Mitacs invoices a partner organization upon submission of their Accelerate proposal. Upon receipt of the partner’s contribution, Mitacs forwards the research award to the Canadian academic institution. No funds will be released to the academic institution until the invoice has been paid and the proposal is approved. Mitacs has no control over when funds are administered by the academic institution. If you have questions about your Accelerate award after Mitacs has released funds, contact your academic institution’s Office of Research Services (or equivalent).

Mitacs’ policy is to take no position and claims no intellectual property (IP) from projects it funds. All Mitacs Accelerate participants are bound by the IP terms of the academic institution where the intern is enrolled. IP is left to be shared between the academic institution, its researchers, and the partner organization, according to the IP rules of the academic institution, unless a separate agreement is negotiated.
The following universities have developed their own IP terms for Mitacs projects:
Note that these IP agreements may not apply to joint applications with other funding organizations.
External referees for internship proposals receive the following questions to guide their assessment of the proposal:
1. Mitacs Accelerate supports research-based internships. Does the proposed project qualify as research in its discipline?
2. Is the project appropriate for the academic degree level of the intern?
3. Are the objectives clear?
4. Is the methodology appropriate to achieve the objectives?
5. Is the timeline realistic?
6. Other comments and suggestions for the applicants. For example, is there prior work that should be considered by the researchers?
7. Confidential comments for Mitacs:
8. Will the research work potentially have adverse effects on the environment? Do you recommend that an additional environmental impact review be conducted?
9. Does this project have a demonstrable economic or productivity orientation? (for projects with not-for-profit partners only)
When a proposal involves over $0.75M requested from Mitacs (approximately 100 internship units), a collaborative review meeting will typically be held virtually or on-site after the external peer review is completed. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the results of the peer review, the project management strategy, the mentoring and training strategy, and to tour project facilities and interns’ work environment when relevant.