Investment supports research internships to advance local innovation
Fredericton, NB — Mitacs and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) have partnered to advance innovation in New Brunswick. NBIF contributed a $160,000 investment to the Mitacs research internships program, which will unlock an additional $700,000 in funding for internships for post-secondary research in New Brunswick while advancing local needs.
The $160,000 contribution is a unique opportunity to strengthen the offering to NBIF portfolio start-up companies. The funds will be restricted for internships to companies already supported by the organization through their Innovation Voucher Fund or Venture Capital Fund. Restricting the fund allows companies already supported by NBIF to obtain access to academic expertise and internships at a reduced rate, helping them tackle pressing business problems. It also offers the opportunity to easily “add-on” funding requests related to the research, which will be accommodated via NBIF’s Lab-to-Market research funding program. This partnership allows both NBIF and Mitacs to offer more internships that they can both fund independently. This structure creates a partner-driven focus for student research projects, which will help ensure a valuable internship opportunity outside of a traditional academic setting and facilitate knowledge transfer to the companies.
The funding will support up to 40 separate internships for university and college students. These work-integrated learning opportunities enable students to advance their skills and transfer applications from the laboratory to real-world settings and enhance their job opportunities after graduation while giving local businesses and organizations access to research talent to advance their goals.
Projects funded by this agreement focus on emerging and priority sectors important to New Brunswick, including cybersecurity, financial services and fintech, food and beverage, energy innovation, digital health, advanced manufacturing, agriculture technology, and oceans.
Quotes:
Laura Richard, Director of Research, NBIF
“This new initiative is a win-win for our province: it provides students with valuable experiential learning opportunities via paid internships, and it provides our portfolio companies with easy access to research expertise to accelerate their business growth. I believe that Mitacs’s expertise in internship programs is a natural pairing for our portfolio of applied research funding and that together we can create impactful results for NB.”
John Hepburn, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs
“This agreement between New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and Mitacs will support local businesses while equipping young researchers with necessary job skills. Together we drive innovation and advance priority sectors for the province. This partnership allows us to support economic growth and prosperity across the province.”
About NBIF:
- NBIF is an independent, non-profit corporation that helps New Brunswick innovators take their ideas further.
- Every day, New Brunswick innovators trust them with their dreams. This is a responsibility they take very seriously.
- They promise to act as leaders, carefully guiding New Brunswick innovators through the complex world of growth and commercialization; and to inspire our New Brunswick innovators to be brave in their pursuit of global relevance.
- All their investment returns go back into the corporation to be re-invested in other start-ups and research initiatives.
About Mitacs:
- Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
- Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of New Brunswick, along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, 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.
- For information about Mitacs and its programs, see mitacs.ca/newsroom.
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