Honorary Degree Remarks, Université de Sherbrooke by Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., PhD, FRSC. President and CEO CIFAR. September 20, 2014

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1 Honorary Degree Remarks, Université de Sherbrooke by Dr. Alan Bernstein, O.C., PhD, FRSC President and CEO CIFAR September 20, 2014 September 11, 2014 Page 1 of 6

2 Rectrice, professeure Luce Samoisette, et doyen de la faculté du médecin et sciences de la santé, Dr. Pierre Cossette, diplômés de la classe de 2014, fier parents et proches, mesdames et messieurs. Je suis profondément honoré de m adresser à la classe de diplômés de cette année. Chacun d entre vous avez travaillé tellement fort pour votre diplôme. Alors mes premières félicitations sont pour vous, classe de diplômés de cette année. Cependant, mes plus grandes félicitations sont pour vos parents. Pour eux, aujourd hui signifie plusieurs choses : aujourd hui représente un grand pas envers la réalisation de leur rêves qu ils ont pour vous et un pas géant vers votre indépendance, (et peut-être un jour le remboursement de tous ces frais de scolarité). September 11, 2014 Page 2 of 6

3 Your formal education may have ended today, but you will be reinventing yourself many times throughout your life. And you shouldn t think of that as a burden quite the opposite. Thanks to research, the average Canadian today will live almost twice as long today as they did 100 years ago. And so today, you can have three or four different careers. You will get to learn from your own experiences, decide what has meaning for you and what doesn t. I ran a lab for over 30 years, I ve been director of research at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum research institute in Toronto, I was the founding president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in New York and now of CIFAR five different positions all revolving around science, research and young people. September 11, 2014 Page 3 of 6

4 And what s striking about all five organizations is this: none of them existed when I graduated. There is no way I could have planned or anticipated my career in advance. And so, don t plan your life too far in advance. Life is not a straight line. It s not a race, it s a journey. So, enjoy the journey. Today, I have the privilege of serving as the president of CIFAR. CIFAR has 11 Programs, including a program in Quantum Materials, led superbly by Louis Taillefer here at the Université de Sherbrooke. Louis wonderful program in Quantum Materials brings together over 60 fellows and advisors from 29 institutions in 7 countries, to explore and understand how certain materials exhibit unusual properties, such as superconductivity. September 11, 2014 Page 4 of 6

5 Along my own journey, I ve worked with exceptional young people. Young people are not wedded to old ideas. One of the exceptional young people that I am especially proud of is Dr. Benoit Chabot, now a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke. One of my greatest pleasures as a professor, has been to watch my trainees like Benoit, go on to do great things. Addressing the world s challenges demands a fresh approach not constrained by discipline, nationality, ethnicity or politics. Your generation has a new global perspective. You combine a global view, with energy, initiative, enthusiasm and the desire to apply what you have learned, to make the world a better place. That energy and perspective is the most important hope for the future and will be the most important driver of change in this century. September 11, 2014 Page 5 of 6

6 In your search for deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life, remember only 2 things: first, you re not deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. You re deciding what you want to do for the next few years. And second, don t aim for perfection aim for impact. Change the world. As Canada s Leonard Cohen put it: Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That s how the light gets in. My last piece of advice is this: live a life with purpose, live a life that will make a difference. Et encore une fois, félicitations à vous tous et merci pour cet honneur. September 11, 2014 Page 6 of 6

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