ELIGIBILITY

Academic supervisors

• At universities, eligible supervisors are faculty who are eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds.

Partner organizations

Partner organizations can be for-profit corporations, not-for-profit corporations, hospitals, municipalities or Indigenous governments in Canada.

• For-profit partners are required to provide private-sector funds to Mitacs
  • Private sector funds are funds that are not sourced from government aid. Government aid means grants, operating funds received from the government, etc., but does not include revenue from sales to the government as a customer.
• Other partners are encouraged to provide private-sector funds whenever possible.
• Eligibility can be confirmed with a Mitacs Advisor.

Interns

An intern can be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, international student with a student visa, or international postdoctoral fellow with a valid work permit. Interns must be 18 years old or over, and fall into one of the following categories:

• Registered students and postdoctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible if the date of graduation from a PhD program is less than five years to the start date of the project. Exceptions are available for extenuating circumstances such as parental leave or military service. Fellows must not have been employed full-time at the partner organization prior to applying.
• Recent graduates (must be within two years of graduation at the start of their project), and non-degree students (diploma, certificate, etc) are eligible at the academic institution’s discretion. (Any interested applicants should check with their institution to first determine whether they are able to support other types of university interns before drafting an application.)
• Visiting students and researchers at Canadian academic institutions who are completing a degree at a university abroad may also be eligible at the discretion of the Canadian institution.
• How many internships can one intern do?
  • Post-secondary students are eligible for any number of internships at the discretion of their institution. Interns must be enrolled as a student at an eligible institution throughout the course of the internship and have time in their schedule to commit to the project.
  • Postdoctoral fellows can do up to nine (9) four-month internships (up to three (3) years)
  • Recent graduates can complete up to three (3) four-month internships within two years of their graduation date
  • Interns may not participate in more than one internship at the same time.

Further, all parties must declare any potential conflicts of interest upon application submission, including:

• An academic supervisor in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
• An intern is in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
• Programs participants with a close family relationship with each other, or with someone in a position of ownership employment or influence at the partner organization.

Interns may interact remotely with an international partner organization and/or travel to interact in person. Any travel must be in accordance with their Canadian academic institution’s policies.

HOW TO APPLY

Review the following information when you begin writing your proposal:

• Mitacs Responsible Conduct of Research Policy ( found on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”, including information on eligible research)
• Adjudication criteria
• Writing Your Proposal guide (under “Application”)
• Mitacs’s other relevant policies (including Mitacs Indigenous Research Policy, Research Security Plan, etc), all findable on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”.

What happens next

Your application will be peer reviewed, which will take approximately six to eight weeks. Proposals with multiple internships or that require revisions may take longer. Please note there is a chance your application will be returned with a request for revisions before it is approved.

Following submission, partner organizations will receive an invoice (refundable if not approved), so that the intern receives payment when the project begins. Please note this invoice may be received before application approval, and does not guarantee approval.

Once an outcome is available, Mitacs will contact all participants with the decision and applicable instructions.

Following formal approval and the receipt of the partner contribution, Mitacs forwards the Accelerate funds to the academic institution to administer the award.

Please note no work should begin on a project until an Award Letter has been issued and funds have been distributed to the institution.