THE MISSION of RIA-UQAC is to IDENTIFY and FACILITATE contacts between foreign business people and those of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region and the PROVINCE OF QUEBEC through its NETWORK OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS graduated from the university.

University of Quebec in Chicoutimi

Founded in 1969, the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC) is a part of the University of Quebec network, which represents close to 86 000 students. Consequently, UQAC benefits from the expertise and dynamism of the largest university network in Canada, with 9 branches spread across Quebec.

Centre d’entrepreneuriat et d’essaimage de l’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

The UQAC Centre d’entrepreneuriat et d’essaimage is a university business centre whose mission is to promote and support entrepreneurship and business development among the university and college communities of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Côte-Nord.

Conférence régionale des élus du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

The Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) is a regional forum for dialogue and planning. The CRÉ is recognized by the Government of Quebec as the liaison for all matters relating to the development of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. The CRÉ’s mission is to encourage and support the development of all industries in the region and to foster dialogue between the socio-economic organizations in the area.

Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation (MDEIE)

The MDEIE’s mission is to support economic development, innovation, exportation and research by particularly encouraging coordination and dialogue between the different actors in the economic, scientific, social and cultural fields, with the prospect of creating jobs, economic prosperity and scientific and sustainable development.

Since its foundation in 1969, the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi has issued over 40 000 diplomas in a hundred or so programs. Towards the end of the 1990s, the development of valuable overseas partnerships enabled the creation of cross-border programs in countries such as China, Morocco, Senegal, Colombia and Lebanon. This has led UQAC to develop a network of professional contacts with its 3 500 graduates abroad. Moreover, out of the 6 000 students who attend the Chicoutimi campus each year, close to 500 of them are international students who come from fifty or so countries. In 2008, UQAC began to set up the Réseau international d'affaires de l'UQAC (RIA-UQAC) in collaboration with the Centre d'entrepreneuriat et d'essaimage de l'UQAC (CEE-UQAC), with the prospect of supporting the development of professional and business relations between its graduates across the globe. RIA-UQAC is offering all UQAC graduates and colleagues the opportunity to benefit from the international network it has developed over the years.