Federal Budget 2017: Targeted investment in work-integrated learning

Ottawa, ON — March 22, 2017 — The Government of Canada announced $221 million in funding over five years to renew and expand Mitacs programs. This investment in Mitacs’ work-integrated learning programs will help deliver 10,000 internships per year to post-secondary students.

The funding will deploy top talent from Canadian post-secondary institutions to businesses and not-for-profit organizations — helping students develop skills to launch their careers, while also helping companies innovate and compete globally.

Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that provides post-secondary researchers with innovation-focused internships. Through these work-integrated learning opportunities, students transfer their research skills from academia to industry. Companies, in turn, gain competitive advantages by accessing research expertise and developing talent pipelines in partnership with post-secondary institutions.

Based on proven outcomes, such as job creation, commercialization, and skills development, Mitacs programs have experienced an increase in demand from post-secondary institutions, as well as from the private and not-for-profit sectors.

Mitacs internships are supported financially by the Government of Canada, provincial governments, and industry, in partnership with Canadian universities.

Quotes:

Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs
“This investment by the Government of Canada is a move to support people, technologies, and companies — a commitment that will improve Canada’s innovation performance. Mitacs programs help achieve this goal by providing students with work-integrated learning experiences and promoting innovation across all sectors of the economy.”

Meric Gertler, President, University of Toronto

“The Government of Canada is to be commended for this investment in Canadian talent through Mitacs. It will provide career-building opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and top-quality expertise for businesses and other organizations. These are key factors in building our country’s capacity for innovation and in driving our long-term prosperity.”

Caroline R. Cloutier, Business Process and Manufacturing Engineer, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., Fuel Cell Division

“Working with Mitacs and Queen’s University has given us a tremendous return on investment. At the end of the day, students are getting important experience to meet industrial demands, while we tap into their expertise to advance our own objectives.”

Impact stories:

• Biotechnology partnership transforms safety in blood donation processing at Université Laval with Phytronix
• Hearing aid technology sings a different tune at Ryerson University with Phonak and Unitron Hearing
• Drug education takes a philosophical route at the University of British Columbia with ARC Programs
• Mathematician fights water waste with robotic sprinklers at the University of Alberta with InteliRain

Quick facts:

• Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for 17 years.
• Working with 60+ universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.
• Open to all disciplines and all industry sectors, projects can span a wide range of areas, including manufacturing, business processes, IT, social sciences, and design.
• Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, along with Alberta Innovates, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Prince Edward Island, the Government of Quebec, and the Government of Saskatchewan.

Links:

• For information about Mitacs and our programs, see mitacs.ca/newsroom.
• For information on the impact of Mitacs internships, see Mitacs Accelerate Outcomes: Industry Partner Survey and Mitacs Accelerate: Impact on Former Interns.
• To see how Mitacs is honouring researchers for Canada’s sesquicentennial, visit https://www.mitacs.ca/en/150-for-150.

###