In a world of constant technological evolution, the user experience (UX) occupies a central place. To understand and improve this experience in the context of business technologies, HEC Montréal’s Tech3Lab defines itself as a feat of innovation.
Tech3Lab stands out as the largest laboratory of its kind in the world, exploring UX through a neuroscientific lens. The research carried out in the lab not only analyzes the interactions between man and technology, but also seeks to unravel the mysteries of the experience lived by each individual, whether consumer, employee or citizen.
HEC Montréal‘sTech3Lab received $18 million in major funding in November 2023. Among these financial contributions, PROMPT stands out with a sum of $489,530.
” The Tech3Lab project is an admirable example of collaborative partnership between academia and industry. By involving thirteen partner-companies from different sectors, Tech3Lab has pulled off a real tour de force that will enable several industries to benefit from the results of this applied research. For PROMPT, whose mission is to facilitate and support collaborative innovation projects, this is a fine example of synergy between the research and private sectors. “says Liette Lamonde, General Manager of PROMPT.
Check out our interview with our new account manager for academic relations, Cédric Saint-Onge, on “Tech3Lab from his point of view”:
- How does PROMPT funding contribute to Tech3Lab’s research and innovation activities?
“This funding earmarked for Tech3Lab projects makes it possible to offer more competitive scholarships and salaries to student researchers, enabling us to attract the best talent and train the next generation in this promising high-tech field. What’s more, PROMPT funding gives SMEs and startups access to resources (money, researchers, highly qualified personnel) that would otherwise be unavailable to them if they had to pay the full cost of this type of research project themselves.”
- What do you remember about your visit to Tech3Lab?
“My main points were the quality of the projects presented and the equipment made available to the researchers. I particularly appreciated the projects focused on analyzing the attention and mood of respondents, solutions supported by AI, precise camera systems and the collection of various biometric characteristics in real time. The proposed solutions can be applied to a wide range of fields, including driver assistance in the transport sector, insurance, healthcare, smart cities and many others. The student researchers captured my interest with their motivation, curiosity and genuine enthusiasm for the chance to work with such sophisticated tools and test benches.
This laboratory is unique of its kind, and has no equal in Quebec in terms of the quality of its facilities, the expertise of Tech3Lab’s professors and staff, and the technologies made available to researchers. The research projects presented to us are not only at the cutting edge of technology, but are also highly likely to be brought to market in the near future, to the benefit of our industrial partners and Quebec society in general”.
- How will Tech3Lab’s work benefit the project’s industrial partners?
“In addition to the impressive AI-supported technological innovations coming out of the various projects underway in Tech3Lab, I noted a very strong potential for bringing some of these solutions to market in the near future. Several of these projects were already at an advanced stage of development and, in my opinion, the transition to seamless integration of these solutions within partner companies’ systems is, with minimal effort, realistic in the short term. Not to mention the fact that the student researchers assigned to the project will constitute a highly qualified workforce, already well trained in the needs and requirements of the partner company, and will certainly be able to help integrate their innovative solution within the latter if they wish to pursue their career there!”
