For many students and post-doctoral fellows, the leap from the lab to the world beyond academia can feel uncertain. How do you take your research skills and apply them to solve real-world challenges? Closing this divide is Mitacs, a national non-profit organization that connects Canadian post-secondary institutions with industry. At the nexus of academia, government, and public and private sectors, Mitacs is Canada’s leading innovation organization that works to mobilize the brightest minds through internships and professional training to solve multidisciplinary societal challenges.
Founded in 1999, Mitacs began with a focus on mathematics, but has since expanded into nearly every discipline from science, technology, engineering, and management (STEM) to social innovation. At its core, Mitacs operates through collaboration. With 13,000+ academic supervisors, 35,000+ innovation projects, and over $1.42 billion invested in research and development, it finds local and international talent to turn ideas into solutions. Whether it’s advancing digital technologies, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, or sustainable health innovations, Mitacs helps translate academic research into tangible outcomes that benefit both science and society.
For Canadian post-secondary students, post-doctoral fellows, international students, and recent graduates eager to gain experience, Mitacs offers an array of internship and funding programs tailored to different goals and stages of innovation:
The Accelerate program:
- Pairs students/fellows with for-profit or non-profit organizations to conduct research projects.
- Participants receive $15,000 for a four- or six-month internship to help businesses optimize their budgets, grow their research and development, and solve research challenges.
The Business Strategy Internship (BSI):
- Provides $10,000–$15,000 for a four-month placement focused on helping Canadian companies enhance their products, processes, or services.
- Focuses on business planning, operations, finance, and marketing, dependent on the needs of the organization.
Accelerate Entrepreneur
- For those looking to initiate their own start-up, Mitacs provides funding to help develop new technologies, products, or services.
- Each internship provides $15,000 to help pilot test, refine, and move promising innovations toward commercialization.
Globalink Research Internship (GRI)
- This internship offers international undergraduate students a fully funded 12-week summer research placement in Canada.
- GRI matches students with Canadian research faculty across diverse disciplines for hands-on experience in their field of study.
- Mitacs funds the entire process, including travel, logistics, event expenses (conferences, symposia, workshops, etc.), and administrative support.
- Interns are matched with Globalink mentors, typically graduate students at the Canadian university, as their first point of contact to ensure a smooth internship experience.
Across all programs, interns gain access to the Mitacs e-Campus, an online platform offering free professional development courses designed to boost employability and ensure project success. Through Mitacs training, participants are taught by industry experts in communication, leadership, management, and entrepreneurship. They offer flexible modules ranging from 60 to 180 minutes long. Upon completion, participants receive certificates that recognize their new competencies and commitment to professional growth. By nurturing both technical and interpersonal skills, Mitacs helps shape researchers who are not only scientifically skilled, but also adaptable, collaborative, and creative. For students, post-doctoral researchers, and young scientists alike, it represents an opportunity to explore industry, transforming curiosity into impact and knowledge into innovation.
Mariam Parashos
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