Blending Local Charm With Scientific Savvy to Meet With Purpose in Montréal

As the leading Canadian city for international conferences, Montréal welcomes thousands of visitors from around the world each year for gatherings that promote professional development, networking, and collaboration. And on nearly any given day, Montréal is host to a meeting that showcases its excellence in the life sciences—as well as the passion behind such initiatives to spearhead life changing work in the industry.

Organizations in the life sciences sector regularly choose Montréal as a conference destination to take advantage of its many intellectual and cultural offerings.

One repeat visitor is the Canadian Society of Nephrology, which brings its Annual General Meeting to this major hub of life sciences industry and expertise every two years. And following a successful event this spring, the organization will return to Montréal in 2021 alongside thousands of other stakeholders for the World Congress of Nephrology.

Holding the Annual General Meeting in Montréal is a huge draw for attendees, says Filomena Picciano, Director of Operations at the Canadian Society of Nephrology. She notes that the group sees its highest numbers of attendees when hosting in Montréal, which has an abundance of resources for life sciences professionals.

“Montréal is the North American hub for many businesses and organizations in the health field, such as nephrology, transplantation, and urology,” Picciano says. “In recent years there have been numerous investments made in the city with regard to the life sciences,” such as increased funding and support for HIV research and the expansion of major hospital centres.

As a city with a wealth of scientific capital, Montréal provides organizations with many opportunities to tap into its vast knowledge base. When in Montréal, Picciano’s organization gets to collaborate with the local Quebec Society of Nephrology as well as allied health and patient partners.

“This definitely helps us in getting support from industry as we try to touch all partners in nephrology,” Picciano says.

The Canadian Society of Nephrology also partners with McGill University and the University of Montréal to give attendees an unmatched conference experience. Not only do these institutions have experts who regularly serve as planners, moderators, and plenary speakers for nephrology meetings, but they also open their doors to visitors for hands-on learning. Access to the universities’ state-of-the-art simulation centres are always a highlight of the Annual General Meeting.

The Canadian Society of Nephrology is far from the only life sciences organization that calls Montréal a top host city, and it’s easy to see why. Last year, The Union of International Associations’ (UIA) cited Montréal as the leading destination in the Americas for international conferences. Known as the metropolis of Québec, Montréal boasts a vibrant community with as much entertainment and recreation as there is scientific innovation.

In May, the city welcomed 7,000 delegates for the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 27th Annual Meeting & Exhibition, held at the ultramodern Palais des congrès de Montréal. And the overlapping Section for Magnetic Resonance Technologists 28th Annual Meeting enjoyed its traditional welcome reception at the picturesque Scena banquet hall located in the Old Port of Montréal.

“Montréal has something for everyone: the worker attending a conference, the partner that attends with a delegate to visit museums and shop, and the family that joins to see all that this beautiful city has to offer,” Picciano says.

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This article is brought to you by Business Events Canada. Learn more about planning your next life science event in Montréal, or reach out directly to receive our knowledge maps, designed to help you determine which life science destination is the best fit for your meeting.

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