Ottawa, ON — Mitacs thanks the Government of Canada for today’s Budget 2021 announcement of $708 million in funding over five years to create 85,000 innovation internships. This announcement will give Canada’s young innovators more opportunities to succeed while supporting businesses of all sizes across the country by providing them with the talent they need to get ahead in the competitive global marketplace.
As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, our innovation ecosystem will play a critical role in our national economic recovery and future prosperity. By ramping up collaborative innovation and bringing together highly educated students and postdoctoral researchers with industry, we play to our strengths as a country. Increased internship opportunities will help grow our economy and fill critical gaps by providing companies with the talent they need and ensuring our highly trained expertise is deployed across all sectors of the economy.
Mitacs also welcomes the announced funding strategies for the quantum computing, biomanufacturing, artificial intelligence, clean technology, and genomics sectors which are critical areas of focus in developing Canada’s innovation ecosystem. We look forward to supporting these strategies however we can.
As the connector between our present situation and our future success, Mitacs looks forward to continuing its partnership with the Government of Canada in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
Quotes:
John Hepburn, CEO and Scientific Director of Mitacs
“In a year unlike any other, Mitacs was proud to partner with the federal government to generate opportunities for students to drive innovation and economic development. Today’s significant announcement will allow us to continue to do that important work by giving young innovators even more opportunities to succeed while supporting businesses by providing them with the skilled talent they rely on. Thank you to the federal government for your confidence and support. We are ready to answer the call.”
About Mitacs:
- Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
- Mitacs opportunities are paid learning placements that last four months and may be online, on-site or a combination of both.
- Throughout COVID-19, Mitacs has generated 17,000 internships to provide opportunities for students and drive innovation and economic development.
- Mitacs has been a trusted partner of the Government of Canada for 20 years.
- Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.
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Media contact
Adam Austen
Senior Communications Advisor
514-705-8355 | aausten@mitacs.ca
