After three months in Canada, many Globalink students are heading home with a lot of stories to tell.

In total, 105 students from India’s prestigious technology institutes were matched with a faculty member at various Canadian universities. The MITACS program, currently being offered in BC, Ontario and New Brunswick, was designed to provide Globalink students with the unique opportunity to learn about Canadian research and innovation in both academic and industrial sectors.

“It's great to know that we have so many options for our graduate studies,” said Arun Dobriyal, a Globalink student at McMaster University in Ontario.  “I will definitely be considering McMaster though, because it's a great school."

Dobriyal was matched with Dr. George Karakostas from the Department of Computing and Software at McMaster University where he was researching approximation algorithms for flow problems. Other internship projects included topics in engineering, computer science and mathematics to business and economics.

Rohit Verma, a Globalink student at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) said that doing research at UNB was an enriching opportunity. "Fredericton has been a pleasant surprise," he said. "The sprawling campus reflects the nature of the work here, (which) is very refreshing and motivating."

Students also took part in interactive workshops that involved learning professional skills such as project management, networking and doing presentations. Some of these skills were especially handy during interactions with some of Canada’s top industrial companies. Students were able to see first-hand what companies do and some of the innovation happening in the country. The roster of industrial engagements included Bedlam Games, PMC Sierra, Nokia, Xerox, Stemcell Network and many more.

The program was piloted in 2009. 17 undergraduate students from India spent a summer in the province of B.C. About 85 per cent of the undergraduates who took part in last year’s Globalink program say they are interested in coming back for graduate studies.

MITACS gratefully acknowledges the support of the Federal Government, the Government of Ontario, the Government of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick for making this year’s program a success.

For information on the MITACS Globalink program, click here.

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