Mitacs is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

national research organization that, in partnerships with

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

academia, private industry and government, operates

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and training programs in fields related to industrial and social innovation.

History

Mitacs was founded by Canadian mathematicians in 1999. The organization, whose name originally stood for "Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems", worked in the field of

mathematical sciences The Mathematical Sciences are a group of areas of study that includes, in addition to mathematics, those academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper. Statisti ...

and associated disciplines but has since expanded. In 2004, the Mitacs Accelerate program was launched and has since supported over 10,000 internships nationally.Joe Oliver (2015-04-21
"Economic Action Plan 2015"
''Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada''. .

Programs

As of late 2020, Mitacs operates six main programs:

Accelerate

The organization's flagship program has supported over 10,000 research internships for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows since 2004 and has since replaced the

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

's Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships Program.

Elevate

The two-year program has the objective of providing postdoctoral fellows with professional and leadership development training with a partner organization.

Globalink

The international program supports two-way research collaboration between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and research partners abroad. In 2016, the Globalink Research Internship program welcomed 565 students across Canada.

Canadian Science Policy Fellowship

The program matches PhD-level researchers to government agencies to influence evidence-based policy-making.

Entrepreneur International

The program offers travel grants to Canadian start-ups housed in university-linked incubators. The grant enables start-ups to connect with international incubators.

Business Strategy Internship

The program provides funding to students who develop innovative projects designed to help Canadian businesses.

IBET PhD Project Partnership

Mitacs provides IBET PhD Project Fellows with internships via its Accelerate, Globalink and Business Strategy programs. The partnership helps support Indigenous and Black scholars in Canada pursuing doctoral degrees in STEM programs.

Awards

Mitacs presents annual awards in seven categories: * Alejandro Adem Legacy Award for Outstanding Innovation — Indigenous * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — International * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Master's * Award for Outstanding Innovation — PhD * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Postdoctoral * Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership — Professor * Mitacs & NRC–IRAP Award for Commercialization

Funding

Mitacs is jointly funded by the federal and provincial Canadian governments, academic partners and research partners. Between 2006 and 2015, the organization received $128 million in investments from the federal government.{{cite news, url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/not-headed-for-academia-industry-internships-may-be-the-answer/article9295558/, title=Not headed for academia? Industry internships may be the answer, last=Lewington, first=Jennifer, date=2018-05-11, work=The Globe and Mail In 2015, the federal government pledged $56.4 million over four years (starting in 2016) to Mitacs in support of graduate-level research and development internships.

References

External links

Official website
Funding bodies of Canada Scientific organizations based in Canada Higher education in Canada 1999 establishments in Canada