Canada and the European Commission announce new research partnership

Vancouver, BC — Mitacs, a national not-for-profit research and training organization, and the European Commission, announce a new partnership to expand research opportunities for Canadian and European graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who receive funding through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program.

Through the partnership, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (RISE) will provide funding for European graduate students and postdocs to participate in research internships in Canada, and Mitacs’ international internship program will provide funding for Canadian graduate students and postdocs to participate in research projects in EU-member countries.

Students from both sides will refine their research and transferable skills in new environments, gain cultural and linguistic fluency, enhance their employability, and expand their professional networks by collaborating with industrial and academic partners. As a result of the partnership, Canada is now a formal partner of the MSCA RISE strategy under Horizon 2020, the EU 7-year program for research and innovation.

Quotes:

Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs

“Mitacs is very excited to partner with the European Commission and support Canadian and European graduate and postdoc researchers as they promote research, develop partnerships, and build joint R&D capacity that will strengthen the foundation of our knowledge-based economies for the future.”

Bodo Richter, Deputy Head of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Commission

“The Commission is very proud to launch this cooperation with Mitacs through RISE as it will allow researchers to experience working in an international setting and intensify cooperation in research and expand innovation between Europe and Canada. The MSCA will not only have a positive impact on individuals and organizations, but also yield high-impact and breakthrough research results, while at the same time significantly contributing to societal and strategic challenges.”

Quick facts:

• Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for 19 years.
• Working with more than 60 universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.
• Funded by the Government of Canada and Canadian universities, the Mitacs Globalink program offers two-way mobility opportunities between Canada and Mitacs partner countries for undergraduate and graduate students.
• For more than 20 years, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have invested in over 110,000 people behind research and innovation in Europe and beyond and fostered the transfer of knowledge and cooperation between academia and non-academia. During the current financing period (2014–20), with a budget of EUR 6.2 billion, the MSCA will support 65,000 researchers, including 15,000 non-European nationals.
• MSCA and RISE are the main instruments at in the EU for collaborating with organizations and researchers from outside of Europe. Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) funds short-term exchanges of personnel between academic, industrial, and commercial organizations throughout the world. It helps people develop their knowledge, skills, and careers, while building links between organizations working in different sectors of the economy, including universities, research institutes, and SMEs.

Links:

• For a full list of countries supporting travel and research opportunities from Canada through Mitacs Globalink visit www.mitacs.ca/globalink.
• For information about Mitacs and our programs, see mitacs.ca/newsroom.
• For information about Horizon 2020, see https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/.
• For information about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, see http://ec.europa.eu/msca.

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