The pursuit of innovation, both technological and social, enables McGill to fulfill its mission and better serve its community. McGill seeks to cultivate a thriving innovation ecosystem supported by a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship that drives innovation in research, teaching, and knowledge translation. To achieve this goal, McGill has implemented a range of initiatives, including expanding partnerships, investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure, and developing new programs and funding.

We have learned a number of lessons from the pandemic as all aspects of teaching and learning have been disrupted, allowing us to explore new models of academic programming, modes of delivery and new ways of organizing intellectual activity. Our university remains strongly committed to empowering students, faculty, and staff to pursue innovative solutions to real-world challenges, positioning itself as a leading contributor to local and global innovation.

Goals

Increasing the number and availability of collaborative and active learning classrooms

McGill is working to modernize its teaching and learning spaces, with the addition of several new Active Learning Classrooms and Teaching and Learning Labs in recent years:

• Arts 150 – Active Learning Classroom
• Education 113 – Multiliteracies Teaching Lab
• Education 358/361 – Science Teaching Lab
• Raymond 1-042 – Active Learning Lab
• McIntyre 325 – Active Learning Classroom
• Ferrier 408 – Active Learning Classroom

Several other improvements to teaching and learning spaces have been completed since 2017. These, as well as ongoing and planned projects, are featured on the Renovated learning spaces website.

Implementing robust programs to prepare students for the full range of careers available

McGill has continued to improve and update its program offerings and enhanced the content of its curricula to help offer the best, most modern and most relevant learning experience possible.

Since 2017, 82 new study programs have been created at McGill and we have conducted nearly 850 program revisions. In addition, more than 1,000 new courses have been created and the content of more than 1,500 courses has been revised.

Updating and improving McGill's curricula has also led to the retirement of over 180 academic programs and more than 370 courses. This continuous optimization process enables McGill to stay current, allocate resources strategically, and offer modern, relevant curricula that respond to societal needs and sustainability imperatives.

New interdisciplinary graduate programs

McGill strives to innovate and offer programs that meet the interests and needs of today’s graduate students. Interdisciplinary programs in particular are sought after by new and diverse student populations. As of 2023, there are three (3) doctoral and four (4) master's programs, in addition to one graduate certificate, housed under Interfaculty Studies. Interfaculty graduate programs enable students and scholars across multiple departments and faculties to produce cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research.

The newest interfaculty doctoral program, the PhD Program in Quantitative Life Sciences, received Ministry approval in February 2019.

Contributing to the innovation ecosystem of Montreal, Quebec, and Canada

Created in 2018, the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative Innovation Fund (MSSI Innovation Fund) provides seed funding for sustainability-related research with the potential to inform policy or move an innovation toward commercialization.

Launched in 2021, the McGill Innovation Fund (MIF) is the largest entrepreneurial fund of its kind at McGill and provides over half a million dollars annually in funding to selected projects.

Innovation lives across all sectors of McGill University. The Innovation site lists programs, funding and other resources available to the McGill community.

Diversifying on-campus academic programming and modes of delivery and exploring alternatives to traditional degree organization and academic timetabling

The Working Group on New Models of Academic Program Delivery was “tasked with recommending a strategy and direction for the evolution of academic program delivery at McGill that will serve as a basis for growth and change over the next decade or more”.

In April 2023, McGill’s Senate approved terminology relating to online/blending learning, approval and notification pathways relating to blended/hybrid courses, eight (8) definitions of program types, and the definition of experiential learning.

The Working Group submitted its final report in July 2023.

 Implementing five (5) online programs

Since 2017, McGill has implemented seven (7) new online academic programs:

• Certificate in Computers and Information Technology (2019)
• Certificate in Public Administration and Governance (2019)
• Diploma in Public Administration and Governance (2020)
• Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation (2020)
• Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity (2021)
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management (2021)
• Bachelor of Nursing (Integrated) (2021)

McGill Online

The newly launched McGill Online website features all for-credit programs offered by the Faculties of Arts, Education, Medicine and Health Sciences, Management and the School of Continuing Studies (SCS).

Exploring and implementing new modes of organizing intellectual activity

New Vic Project

Our commitment to exploring and implementing new modes of organizing intellectual activity, including alternatives to traditional single-discipline departments is central to one of McGill's flagship projects, the New Vic project. With the New Vic, McGill is committing to reinvent the very notion of a university — its structure, purpose, and how it serves its students and society. This project is a catalyst for rethinking and reimagining the university model — dissolving boundaries between disciplines, communities and institutions, as we focus on shared goals benefiting all of humanity.

McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative

The MSSI brings together experts from across McGill’s Faculties, providing support and funding for transdisciplinary teams to tackle some of the most complex and challenging issues in sustainability. Providing support for McGill researchers from both the sciences and humanities to work together to develop significant, impactful, and socially acceptable advances that move society towards a sustainable model of existence.

Fiat Lux Library Project

Launched in 2021, the Fiat Lux Library Project aims to transform McGill's Library into a cutting-edge new complex that will accommodate various advances in technology-based learning and pedagogy, proactively positioning it to meet the needs of our community.

Quantified targets:  Achieved or surpassed   |  Partially achieved   |  Not achieved