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.

Through his University’s Graduate Professional Skills program, Ali heard that Mitacs Step workshops provide business-ready skills to up-and-coming researchers. He participated in nine workshops that helped him develop skills in areas such as project management, team building and entrepreneurship. Specifically, Ali was able to add to his skill set in a substantial way: “The Step Project Management workshops enabled me to qualify for the Project Management Certification.”

Her Globalink research internship project under Professor Dae-Sik Moon at the University of Toronto’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is employing  new technology that was originally developed for  the James Webb Space Telescope — a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.  Aishwarya’s project involves selecting and testing optical components that will ultimately give astronomers the ability to see the faintest glows of light from the earliest moments of the universe, as well as the formation of stars, planetary systems and galaxies.

Originally from Brazil’s Universidade Federal da Paraiba, Rodrigo is developing risk-based methods to efficiently and strategically predict which sections of the pipeline are most in need of maintenance or repair. These methods would help to ensure the long-term integrity of many of the oil and gas pipelines that cross Canada, preventing environmental damage caused by spills.

Home Institution/Country:
Vellore Institute of Technology, India

Globalink Research Internship Supervisor
Dr. Steven Zimmerly, Professor of Biological Sciences

Globalink Research Internship Host University in summer 2013
University of Calgary, Department of Biological Sciences

“Our company is always looking for new ways to take advantage of the latest innovations in civil and structural engineering. Partnering with Migara through Mitacs Accelerate provided tremendous value by helping us to find and develop the right technology for our needs so that we are confident in the progress and integrity of our projects,” said Brad Dobbin, Vice President of ND Dobbin Group of Companies.