I came here from McGill University to complete the field work for my Master of Arts degree in the Department of Geography. I am designing and testing a disease surveillance tool which uses mobile phones to track the spread of hepatitis in the state of Gujarat, so health officials can plan better intervention strategies.

2) What was the highlight of your Mitacs internship in Canada?
Living in a new country gave me the chance to step out of my comfort zone and explore my independence. I love to travel and explore new places so our road trips to Waterton Lakes National Park, Banff National Park, and even Vancouver were probably the best moments during my stay in Canada. Additionally, the kindness and warmth of people I met during my travels and research in Lethbridge are things I am never going to forget.

As a student originally from the Universidade Federal Da Paraíba  in Rio Tinto, Brazil, Kelson thought that coming to Canada for a research internship would be “a good chance to know a beautiful country” while learning about network security through research. He and his Globalink intern colleagues have certainly taken advantage of the opportunity by visiting national parks, exploring the city of Fredericton and even taking part in a few Mitacs Step workshops on effective communication and team work.

Having received nearly 500 photographs from Globalink interns this summer, the 2014 Mitacs Globalink Photo Contest showcased the experiences of the world’s best and brightest as they took part in research at 37 Canadian universities.

The winner from each category will receive a $100 Visa gift card. Congratulations to the winners!

As a bioinformatics student from National University of Vietnam—Ho Chi Minh City, Quang spent his summer researching the unique genes and traits of a handful of varieties of apples and grapes at Canada’s largest research orchard, the Apple Biodiversity Collection, in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Researchers at the orchard are learning how tiny modifications to a gene can affect the traits of the fruit- things like texture, flavour, and hardiness to weather conditions.

“I had also been accepted to a program in Spain to do research,” she says, “but I chose Canada because it has some of the best universities in the world so I knew I’d get the best opportunity to learn because of Globalink!” She was impressed by the organization of the program and the hands-on approach that Mitacs takes to welcoming the students for their research terms every summer.

As a Computer Science major from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Ray has always had an interest in networks and networking — both on computers, and among people. This interest has served him well as he helped to build a household notification system that helps family members to keep track of domestic chores and appointments, as well as to inform each other of personal schedules and shared commitments.

As a student from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Tamaulipas, Mexico, Gerardo is enjoying the research culture in Canada where the standard of excellence is high,  and he receives detailed guidance from the lab team and his professor when he needs it. His project involves testing the heat efficiency of a new type of solar panel to optimize its power generation ability.  

Hailing from Mexico, where he studies Chemical Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, César was introduced to Mitacs through a friend and former research intern. Upon seeing his friend’s photos and hearing stories of the research, he simply said, “I need to go to Canada!” With that, he applied and was accepted to do research in biofuel production in Quebec this summer.

Paulina is part of a team working on the Centre for Youth and Society’s “Stronger Together” research project that includes Indigenous community knowledge keepers and students from the Indigenous Communities Counselling program in the Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies. She has assisted in building the knowledge base for two projects involving indigenous culture as it relates to youth mental health, and to youth cultural identity.