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Dream big in a world-class AI hub

There’s a reason Montreal claims the title of best student city in North America year after year. A thriving arts and culture scene, low cost of living, low level of crime, and plentiful job opportunities attract students from all over the world. No matter what your background or creed, you will encounter the welcoming, tolerant vibe of a city that embodies joie de vivre and prioritizes a high quality of life. You will join a young, diverse population of 4.2 million people who shape their city into a more appealing destination every year. Montreal has long enjoyed a reputation for being an artistic and culinary hotspot, but it has more recently evolved into a hub for technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and entrepreneurship. As the island pulses with the energy of constant growth and change, you will have a unique opportunity to change and grow with it.

Montreal ranks #1 in Canada and #9 in the world on the 2022 QS Best Student Cities index.

The Greater Montreal area is home to more than 250,000 students—more students per capita than any other North American city.

Students enjoy a significantly lower cost of living in Montreal than in most major cities including New York, Toronto, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and Beijing.

Discover the power of location

In the past five years, Montreal has emerged as the world’s most influential hub for artificial intelligence companies, initiatives, and research.

➔ Montreal is home to the largest AI academic community in the world. More than 250 researchers and doctoral students at McGill University and Université de Montréal are actively conducting research in AI-related fields including computer vision, language processing, and reinforcement learning.

➔ McGill University’s Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM) has advanced cutting-edge research in AI and robotics for more than 30 years.

➔ Led by AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, Mila Quebec AI Institute supports a community of 450 world-class researchers who specialize in AI and machine learning.

➔ Tech titans have established research labs in Montreal with plans to expand their investment in the city’s AI ecosystem.

Tech titans have established research labs in Montreal with plans to expand their investment in the city’s AI ecosystem.

Facebook AI Research

Led by McGill professor Joelle Pineau since its opening in 2017, Facebook AI in Montreal employs more than 60 people to undertake projects related to topics such as advancing MRI technology, improving Facebook algorithms, and generating content from photos. With a special focus on reinforcement learning and dialog systems, Montreal’s Facebook AI scientists form an integral branch of a network of AI scientists across Facebook AI’s Menlo Park, New York, and Paris labs.

Microsoft Research

In close partnership with Mila and Yoshua Bengio, the Microsoft Research Montreal lab focuses on understanding concepts in reinforcement learning, deep learning and language, and the uses of computational systems in advancing broader societal goals.

Google Brain

Created in 2017, Montreal’s Google Brain team is an extension of the global operation that works to expand AI applications throughout Google. Google Brain applies research in the areas of deep learning, reinforcement learning, and optimization to a wide range of programs including generative modeling, machine translation, and game playing.

Deepmind

The British subsidiary of Alphabet opened an international research laboratory in Montreal in collaboration with McGill, in 2017. The neuroscience-inspired AI company develops learning algorithms to solve global problems, under the leadership of McGill professor Doina Precup.

Samsung Research

Samsung’s AI Centre in Montreal performs research in machine learning and language understanding in partnership with Samsung AI centres in Silicon Valley and Toronto. Its leader, Gregory Dudek, is currently a McGill professor and was formerly the director of the McGill University School of Computer Science.