested in artificial intelligence and data sciences on the local, national and international levels;
Collaborate with the socio-economic milieu for the transfer of knowledge in artificial intelligence and data sciences.
Research and innovation capacity
A financial package of almost $4M over a period of three years currently supports the various operations of IID, including the administrative component and the team of data scientists. In terms of research and innovation, the Institute directly oversees and administers various initiatives, for a total more than $10M – not to mention the many projects initiated and carried out by the researchers themselves. Finally, the Institute has an internship capacity of up to $6.8M over five years facilitated by financial support received from Mitacs.
Research Thrusts
Institute Intelligence and Data (IID) researchers at Université Laval are at the heart of current major projects in data science and artificial intelligence.
In a spirit of interdisciplinarity and collaboration, they actively contribute to the development and enrichment of knowledge in a multitude of fields of application – from industry 4.0 to the Internet of Things (Iot), intelligent devices to sensor networks, from smart cities to medical imaging, not to mention genomics, sustainable development and sustainable health, and more.
Their work supports major technological advances, particularly in robotics, virtual or augmented reality, machine learning and complex data processing. These advances are also based on major developments and a very particular attention to confidentiality, ethics and social acceptability.
More specifically, four unifying research thrusts exploiting the strengths and expertise of Université Laval related to artificial intelligence and related disciplines have been targeted:
Physical Environment
Explore and analyze data from the physical world, on the scale of individuals, buildings, cities and territories.
Methods of Artificial Intelligence and Data Processing
Promote and develop fundamental and applied research related to both generic methods and specific approaches or complex systems.
Health and Life Sciences
Analyze data from the living world, from the molecular level to that of human and animal populations, and to support the use of this data towards a better understanding of our world.
Ethics, Confidentiality and Social Acceptability
Integrate an ethical dimension into research and development in artificial intelligence, in response to realities associated with security, confidentiality and social acceptability.
The four founding centres of IID
The establishment of IID (Institute Intelligence and Data) at Université Laval was supported by four university research centres, identified today as “founding centres” in the structure of the Institute:
- Centre de recherche vision et intelligence machine (CeRVIM: Robotics, Vision and Machine Intelligence Research Centre),
- Centre de recherche en données et intelligence géospatiales (CRDIG: Geospatial Data and Intelligence Research Centre),
- Centre de recherche en données massives (CRDM: Big Data Research Centre)
- and Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les réseaux d’entreprise, la logistique et le transport (CIRRELT: Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transport).
Centre de recherche en données et intelligence géospatiales (CRDIG)
The Centre de recherche en données et intelligence géospatiales (Geospatial Data and Intelligence Research Centre), previously known as the Centre de recherche en géomatique (Geomatics Research Centre) was established at Université Laval in 1989. A privileged witness to the evolution of geomatics, the CRDIG is also a key player in this field.
Since its creation, this centre has had a significant influence on the development of knowledge, technologies and tools, and even on the geomatics industry in Quebec, Canada and elsewhere in the world. The centre has been able to adapt its scientific programming over time in order to remain avant-garde. Today, this programming is geared towards the era of big data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence.
Centre de recherche en données massives (CRDM)
Big data analysis is both an opportunity and a challenge for a growing number of research fields, bringing together problems from different fields to one rendezvous.
The mission of CRDM is to meet the challenges of major societal issues through the commitment and regrouping of the driving forces in computer science, statistics, bioinformatics, medicine, forestry and administration, on campus and in affiliated hospital research centres. This mission can be achieved by training highly qualified personnel in data management and analysis, and by recruiting promising researchers in the field of Big Data.
Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les réseaux d’entreprise, la logistique et le transport (CIRRELT)
The mission of CIRRELT is to become an internationally renowned interdisciplinary research center offering top-notch supervision for the most promising researchers and research professionals. The centre develops and disseminates its cutting-edge knowledge and methodologies in order to design, manage and operate innovative, efficient, secure, safe and sustainable networks.
CIRRELT researchers devote most of their efforts to solving problems related to the design, management, operation and security of logistics networks, services and infrastructure.
Centre de recherche en robotique, vision et intelligence machine (CeRVIM)
The mission of CeRVIM (Robotics, Vision and Machine Intelligence Research Centre) is to study and develop intelligent systems which evolve and collaborate with humans in the physical world. CeRVIM brings together 15 researchers, 9 research professionals, 100 student-researchers and 6 post-doctoral researchers from three departments and four research laboratories in the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering of Université Laval in Quebec City.
CeRVIM is the host research center of the FRQNT-REPARTI strategic network.
Team
Leadership
Administrative Team
Scientific Team
IID Scientific Committee
Discover IID’s student members
Graduate students work together with IID researchers to contribute to the development and enrichment of knowledge in a multitude of fields of application – from industry 4.0 to the Internet of Things (IoT), from machine learning methods to immersive technologies, from smart cities to medical imaging, and more.
Join the team!
Innovate in AI and data science in a spirit of collaboration
Regionally, nationally and internationally, IID (Institute Intelligence and Data) is at the heart of a vast network of partners from academia, industry and public administration. In a spirit of collaboration, supported by the strength of its network, IID develops innovative initiatives, implements structuring research projects and encourages the AI and data science ecosystem to flourish.
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