Université du Québec à Montréal
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Created in 1969 by the government of Quebec and born out of the process of democratizing Quebec education inspired by the ideal of accessibility, UQAM's mission is, among other things, to:

• Produce new knowledge, transmit and share knowledge, preserve and enrich the scientific, cultural, intellectual and artistic heritage.
• Contribute to the democratization of higher education and student success in the three study cycles.
• Participate in the development of society through training, research and creation activities linked to the concerns of educational, cultural, professional, social or economic circles.

Since then, the originality and specific characteristics of its programs and cutting-edge research focused on social concerns have helped build UQAM's reputation.

It is in this spirit that UQAM Community Service was created in 1979 following the adoption of an institutional policy of services to the collectivities in order to democratize the university knowledge in communities which do not traditionally served by universities: community organizations, women's groups, unions. Playing an interface role, the SAC aims to promote the alignment of the needs of social groups and academic expertise in order to collectively produce new knowledge leading to social innovations.

The UQAM Community Service embodies our point of distinction:

It is the only one of its kind in Quebec. It collaborates with social groups (non-profit organization) with a view to meeting their specific needs by actively engaging professors and students in research. As for partner organizations or groups, they must have a role within their community that reflects their commitment to collective social or environmental promotion.

The mission carried by the UQAM Community Service is at the heart of current thinking on the role of the university in society. We refer to it today when speaking in particular of the mobilization of knowledge, a notion that covers a variety of forms, involving both academic knowledge and that of the most varied practice environments.

UQAM Community Service is distinguished by the following key points:

1. It offers professional support and only work in an equitable co-construction of knowledge with community organizations and groups, from the start to the end of a project.
2. It ensures that solutions or new knowledge co-constructed with partners are integrated, for impact or social transformation (such as policies)
3. It is the only service in Quebec that manages and can grant internal research funds.
4. It is the only one whose specific mandate, resources and composition are framed by an institutional policy, Policy No. 41 on community services.

The collaboration that has developed between UQAM and its many hundreds of partners has given rise over the years to the sharing of academic and citizen knowledge and to promising projects for the institution. This collaboration has also contributed to a more just and egalitarian society by implementing new social practices and, more generally, by political, legal, social and economic transformations that have benefited Quebec society as a whole.

Few university establishments have a long-lasting institutional structure, specifically dedicated to the development of partnerships with communities. In Europe, Université Rennes 2 were directly inspired by UQAM Community Service to create their service.

Overview of feminist projects:

December 2020

Besoin des femmes en difficulté à Laval : vers la création et l’adaptation de nouvelles ressources ? Projet de soutien de la création de la première ressource féministe pour femme en difficulté.
- Chercheuse : Sophie Gilbert, professeur département de psychologie
- Partenaire : Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine

April 2019

Entre l’arbre et l’écorce : la posture délicate – marginalisée – des syndicats dans le contexte des nouvelles politiques de lutte contre les violences à caractère sexuel dans les collèges d’enseignement du Québec.

- Chercheuse : Lucie Lachance, professeur département de sciences juridiques
- Partenaires : Syndicats des professeures et professeurs du Collège Maisonneuve et la Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants.

At UQAM, social commitment is part of our DNA. Beyond Community Service, employees are at the heart of initiatives that stand out, in particular UQAM's commitment to homeless people in downtown Montreal, where our pavilions are located. In fact, UQAM’s Prevention and Safety mission is to promote the maintenance of a healthy and safe environment, in order to contribute to the achievement of the University's mission by favoring collaboration.

UQAM is concerned about its involvement with the community and more particularly with people with precarious status, homeless or living in social exclusion. This is why, our Prevention and Safety Service has a training plan on homelessness and best practices for UQAM’s security guards. This CPI accredited program (training for non-violent crisis intervention) is also available to UQAM’s students and employees, so that they can better manage people with mental health problems.

It is also for this reason that UQAM partners with the Social Development Corporation (SDS), a non-profit organization and the only social broker in North America, in order to to find solutions to homelessness and social exclusion by creating innovative projects.

Action Mediation is a social mediation program, offered by the SDS, which consists of the deployment of a team of psychosocial workers and adapted services near large buildings and public spaces in downtown Montreal with 2 main objectives: 1. Help people in situation homelessness encountered in their reintegration process. 2. Ensure optimal cohabitation between the different users of the buildings, residents and homeless people.

The social mediation recommended by the SDS allows a helping approach by the intervention teams, by empowering and referring the person met, to social organizations in a personalized way according to their needs. From June 17, 2020 to June 16, 2021, the university is participating in the action mediation program and is offering financial support of $ 7,600.00 Canadian for the project. Actions include the development of a plan for targeted areas to intervene located on the university grounds and the intervention of a team of psychosocial workers in problem areas.

Interventions take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. in summer and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter. The files are followed up at the SDS offices as well as a personalized intervention plan for each case requiring supervision. A connecting shuttle is available every evening between December 1 to April 1 to accompany homeless people to available shelters. To ensure everyone's safety, the program is coordinated through liaison with the university's security officer and the City of Montreal Police Department. In figures for 2019, 127 interventions took place with people experiencing homelessness on the grounds of UQAM or within its campus and 68 syringes were collected. In 2020, 449 procedures took place and 177 syringes collected.

Deployed for a little over 15 years, UQAM's energy efficiency program enables UQAM to continue its efforts to consume energy efficiently through the modernization of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. as well as that of control systems, savings amount to $ 1.8 million annually.

UQAM's energy consumption comes mainly from two sources: mainly hydroelectricity, followed by natural gas for around 15%. The latter is used, among other things, to heat the air in laboratories which must be ventilated frequently, even in winter when it is minus 20 degrees Celsius. The new equipment made it possible to significantly reduce natural gas consumption, which represented 21.6% of total energy consumption in 2018. UQAM was thus able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2,300 tonnes annually.

Original version in french

Déployé depuis un peu plus de 15 ans, le programme d'efficacité énergétique de l'UQAM permet à l'UQAM de continuer les efforts de la consomation efficiente de l'énergie grace à la modernisation des équipements de chauffage, de ventilation et de climatisation ainsi qu'à celle des systèmes de contrôle, les économies s'élève à 1,8 millions de dollars annuellement.

La consommation en énergie de l'UQAM provient principalement de deux sources: principalement d'hydroélectricité, suivi par le gaz naturel pour environ 15 %. Ce dernier est utilisé, entre autres, pour chauffer l'air des laboratoires qui doivent fréquemment être aérés, même en hiver quand il fait moins 20 degrés Celsius. Les nouveaux équipements ont permis de diminuer significativement la consommation en gaz naturel, qui représentait 21,6 % de la consommation totale d'énergie en 2018. L'UQAM a ainsi pu réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 2300 tonnes annuellement.

Partner for the second point of distinction : http://actionmediation.courtier.social/

Article about UQAM's security agent who receive a formation how to administrate naloxone: https://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2017/surdose-de-fentanyl-des-agents-de-securite-prets-a-intervenir

Article about UQAM's effort in energy efficiency : https://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2018/reduction-de-2300-tonnes-de-GES