Please be advised that the Business Strategy Internship has limited availability. You are invited to validate current availability here or contact your local Mitacs Advisor before drafting your application. 

How can I apply to the program? Where can I access the Business Strategy Internship (BSI) application form?

All application information can be found in the Mitacs Registration and Application Portal (RAP). Please ensure there are no conflicts of interest in your proposal prior to submitting to Mitacs.

Can I (intern or academic supervisor) participate in the program if there is a conflict of interest (COI)?

BSI interns are not allowed to 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, 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 visit the Mitacs Conflict of Interest Policy for more information.  

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

Is it possible to have multiple interns per proposal?

Yes. You may include up to 10 interns on one proposal, provided that each intern’s role is clearly laid out. The academic supervisor and/or co-supervisor attached to the proposal should be able to reasonably supervise the number of interns listed, which would include weekly meetings with each intern to discuss project progress.

When should projects start?

Before work on the project starts, Mitacs needs to receive funds from the partner organization. Interns should not start working on their project until after they receive the funds from their academic institution. Interns who start project work before receiving the funding do so at their own risk. 

Can academic supervisors and/or co-supervisors supervise more than one internship?

There is no stated limit to the number of internships an academic supervisor can support, however, there are practical limits to how much time is reasonably available in their schedule to manage multiple internships.. Academic supervisors and/or co-supervisors are expected to provide hands-on guidance to interns as they move through the project. 

  • It must be realistic for the academic supervisor to provide or arrange for appropriate academic supervision for all interns they are listed as supervising.
  • The academic supervisor who signs the proposal may choose to involve other qualified individuals at the academic institution, such as program or research staff or senior graduate students and/or postdocs, in the hands-on supervision of interns.
  • Interns and academic supervisors and/or other qualified individuals at the academic institution must meet on a regular basis to discuss project progress and any challenges.
  • The academic supervisory role and support for the intern must be detailed in the project proposal. If additional individuals will be part of the supervisory team, please describe the responsibilities of each team member in the project proposal.
  • The academic supervisor must be involved in the development of the project proposal with the intern and the partner organization and must sign off on the project through the Registration and Application Portal.

Both academic supervisors and co-supervisors listed on the project must be eligible as per the guidelines laid out in our Eligibility tab.

Can interns do this program part-time?

Yes. The internship is four months in duration but can be stretched over six months to accommodate the intern's other responsibilities.

Can part-time students do this program?

To participate in any Mitacs program, it is preferred that interns have full-time student or postdoctoral status at their academic institution. However, part-time students are also eligible for internships that do not include international travel, provided that the following conditions hold: 

  • They have student status at the academic institution for the duration of the internship
  • They are covered under the institution’s insurance, the same as full-time students
  • The institution can pay the intern a salary or stipend from the Mitacs grant
  • The intern can commit to the project for the appropriate duration (BSI internships are four months and may be spread over up to six months to accommodate other commitments) 

Are recent graduates eligible?

Recent college and university graduates (any level) are eligible, at the discretion of the academic institution.

  • Must have status at the academic institution
    • Check with your institution to find out what status(es) are available for recent grads
    • Be sure to check immigration/visa status for international students/recent grads
  • Internship must start within two years of graduation  
  • Normally eligible for one 4-6-month internship but may do up to three depending on the needs of the project and the discretion of the academic institution (some institutions may only allow one post-graduation internship per person)  
  • All program expectations remain the same: the intern must have an academic supervisor and split their time between the academic institution and the partner organization  
  • For assistance in determining your eligibility as a recent grad, contact a Mitacs representative or write to pilots@mitacs.ca.  

What academic institutions can use the program?

Universities must be Full, Associate, or Honourary partners of Mitacs. Colleges/CEGEPs/polytechnics must be provincially or territorially recognized PSE-degree granting institutions with a signed Mitacs Funding Agreement.

Are international students eligible?

Yes, this program can support international students registered at a participating academic institution. Academic institutions are considered employers of the intern and should determine any eligibility issues regarding visa restrictions prior to submitting the project to Mitacs. Projects cannot be completed remotely from another country.

Due to COVID-19, in-person check-ins with academic supervisors may be difficult to complete. Are virtual check-ins acceptable?

In-person interaction at the partner’s location is required when feasible, but we recognize that due to pandemic restrictions, many organizations and academic institutions began working virtually as much as possible, and that this mode of work may continue in some fields as part of the new normal. If the partner organization does not have a physical location where the intern can interact with their staff, an internship may still be eligible, but Mitacs expects the proposal to describe the nature of the planned interaction (whether it will be in-person, virtual, or both) with all parties (the academic supervisor and the partner organization).

  • Which parts of the project will be conducted on site at the partner organization and/or at the academic institution?
  • Describe the interaction with and supervision by employees of the partner organization. If the interaction will be virtual, how will the fellow be exposed to the activities and culture of the partner organization (e.g., team meetings, company events, virtual coffee chats, training activities, etc.)?
  • Provide details of the resources (physical or virtual) and expertise to be shared by partner staff.

I’m an intern who has applied for the program and started working, but I haven’t been paid.

Project start dates cannot pre-date the Approval letter you receive from Mitacs. Project work should not start until you have received funds from your academic institution. Funds will not be released to your academic institution until after Mitacs has received the funds from the partner organization. Partner organizations must pay their invoices to Mitacs before any funding can be released.

What do I need to do to complete my project?

All participants (interns, academic supervisors, and partner organizations) will be required to complete an exit survey within 30 days of the end of the project date. Academic institutions will be required to complete a Financial Report and submit to Mitacs outlining the awards paid out. Intern final reports are not required for this program.

How can the flexible project funds be spent?

Mitacs follows Tri-Agency Financial Administration guidelines for use of funds. See Mitacs's use of funds page for details of eligible expenses for Mitacs programs.

If you have any questions about the Business Strategy Internship (BSI) program, please email the Business Strategy Internship team. 

Is my BSI award a stipend or a salary? Will benefits be deducted?

BSI is offered in partnership with your academic institution, which administers your award. We recommend that you speak with your professor and institution about funding policies (“stipend” or “salary”) and potential deductions of benefits. Universities administer funds according to their individual institutional policies, which are flexible under Tri-Council guidelines. If benefits are included, they may be deducted from either your pay or the accompanying research funds.

Who owns any intellectual property generated during an internship?

Mitacs takes no position on intellectual property (IP).  

IP is to be shared between the academic institution, its researchers, and the partner organization according to the academic institution's IP rules, unless a separate agreement is negotiated. 

Mitacs can facilitate IP discussions with any Canadian academic institution. The following universities have their own IP policies for Mitacs projects:

Note that these IP agreements may not apply to joint applications with other funding organizations.