Tech3Lab: new funding to conduct and accelerate UX research

The laboratory is one of 261 projects selected by the Canada Foundation for Innovation

August 15, 2019

The HEC Montréal Tech3Lab, the largest user experience (UX) lab in North America, is one of 261 projects at 40 Canadian universities selected to receive financial support from the federal government through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, federal Minister of Science and Sport, made the official announcement on August 12, noting that the Fund helps exceptional university scientists conduct leading-edge research by giving them the tools and equipment they need to become leaders in their field.

The School’s Tech3Lab will receive a total of $196,779 from the CFI, allowing it to conduct and accelerate UX research projects outside the laboratory. Part of the funding will go to purchasing equipment over two years, and the rest to maintaining its infrastructure over four years. Note that only 62 projects in Quebec were chosen by the CFI.

“This new funding devoted to research infrastructure will make it easier for us to get out and work with users (employees, citizens, consumers) in a real-world environment in the city or regions, using cutting-edge neurophysiological measurement tools to better analyze and understand their actual experience,” says Professor Pierre-Majorique Léger, Co-Director of the Tech3Lab.

For this project, the Tech3Lab received an equivalent amount from the Quebec government, along with in-kind contributions from equipment suppliers, bringing the total funding to nearly $500,000.