Alexandra Lecours wins the Prix de la Francophonie for young researchers, 2023 edition – Humanities and Social Sciences section

On November 1, as part of the Semaine mondiale de la Francophonie scientifique (SMFS) in Quebec City, the Prix de la Francophonie for Young Researchers, 2023 edition, was awarded. Alexandra Lecours, a researcher at the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale (Cirris), was awarded a prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences category.

The Prix de la Francophonie for young researchers are awarded by the Scientific Council of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) to recognize the merit and worth of researchers under the age of 40 who have achieved scientific recognition and made a significant breakthrough within the Francophonie. They take into account the diversity of the French-speaking academic world, particularly that of developing countries. The prizes are awarded every two years and cover two disciplinary fields: Science and Technology, and Humanities and Social Sciences.

Alexandra Lecours is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), a regular researcher at Cirris and holder of the UQTR (jr) Research Chair on the health of aging workers. Her research projects aim to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in order to foster the healthy participation of aging people in the workplace.

A proud French-speaking researcher, she collaborates with researchers from the scientific Francophonie in several countries of the Americas, Europe and Africa, so that her projects respond to the different cultural realities of aging workers. Our projects aim to develop theoretical and practical knowledge that can be used internationally, particularly in the French-speaking world.

She also makes a point of supporting graduate students from various French-speaking countries. As a first-generation university student herself, she attaches particular importance to equality of opportunity and diversity of backgrounds in her research team. Equity, diversity and inclusion are values that guide both the conduct of her research projects and the management of her team.

She holds leadership roles in occupational health research at provincial, national and international levels. In particular, she is responsible for the Cirris Environment Axis, and co-leads the Prevention, Screening, Evaluation and Innovative Intervention Axis of the Réseau provincial de recherche en adaptation-réadaptation. She is also associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. She also organized an international symposium on the health of aging workers in 2022, which brought together researchers, students and partners from across the French-speaking world.

The importance of the French language in her career is evident, and has led to prestigious awards, including the Prix Publication scientifique en français Louise-Dandurand from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture in 2022. To date, she has received over $3.5 million in research funding, published 72 papers and given some 100 lectures around the world.

The entire Cirris community offers her its most sincere congratulations!