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MET launches the LIA - Living Lab for Innovation in Aerospace, a unique space for research

The goal is to provide those working in the innovation ecosystem with privileged access to all MET’s infrastructure and operations to drive research projects and experiments. This will propel the MET to become not just another airport but a large, open laboratory for innovation—a Living Lab.

The potential of airports to foster innovation

Airports are vast terrains for research in the innovation ecosystem. Spread over hundreds of hectares, they feature complex infrastructure and employ tens of thousands of people. By opening its doors to innovation, an airport Living Lab allows research organizations to conduct projects amid daily operations, providing an invaluable opportunity to analyze real practices and perform genuine tests.

Living Lab is the internationally used term to designate a real-life environment available for research where participants go beyond being mere study subjects to become contributors. This research space offers considerable advantages due to its collaborative and dynamic nature. Conducted in a real context rather than a traditional laboratory, the studies carried out here promote innovation and analysis, whereas research conducted in external laboratories must artificially replicate real conditions, with the associated risks of bias and complications.

The LIA - Living Lab for Innovation in Aerospace’s scientific direction will be led by Professor Mehran Ebrahimi

Mehran Ebrahimi, PhD, is a full professor in the Department of Management at the School of Management Sciences, Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM). He is a member of the International Network for Innovation and Foresight (r2ip) and director of the GEME-Aéro study group on management of aeronautical companies, and of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation at UQAM.

The LIA’s founding members

The LIA’s founding members have come from near and far to serve on the advisory and scientific committees, providing their expertise to guide the research projects. Recognized by the scientific community, the founding members are enthusiastic to contribute to LIA’s unique project and promote innovation in the aerospace industry.

Mehran Ebrahimi, PhD, is a full professor in the Department of Management at the School of Management Sciences, Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM). He is a member of the International Network for Innovation and Foresight (r2ip) and director of the GEME-Aéro study group on management of aeronautical companies, and of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation at UQAM.

Simon-Pierre Diamond first made his mark by becoming the youngest member of the Quebec National Assembly at the age of 22. He then briefly practiced law, before returning to the political arena as an advisor to Quebec government ministers. Then, for nearly a decade, he offered his expertise to the business world as a public affairs consultant. He joined MET – Montreal Metropolitan Airport last May as Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Communications and Marketing. He is a member of the Quebec Bar, holds an executive MBA and is writing, part-time, a doctoral thesis on constitutional law.

Pierre Seïn Pyun, Vice-President of Government Affairs at Bombardier, is a distinguished professional with extensive experience in international law and commerce. His expertise includes managing industry practices, implementing global strategies and overseeing commercial litigation. Pierre’s training includes degrees in common law and civil law from McGill University, complemented by a certificate in international business from the Université de Montréal. His active participation in numerous associations, such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, testifies to his commitment to international cooperation and the exchange of scientific knowledge.

With a master’s degree in engineering from the École de technologie supérieure, Frédéric Parent worked in various national and international organizations before taking over the reins of the Centre technologique en aérospatiale. With a wealth of experience in the field of innovation, notably at Bombardier and GMR Safety Inc., he advocates a human and collective approach backed by operational excellence as the driving force behind the projects he leads at the CTA.

Michel Rioux is a full professor and consultant at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). He is involved in program development, including the bachelor’s degree in operations and logistics engineering (GOL), the certificate in facilities management (IMM), the short program in maintenance planning and management (PGM), and the DESS in digital enterprise (ENM). Prior to teaching, Michel acquired 10 years of industrial experience in the private and parapublic sectors in production and maintenance engineering as an engineer and manager.

Jarrod Morley has over 17 years of extensive international exposure in the establishment, development and growth of complex strategic partnerships. He’s a proven skilled advisor and collaborative facilitator for problem identification and resolution and is recognized as an innovative and open-minded individual focused on influencing positive change while maintaining accountability for measurable results.

Benoit Leblanc is a professor at the Bordeaux Polytechnic Institute, specializing in artificial intelligence and applied cognitive sciences. As Director of the École nationale d’ingénieurs en cognitique (ENSC), he spent five years in charge of artificial intelligence issues at the French Ministry of Research. His research activities focus on knowledge management, decision systems and human trust in artificial intelligence systems. His research work is carried out in the Cognitique et Ingénierie Humaine team of the IMS Laboratory – Bordeaux INP, Université de Bordeaux and CNRS. He has supervised nine theses in the field of AI. He is also President of the French Association for Artificial Intelligence, advisor to the Director of the CNRS Cognition Institute, Vice-President of the Fredrick R. Bull Institute (Pôle Universitaire de Paris-La-Défense) and Co-Leader of the Humanity and Artificial Intelligence think tank.

David Rancourt is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke and Chairman of the Board of Directors of CDAS, the Sherbrooke Airport Development Corporation. He is also a member of the CTA, Aerospace Technology Centre, and of the Createk innovation group at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Saïd-Hany Moustapha is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) and is a member of three research units: the Siemens Research Chair on the Integration of Industry 4.0 Technologies, the Pratt & Whitney Industrial Research Chair on the Integration and Optimization of Propulsion Systems (PDDS) and the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Operationalizing Sustainable Development. Saïd-Hany is the Canadian industrial member of NATO Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT). He is an active member of various committees within the Quebec Aerospace Research and Innovation Consortium (CRIAQ) and Aéro Montréal. He is the Founder of the Montreal Aerospace Institute (IAM) and a Co-Founder of CRIAQ. He is also an author and co-author of over 100 publications and two books on gas turbines.

Mathieu Marcotte is Director, Partnerships and Ecosystem at the Montreal International Centre of Expertise in Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA). He holds a Juris Doctor in transnational law. He has practiced aboriginal, environmental and constitutional law, and spent 10 years as a political organizer and advisor on issues relating to culture, education, the environment, democratic institutions and natural resources at the three main levels of government in Canada.

Laurence Martin Gosselin holds a master’s degree in applied international law and politics from the University of Sherbrooke. Prior to her position as Director of Corporate Affairs and Special Projects at CRIAQ, she worked in support of research and innovation in a variety of ways, including as International Partnerships Manager at the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologie.

Philippe Langlais is a full professor in the Department of Computer Science (DIRO) at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) in the field of computational linguistics. He obtained his doctorate from the Université d’Avignon in 1995, working on speech recognition at the LIA, after spending three years in the speech technology group at the Institut Dalle Mole d’Intelligence Artificielle et Perceptive (IDIAP) in Switzerland. Between 1995 and 1997, Philippe was a teacher and researcher at the Université d’Avignon. The following year, he was a visiting researcher at CTT, a unit of the Department of Speech, Music and Hearing (TMH) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. Philippe joined RALI in 1998, working on statistical machine translation. In 2007, he took a sabbatical year to visit ENST, LIMSI and IRIT.

Paul-Antoine Vivet holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Aeronautical Engineering from ESTACA and a double Executive MBA from Université Paris Dauphine and Université du Québec. He is Sales Director for the Americas at AFI KLM E&M. In addition, since 2022, he has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of AFI KLM E&M Beijing Line Maintenance International.

LIA’s pillars of engagement

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1. Provide access to a unique study site

Accelerate innovation by providing a unique study site—featuring our infrastructure, facilities and workforce—to carry out projects in a real-world setting.

2. Facilitate research projects

Make research projects possible by involving our experts and facilitating strategic partner funding thanks to specialized support on every project.

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3. Create a community of experts

Build and motivate a community of airport innovation-based multidisciplinary practices to share knowledge and provide access to global leaders in the industry.

The LIA is a privileged space for innovation

  • A high level of activity and interactions d’activité et d‘interactions
  • A complex and rich operational system
  • A controlled environment
  • A large “playground”

General call to all innovators and scientists

We’re looking to build a community of experts and researchers who are eager to pitch research and prototyping projects. The LIA – Living Lab for Innovation in Aerospace is committed to ensuring the conditions for success for all proposals.

  • Companies
  • Academic institutions
  • Research organizations
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