SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Leading the way in research

We are proud to be one of Canada’s leading universities for research. Queen’s is a member of the U15 group of Canadian Research Universities, a collective of the country’s most research-intensive post-secondary institutions. We are also honoured to have 33 Canada Research Chairs on our faculty.

Queen’s has attracted nearly $620 million in research and development to Kingston since 2013. Our research activities contribute to Kingston’s ranking as a top-10 Canadian startup ecosystem by StartupBlink.

^{Queen's Art of Research Submission: Watch Me as I Glow by Paul Lummis, Postdoctoral Fellow (Chemistry), Crudden Lab, Queen's University}

New frontiers

In 2022, Queen's launched the new Carbon to Metal Coating Institute (C2MCI) led by Cathleen Crudden, Canada Research Chair in Metal Organic Chemistry. The international, interdisciplinary institute will advance Dr. Crudden's research in novel coatings to protect critical metals from breaking down supported by a $24 million grant from Canada's New Frontiers in Research Fund. More resilient metals will reduce the demand of metal extraction processes, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing the leaching of contaminants into the environment from corroding metals.

Forefront of artificial intelligence

Queen's researcher Parvin Mousavi has been named the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Chair of Artificial Intelligence at the Vector Institute. Dr. Mousavi's work exploring the use of computer-assisted diagnosis of diseases using ultrasound-guided interventions is refining the accuracy of low-cost options which will also make care more accessible.

^{Queen's Art of Research Submission: Ferrofluid Spikes by Ivanna Boras, BASc Student (Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy), Queen's University}

Innovative curriculum

Queen’s supports student innovation through a variety of initiatives at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity helps students gain a variety of skills in marketing, finance, communications, and business planning to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Since in its inception six years ago, more than 400 students representing 25 countries have completed the Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Those students have gone on to create 89 startups and scaleups employing 112 people.

In 2023, a $2.5 million gift from the Quinn Family Future Foundation to Smith School of Business at Queen's established the new Quinn Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Professorship. Enhancing the curriculum, the ESG Professorship will further develop the next generation of business leaders and positively contribute to an inclusive, diverse, and sustainable society where organizations respect planetary boundaries.

^{Queen's Art of Research Submission: Smith Women in Finance by Neil D'Souza, MFIN Student (Smith School of Business), Queen's University}

Partners in innovation

Through Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation (QPI), we offer services, resources, and programs to support entrepreneurs, including those from Queen’s, to accelerate the growth of startups and small to medium-sized enterprises within Kingston and Eastern Ontario.

Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre

The Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre is a pan-university initiative that encourages and supports the innovation and entrepreneurship activities of students, professors, entrepreneurs, and community members. Programs are vast and include the QIC Summer Initiative Program, QyourVenture Accelerator Program, The Foundry, Regional Pitch Competition Series, Konnect, The Hive, Rose Innovation Hub, and SparQ Studios Makerspace.

^{Queen's Art of Research Submission: Platinum Surface Electrochemistry by Derek Esau, PhD Student (Chemistry), Queen's University}

Empowering thousands of students

Students and recent graduates from African universities within the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program are eligible for free virtual entrepreneurship training delivered by the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre. Since 2020, the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship has supported more than 1,200 students, many of them women, on their journey to start or scale their business.

Research addressing the world’s most pressing issues

Queen’s is home to 22 institutional and faculty-based research centres and institutes that support interdisciplinary networks. Through international collaboration, research, and comparative approaches they develop international best practice around contributing to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and ask critical questions ranging from dark matter, to divisive societies, and energy transition.

Queen's Art of Research Submission: The SNO+ Detector by Dr. Alex Wright, Faculty (Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy) for the SNO+ Collaboration, SNOLAB

Generating impact

The Queen's Innovation Ecosystem is committed to providing guidance to stakeholders on the knowledge mobilization and commercialization of intellectual property arising from research and innovation activities in a manner that considers the potential to generate economic or social impact for the region, province of Ontario, and Canada. In collaboration with our partners, the Queen's Innovation Ecosystem provides support in the seven key areas of knowledge mobilization and entrepreneurship, funding, mentorship, community, innovation, partnerships, and promotion.