Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Our commitment
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the heart of the collaborative, open innovation, and interdisciplinary creativity research and development (R&D) that characterize the TransMedTech Institute. We believe that a diverse and inclusive environment is essential to the development of new technologies and medical interventions that meet societal needs.
In this spirit, we are committed to:
- Foster an inclusive culture that supports and values all talents;
- Pay particular attention to the impact and accessibility of the benefits of our work for the entire population;
- Promote an inclusive and intersectional approach in our practices, R&D and training activities, and in our service to the community.
Our approach
Our strategy is to build a participatory EDI culture and approach that reflects our Institute, in living lab mode and with the TransMedTech community, in addition to building medtech solutions with greater long-term impact by incorporating a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Concretely, the actions preferred by the TransMedTech Institute in terms of EDI are to:
- Increase awareness of EDI issues among internal and external community members;
- Increase the presence, retention and promotion of individuals from underrepresented groups within iTMT;
- Conduct our activities in an inclusive research environment;
- Innovate in our R&D approaches based on our EDI commitments;
- Ensuring equitable access to iTMT funding opportunities.
Achievements
- 74% of iTMT’s highly qualified staff are women and/or racialized professionals;
- iTMT’s Scientific Steering Committee, which plays a key role in the development of scientific programs, includes 47% women, 13% visible/ethnic minorities and 1 person with a chronic condition;
- In the last graduate student scholarship competition, 68% of our recipients belonged to one or more designated groups, including one member who identifies as Indigenous;
- Helped organize the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Development Program, an initiative to promote diversity in entrepreneurship and to encourage more women and visible/ethnic minorities (especially immigrants) to become entrepreneurs and aim for leadership positions in companies in the life sciences industry;
- We created a training program entitled Optimizing Power Skills in Interdisciplinary, Diverse & Innovative Academic Networks (OPSIDIAN), which aims to provide individuals with the skills and know-how to efficiently interact in a diverse and interdisciplinary research context (funded by NSERC-CREATE, under the leadership of Prof. Isabelle Villemure);
- Our latest excellence scholarship and recruitment competitions explicitly included EDI criteria and consideration of non-traditional profiles in the selection and evaluation process, as well as in the design of the students’ projects.
