Sherbrooke, 12 January 2006 - The University of Sherbrooke develops geomatics-assisted business solutions thanks to the new Business Geomatics Research Chair launched today by its Faculty. Thirteen private and public partners contributed to making the Chair a reality, through contributes totalling over two million dollars over a five-year period, nearly one million of which came in cash. Professor Claude Caron, from the Information Systems and Quantitative Management Methods Department, is the current chairholder.

Assistant Rector Luce Samoisette feels that "the new chair will directly contribute to extending the University of Sherbrooke's renown as an excellence hub in geomatics, more specifically in the entrepreneurial field. Business geomatics is still rarely taught in Canadian universities. This makes the University of Sherbrooke a leader in one of the most innovative and rapidly-rising fields of expertise today".

Roger Noël, Dean of the School of Administration, stated: "The Chair will enable the School of Administration to consolidate a promising field of study. It brings entirely new knowledge regarding the use of cutting-edge geomatics technologies, currently undergoing profound change, in a constantly-evolving business world".

Geomatics as a starting point in business

One of the objectives of the Chair is to design and develop spatial analysis methods and tools to improve current business strategies and processes. According to chairholder Claude Caron, still little is known about the outcomes and effectiveness of geomatics solutions adapted to the corporate world. "Our research is intended to better understand the various uses of new geomatics technologies to back business decisions and learn about their actual benefits", he states. "I hope that the Chair will become the first step in creating an excellence centre in business geomatics, involving researchers from other schools".

While geomatics initially applies mainly to the field of natural resources, it is increasingly used in business today, enabling such practices as geomarketing and customer management. Data including customer zip codes, surveys targeting certain city neighbourhoods, or geographically-targeted demographic and economic statistics can lead to any number of details about customers and allow shops to choose the best location for establishing themselves or sending advertisements to potential customers. Now, even hospitals can use microgeomatics, in the form of positioning technologies using radio frequencies (RFID), to locate patients who need care or medical instruments, for example.

A recent three-year partnership between the City of Sherbrooke and the University of Sherbrooke will give students the opportunity to use a complete urban mapping base covering the city's entire territory and an experimental area to apply theoretical concepts to actual issues encountered by the City's operators. Mayor Jean Perrault stated: "One of the possible contributions of the Business Geomatics Research Chair is geo-locating our workers and emergency vehicles during crises, for instance, a major flood. If we know where our people are, we will be able to coordinate and take action more easily".

Thirteen partners

The thirteen partners who financed the Chair gain access to cutting-edge expertise that can be directly applied to managing their companies and help increase their competitiveness in the national and international arenas. They will also be able to market technological tools. Their financial and non-financial contributions over the next five years amount to over two million dollars. They will go to hiring workers, acquiring speciality equipment and disseminating research findings. The partners include: Boréalis, Broadcast Alert Systems, the University of Sherbrooke's Administration Research Foundation, Gicleurs Royal Tech, Kheops Technologies, MercanStream Technologies, Optima, Atelis-Escem, Géomatique Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Fauna, Radio IP, Road Partner and the City of Sherbrooke's Geomatics Division

Claude Caron : A pioneer chairholder

Chairholder Claude Caron is a pioneer in the field of geomatics technology deployment. A member of the Quebec Order of Land Surveyors, Claude Caron directs the GeoBusiness Laboratory at the University of Sherbrooke and belongs to the Canadian Network of Excellence Centres in Geomatics (GEOIDE). He is an associate researcher at the Centre for Research and Applications in Remote Sensing (CARTEL) at the University of Sherbrooke and the Centre of Research in Geomatics (CRG) at the University of Laval. At the international level, Claude Caron is associate researcher for CARTA at the University of Angers, which operates under France's National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS).