Please contact a Business Development representative if you are unsure of your specific situation or if you have any questions.  

All submitted Business Strategy Internship (BSI) applications are reviewed for project quality, eligibility, and completeness. You will be notified by Mitacs if your application is ineligible or incomplete within four weeks of submitting your application. Please refer to the submission checklist below for more information.

Mitacs will also assess the benefits of the proposed activity in terms of the economic and societal impact of the project; the development and deployment of talent; and the establishment and support of collaborations. A project does not need to demonstrate benefits under every category (project, talent, and collaboration) since a weakness in one category can be compensated by strengths in another. However, projects that demonstrate little or no benefit across all categories will not be approved by Mitacs. 

In addition to assessing the benefits of a project, each project will also be reviewed to ensure that it does not pose any unmanageable risks in the categories of feasibility, loss of talent or international assets from Canada, economic and national security risks, and adverse effects on humans, animals, and/or the environment.  Projects involving high risk must demonstrate correspondingly high benefits to Canada and appropriate risk mitigation measures to justify approval by Mitacs. 

While the selection process is not currently competitive, if funding does become limited, Mitacs will prioritize approval based of the potential cumulative benefits on the proposed activity. 

Submission Checklist 

Currently, due to high demand, Mitacs can only accept applications to the BSI program in the following provinces and territory:  

• Alberta
• New Brunswick
• Prince Edward Island
• Québec
• Yukon

Requirements for all projects

• The description of the why (background), the what (objectives), the how (approach), and the when (timeline with deliverables)

Requirements for all collaborations

• Objectives must be aligned with the knowledge, skills, expertise and needs of all involved.
• Each party’s roles and responsibilities must be clear to all signatories on the application.
• Each party’s expectations on deliverables, priorities, and time sensitivities must be clear to all signatories on the application.
• Agreement on intellectual property rights, ownership, and royalties must be clear to all signatories on the application.

Requirements for all internships 

• A structure is in place to provide academic support that is appropriate to the level of the intern(s).
• There must be sufficient support / supervision from the internship host.
• There must be sufficient capacity at the internship host to manage the planned number of interns. 

Requirements for all projects involving Indigenous peoples or communities 

• These must have the support of the affected communities and those who have rights or a stake in the endeavor.
• Indigenous communities should have been involved in shaping the project from inception, and Elders and Knowledge holders should have been directly engaged.
• There must be clear agreement on Indigenous communities’ access, use, and governance of resulting knowledge and data.
• The project team must demonstrate the capacity to engage with Indigenous communities or partners in line with appropriate guidelines, principles, and policies. For more information please refer to our Indigenous Research Guidelines.

Project

Examples of how a project can demonstrate the potential for economic and societal impact include, but are not limited to: 

• creating or commercializing Canadian technology / intellectual property
• discovering new and broadly applicable knowledge
• enhancing Canadian productivity by developing new and improved processes
• supporting the entry of Canadian businesses into new domestic / international markets
• developing new business models for Canadian companies
• improving public services (e.g. transportation infrastructure, utilities, healthcare) in Canada
• contributing new solutions to community challenges in Canada
• addressing social or environmental issues important to Canadian society
• advancing new approaches to include under-represented groups in the knowledge economy
• working towards a more equal and equitable Canada
• implementing evidence-informed strategies to address a specific challenge 

Talent

Examples of how a project can demonstrate the potential for supporting the development of a talented and skilled population include, but are not limited to: 

• interns gaining specialized technical skills through access to and training on the use of specialized equipment and facilities
• training interns in research skills
• training interns in interdisciplinary teamwork
• training interns in community-based methodologies
• training interns in entrepreneurial / professional skills through structured activities
• creating opportunities for interns to apply their knowledge / skills and solve industry / real-world problems
• re-skilling / up-skilling interns to pursue new and emerging opportunities in Canada
• placing interns in positions (at Canadian companies or organizations) appropriate to their training / skills
• interns being introduced to new professional experiences / environments / contacts / networks in Canada
• supporting individuals from under-represented groups in the knowledge economy  

Collaboration 

Examples of how a project can demonstrate the anticipated benefits associated with collaboration include, but are not limited to: 

• bringing people together to solve problems though complementary skills and expertise
• sharing access to data, facilities, instruments for mutual benefit
• exchanging knowledge among academia, industry, communities
• moving tacit knowledge into practice through interdisciplinary teamwork
• supporting long-term relationships among academia, industry, communities
• establishing new collaborations among academia, industry, communities
• attracting foreign investment, talent, and innovative companies to Canada
• creating partnerships with communities that are under-represented in the knowledge economy
• linking Canadian researchers to prominent research groups globally

Please contact a Business Development representative if you are unsure of your specific situation or if you have any questions.  

As a Mitacs participant, you must review the Participant Expectations found on our website. Additionally, participants in the Business Strategy Internship (BSI) program have the following roles and responsibilities.  

Intern:

The intern leads the project from application to execution.

The intern is responsible for: 

• co-designing a four-month project in collaboration with their academic supervisor and a partner organization
  • Projects can be extended to up to six months to provide flexibility for the intern’s other priorities.
• submitting the project proposal through the RAP
• signing off on the project proposal
• obtaining signatures from the other participants at the end of the RAP application process, including the academic supervisor, partner organization, and the Office of Research Services or equivalent office at their academic institution
• meeting weekly with both their academic supervisor and partner organization supervisor(s) to discuss their progress
• delivering a final presentation to their academic supervisor and/or partner organization
• completing a Mitacs Exit Survey to report on their project experience

Academic supervisor:

The academic supervisor provides oversight and support to the intern over the course of the project.
 
The academic supervisor is responsible for: 

• supervising the intern throughout the project, including regular check-in meetings
• ensuring that the intern has the necessary support throughout the project, either through one-on-one support, or by designating a co-supervisor who will interact with the intern on a regular basis
• submitting their contact information through the RAP as part of the application process
• signing off on the project proposal
• completing a Mitacs Exit Survey 

Partner organization:

The partner organization provides guidance and mentorship to the intern throughout the project.
 
The partner organization is responsible for: 

• providing $5,000 or $7,500 in funding prior to the project start date
  • Funding required depends on which funding model is chosen.
• working with the intern to develop an innovative project that responds to current business needs
• submitting their contact information including invoicing information through he RAP as part of the application process
• signing off on the project proposal
• completing a Mitacs Exit Survey

Academic institution: 

The academic institution acts as a partner in program promotion and delivery. 
 
The academic institution is responsible for:  

• marketing the program to students and faculty
• signing off on the projects prior to submission to Mitacs using the template provided through the Registration and Application Portal (RAP)
• ensuring that project funds are paid out to the intern in a timely manner according to the individual institution’s policies and processes
• completing and returning the Mitacs Financial Report once all project funds have been paid out 

Mitacs

Mitacs is responsible for: 

• reviewing all submitted project proposals for eligibility and completeness, as well as adjudicating projects to ensure quality
  • Project selection criteria can be found in the application template as well as in the Adjudication section above.
• invoicing the partner organization and managing the flow of funds to the academic institution who will pay the funds to the intern
• providing participants with an Outcome Letter and an Award Letter confirming acceptance to the program, project start dates, and the funding amount 

*Important Note *
Projects should not start until the academic institution has received the funds from Mitacs and has made arrangements to pay the intern. Interns that start prior to receiving the funds do so at their own risk.

Please contact a Business Development representative if you are unsure of your specific situation or if you have any questions.  

Mitacs Cancellation Policy

In rare circumstances, a participant may need to cancel their project. If all parties are in agreement, a project or individual internship may be terminated. If one party wants to cancel the internship without the other parties’ agreement, they must first notify them in writing and allow 30 days for resolution of outstanding issues. Any funds remaining after a cancelled internship must be returned to Mitacs.  

Mitacs must be informed of any cancellations or project changes. Please contact the Business Strategy Internship team as soon as possible to discuss the situation.  

Mitacs Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy 

Business Strategy Internship (BSI) interns are not allowed have any position of ownership, employment, or influence over the daily operations at the partner organization. BSI interns with close family relationships or intimate relationships with academic supervisors or employees of the partner organization are also not allowed.  

Any other COIs (for example, those involving the academic supervisor and the partner organization) must be disclosed to Mitacs during the application process and will be reviewed by Mitacs’s COI committee. Please consult the Mitacs Conflict of Interest Policy for more information.  

If a COI exists, we suggest that you contact a the Business Development representative for your region prior to starting an application to ensure that you are eligible to participate in the program.    

Mitacs Privacy Policy  

All personal information collected as part of the BSI program application and administration is subject to privacy legislation and the Mitacs Privacy Policy. Please see https://www.mitacs.ca/en/privacy-policy for a description of Mitacs’s commitment to protecting the personal information provided by program participants.  

Information supplied as part of an application to the BSI program will be made available to Mitacs staff responsible for reviewing the application, administering, and monitoring the program, compiling statistics, and evaluating the program.  

Mitacs Programs Terms and Conditions 

Mitacs Programs' Terms and Conditions outline participants’ responsibilities in detail. All parties are expected to understand and adhere to the Terms and Conditions found here:
https://www.mitacs.ca/en/mitacs-programs-terms-and-conditions. 

For all other Mitacs Corporate and Program Policies, please click here: Policies | Mitacs.

Intellectual Property 

Mitacs takes no position on intellectual property. All parties involved with Mitacs Business Strategy Internship are bound by the standard intellectual property (IP) terms of the academic institution where the intern is registered except where intellectual property is covered by separate agreements to which the academic institution and the partner organization are parties and which are active during the dates of the internship. When you apply to the BSI program and sign off on the application, you are acknowledging that you agree to the terms of the academic institution where the intern is registered. For any university-specific IP policies, please see the list below.  

• Brock University
• Concordia University
• McGill University
• Simon Fraser University
• Université Laval
• University of Alberta
• University of Calgary 
• University of Ottawa
• University of Victoria