Mitacs Accelerate Receives $10 Million Top-Up Towards Paid Internships

Ontario is investing over $10 million to help Mitacs Accelerate create 2,700 paid internship opportunities for postsecondary students with Canadian government grants which will help them prepare for in-demand jobs after graduation. Increasing access to experiential learning is one of Ontario’s priorities and this investment supports high-quality research in the province.

“We are proud to support high-quality research internships to help provide the next generation of talent with the real-world experience they need to get good jobs after graduation, and help businesses address their talent and research needs. This support for innovative, hands-on learning, and the efforts of employers, students and postsecondary education institutions to expand opportunities, has made Ontario a national leader in experiential learning.”
– Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities.

By partnering with Mitacs, the provincial government continues to fund thousands of research internships for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. These internships span a wide range of disciplines by supporting key sectors such as critical minerals, manufacturing, and health care.

What is the Mitacs Accelerate Program?

The Mitacs Accelerate funding program helps to pair Ontario businesses with Masters, PhD, and PDF interns who will allow them to overcome innovation challenges. Interns complete research and develop tools, models, technology, or solutions to support the host business’ challenges with Canadian government grants.

Amount of Funding

For each seven-to-six-month internship unit sponsored by a business, Mitacs will cover up to 75% of the costs up to $15,000. A minimum business contribution of $7,500 per intern is required to be eligible for funding.

Eligible Businesses and Positions

All sectors are permitted to apply. However, eligibility criteria vary depending on the role. Business partners must meet the following criteria in order to qualify:

• Are a Canadian for-profit business, not-for-profit organization, municipality, or hospital; or
• Are a for-profit corporations operating outside Canada.
• NOTE: Not-for-profit organizations, hospitals, and municipalities must be assessed prior to submitting a proposal.

Student and postdoctoral fellows who meet the following criteria can be considered:

• Spend approximately 50% of the internship with the academic institution and 50% with the partner organization;
• Read and follow the Accelerate Code of Conduct; and
• Submit a final report and exit survey covering project results.

Professors must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Supervise collaborative academic research;
• Oversee the allotment of the Mitacs grant according to approved budget (Canadian university faculty only); and
• Acknowledge and sign the final report for submission, as well as perform an exit survey which summarizes project results.

Eligible Positions

The interns will be responsible for the costs associated with researching and developing tools, models, technology, or solutions to assist the host company with its challenges.

Deadline to Apply

Applications to Mitacs Accelerate are accepted on a continuous basis. Contributions will be awarded until all funding has been allocated.

Apply for Internship Funding through the Mitacs Accelerate Program

The Mitacs Accelerate intern hiring program has a continuous intake of applications. The program is not expected to close soon with this new $10 million top-up being recently announced. However, we highly recommend applying for this program with the Canadian government funding application writing team at Mentor Works, a Ryan Company to find out how you may be eligible to stack other wage subsidies with funding from Mitacs Accelerate, as well as grants for training employees and funding for your R&D projects.

To help find eligible candidates for your internship positions, we’ve put together a free downloadable PDF guide on finding eligible candidates and finding grant funding for them.