Professor Saliah-Hassane will officially retire on June 1st. Professor Lise Parent wanted to pay tribute to him.
“Hamadou defines himself as an “African scientist from the diaspora, contributing in his own way to the development of education and research in Africa, Canada and the world“. Thus, on the eve of his retirement, it can be said that Hamadou has had an impressive career that has transcended academic and geographical boundaries, Hamadou leaves behind a remarkable legacy that has shaped generations of students and researchers.
From his early academic days, and guided by an insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge, Hamadou went on to complete a Master’s degree in Applied Science at École Polytechnique de Montréal, before continuing his post-graduate studies at McGill University, where he earned a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. It was here that he began to chart the course of his future career, delving into complex fields such as computer-aided design and embedded systems.
His academic career is not limited to the acquisition of degrees. He is also distinguished by his commitment to research and innovation. His early experience in teaching and research, notably at the University of Niamey in Niger and at the École des Mines, de l’Industrie et de la Géologie (EMIG), bears witness to his burning desire to push back the frontiers of knowledge and contribute to the development of his home country.
He has always been interested in distance learning and technology, and has been since 1985, when he was in Niger. He came to Université TÉLUQ by a combination of circumstances, when he met Professor Gilbert Paquette when he was Director of the LICEF Research Centre, invited like him as a panellist at a conference in Toronto. This was in 1997 at the Global Knowledge 97 Conference. Gilbert asked him to join the Laboratoire en informatique cognitif et environnement de formation (LICEF) Research Center to develop distance labs.
Then, in 1999, he joined TÉLUQ University as a professor specializing in Information Technology (IT). It was here that he found his true calling as a teacher and researcher. At TÉLUQ, he deploys all his talent to develop innovative programs and courses in the fields of computer science, computer networks and computer security, offering students the opportunity to benefit from a quality education, wherever they may be.
Hamadou didn’t just teach. His passion for research has led him to explore fascinating fields such as intelligent distributed systems and mobile robotics. His collaborations with internationally renowned researchers have led to significant advances in the fields of intelligent networks and embedded systems, which have had a major impact on TÉLUQ. Hamadou has made an undeniable contribution to TÉLUQ’s technological infrastructure for teaching and research. Just think of the various projects of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), such as Lorit, Score, the Fonds de développement du réseau des universités du Québec (Fodar), including T-L@d (distance laboratories), or the online laboratory, Synchromédia, I3E, (IEEE) etc.
His commitment to educational and technological standards has also been invaluable. As Chairman of the IEEE Education Society’s Standards Committee, he has played a crucial role in the development of standards that have shaped the landscape of online education and research. His efforts have been recognized by numerous prestigious awards, including several IEEE Education Society Certificates of Appreciation. In 2005, he received the “2005 Achievement Award” from the International Network for Engineering Education (iNEER) for “his work in Online Lab Research and Innovation and advancing international collaboration“. In 2012, he received the highest academic distinction of “Commandeur de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” from the Republic of Niger, his home country. In 2019, he received the EdWin C. Jones, Jr. Meritorious Service Award (2019), the IEEE Standards Association Award with Appreciation for chairing and contributing to the development of the IEEE Std. 1876™ – 2019 standard on “Networked Intelligent Learning Objects for Online Labs” whose group had earned the 2019 IEEE SA Emerging Technologies Award.
Under his leadership as President of the IEEE Montreal Education Society Chapter (2005-2022), the Chapter also received the 2019 Chapter Achievement Award for sustained contributions of innovative educational and professional activities in the community.
Hamadou is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), the IEEE (member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Education Society and former Chair of its Education Standards Committee (2010-2021) and the IEEE Computer Society, as well as the African Engineering Education Association (AEEA). Hamadou is also a member of the Board of the Conférence internationale des formations d’ingénieurs et techniciens d’expression française (CITEF) ( 2021 -2025), a Worldwide organization for teaching and training French-speaking engineers and technicians.
Being a professor at TÉLUQ has enabled him to flourish in teaching, research and networking. His happiness comes from the fact that he has been able to welcome many students into his laboratory and act as a guide for them. He is now delighted to receive all this recognition from his former students.
Most of his research at TÉLUQ has been carried out with collaborators at École de technologie supérieure (ETS), École Polytechnique de Montréal (EPM), McGill University, the University of Ottawa and, above all, internationally. All the spin-offs from his research are “tagged” Université TÉLUQ. It’s much the same for community services. He has been a member of every committee, including the Faculty Evaluation Committee, the Faculty Council and the Research Committee, which he chaired from 2004 to 2006. The distance learning mode has given him a great deal of flexibility to carry out all his teaching duties, whether at home or abroad.
But beyond his professional achievements, Hamadou is above all a man of family and values. He communicates almost daily with his mother and family in Niger. His proud children, Guillaume and Marie-Laure, and his partner Josée, have accompanied him throughout his TV career, learning from his wisdom and resilience in the face of the many challenges of a teaching career.
He leaves with a sense of duty accomplished, having contributed fully to the development of TÉLUQ and the transfer of knowledge to so many students, many of them African. He is leaving, but he is keen to maintain his ties with TÉLUQ, to finalize his supervision of graduate students, perhaps to co-direct new ones, to seek funding for new projects and to continue contributing, in collaboration with other national and international universities, to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Engineering Education.
As Hamadou takes his well-deserved retirement, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for his many contributions. His legacy will live on in the many students and researchers he has influenced, and in the educational and technological standards he has helped to set. We wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement, filled with health, happiness and new adventures.
Thank you, Hamadou, for all you have done and for all you will continue to accomplish in the years to come.”
Find out more about :
IEEE Education Society: IEEE Education Society video presentation
IEEE Education Society Distinguished Speakers: https://ieee-edusociety.org/educational-activities/distinguished-lecturer-program
Remote laboratory standardization working group: https://sagroups.ieee.org/edusc/