Southern Ontario Water Consortium signs MOU with Mitacs to access graduate student research expertise

Waterloo, Ontario – The Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) and Mitacs, a national non-profit research organization, have announced a Memorandum of Understanding to open strategic partnership opportunities between Ontario’s innovative water companies and local, highly-trained university graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

This agreement builds on the programs available through Mitacs, which connect high-calibre researchers with industry through co-funded internships to foster innovation.

SOWC and Mitacs are establishing the world’s first watershed scale platform for the research, development and demonstration of water solutions and technologies in Ontario, Canada.

Through the MOU, SOWC will help connect Ontario water and wastewater companies to the Mitacs-Accelerate program, giving them access to the latest research expertise from graduate  and post-doctoral students. Interns will also benefit from exposure to practical industry  experience. Over 5 years, this MOU is anticipated to support projects worth over $1 million.

Mitacs has a strong track record of connecting companies with the high-quality research  expertise within Ontario universities. Graduate student and post-doctoral fellows, under the  supervision of a faculty supervisor; undertake a research project with a partner company.

Ontario water and wastewater companies that may be interested in accessing a Mitacs-Accelerate co-funded research project in one of SOWC’s core areas of focus (Drinking Water, Wastewater, Ecotoxicology, Sensors, Analytical Techniques, Smart Watershed Management) are encouraged to contact SOWC directly.

Contact: Grahame Rivers – 647 299 9910 – grahame(at)sowc.ca

Contact: Megan Airton-Cindric – 604 822 3982 – mairton(at)mitacs.ca