Canadian Innovation Week

From local roots to global reach: Innovation across Canada

Every idea starts somewhere: in a lab, a startup, a classroom, or a community. What transforms those ideas into real-world impact is collaboration, talent, and the ability to take the next step towards implementation.

This Canadian Innovation Week (#CIW26), we’re joining the nationwide conversation and highlighting how innovation is happening coast to coast to coast, driven by researchers, student interns, and partners working together to turn discovery into application, and potential into progress.

Mitacs is helping develop talent with skills for the workforce of today and the future, strengthen partnerships between academia and industry, and move research closer to real-world solutions. Find out how we are making this happen across Canada.

Ontario: Advancing manufacturing through breakthrough materials

At the University of Toronto, postdoctoral researcher Nello David Sansone partnered with Axiom Group to develop lighter, stronger automotive materials. Through Mitacs, he created Gratek, the first composite to integrate graphene at scale, reducing weight while improving strength.

His work is now moving toward commercialization, with industry adoption on the horizon, and has already led Sansone to co-found NanoMorphix, expanding applications into advanced materials and defence technologies.

Reflecting on the experience, Sansone said:

“That firsthand experience on the industry floor, made possible through Mitacs, was life-changing for me.”

—Dr. Nello Sansone

British Columbia: Accelerating biotech from discovery to clinic

In Vancouver, CereCura Nanotherapeutics is advancing mRNA therapies for neurological diseases. Through a partnership with Mitacs and Michael Smith Health Research BC, the company has expanded its research capacity and accelerated progress toward preclinical studies. Dr. Daniel Andrews, a UBC postdoctoral fellow, is contributing directly through a Mitacs Accelerate internship.

For researchers like Dr. Daniel Andrews, that experience is shaping career pathways:

“[Mitacs] has been a very positive intro into the industry world, solidifying my desire to stay in biotech and keep translating research to real-world solutions. I can have very intimate discussions on a day-to-day basis with the higher-up leadership in the company and that makes me feel like I’m having a significant, direct impact on the company’s success.”

—Dr. Daniel Andrews, Mitacs Accelerate Postdoctoral Fellow

Here, innovation is not just about breakthrough science. It is about building the talent and momentum needed to bring it to life.

Alberta: Turning discovery into clean technology solutions

At the University of Alberta, Dr. Robin Hamilton discovered a nano-catalyst that generates hydrogen from water at room temperature. Through Dark Matter Materials Inc., co-founded with Applied Quantum Materials, the team is advancing applications from clean fuel to plastics recycling.

With support from Mitacs, researchers and industry partners are advancing a nano-catalyst that can generate hydrogen, break down plastics, and enable circular economy applications, all while developing the next generation of cleantech talent.

“The Mitacs program helps to smooth the transition as I’m learning to deal with the different pace of industry where things can shift quickly and we need to adapt. I can clearly see how I’ve changed, learned, and grown a new skillset that is more geared to business.”

—Dr. Mariana Vieira, Chemist and Post-doctoral researcher

Quebec: Applying technology to improve everyday lives

In Quebec, innovation is happening where it matters most, in communities.

Mathis Le Manh Ho worked with Sentiom to deploy smart technologies in Maisons Martin-Matte, improving safety and quality of life for vulnerable populations. His Mitacs internship helped optimize deployment processes and accelerate implementation, strengthening collaboration between academia and industry.

“My internship at Sentiom enabled me to make a real contribution to improving internal processes, which had a direct impact on the efficiency of field deployments. Thanks to my training in industrial engineering and computer engineering, I’ve been able to bridge the gap between operations analysis and technological solutions, while developing essential skills for my career.”

—Mathis Le Manh Ho, Project Manager, Office of the CEO

From coast to coast, powering Canada’s innovation future

These stories reflect a broader reality. Innovation in Canada is driven by people.

By connecting talent with opportunity, and research with real-world challenges, Mitacs is helping ideas grow from local roots to global reach.

This Canadian Innovation Week, we celebrate the partnerships, talent, and ambition shaping Canada’s future.

About Mitacs

For over 25 years, Mitacs has helped grow the economy and develop the workforce of tomorrow, connecting industry with academia and global partners to solve real-world challenges. We support business-academic research collaboration through internships, co-funded with businesses, for undergraduate to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

As a national innovation connector, Mitacs takes a talent-first approach to strengthen innovation capacity and drive global competitiveness. We serve as an essential research-commercialization bridge, accelerating market entry and growth for new products and services.

This is a critical time for Canada to think big and take bold action. Mitacs is ready to help build a strong and resilient Canadian economy, powered by ideas, talent and innovation.

Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, 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.