Successful applicants receive a Mitacs Elevate award of $60,000 per year, renewable for a second year, for a total award of $120,000, as well as the mandatory professional development curriculum ($7,500 non-cash value over two years); a minimum stipend / salary of $55,000 per year is allocated to the fellow and up to $5,000 is allocated to research costs. Mitacs follows tri-council guidelines with respect to the use of funds (refer to Mitacs Use of Funds Policy in the downloadable General Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies zip file under How To Apply) towards eligible research costs. Awards are typically forwarded annually as a lump sum of $60,000 to the supervising faculty member, to be held as a research grant at their home academic institution, following Mitacs receipt of the following:
- the $30,000 annual partner contribution
- any necessary documentation such as a Declaration of Conflict of Interest and/or other documentation as appropriate
Please note: Costs can only be incurred after research approval of the proposal AND the receipt of the partner funds at Mitacs as per Mitacs Policy.
All parties involved with the Mitacs Elevate program are bound by the intellectual property terms of the university where the fellow is appointed. Please see the links below to the intellectual property terms for the following universities:
- Concordia University
- McGill University
- Simon Fraser University
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Calgary
- University of Ottawa
- University of Victoria
For all other institutions, the Mitacs Elevate program’s policy is to take no position regarding the intellectual property created by the projects and fellowships that are funded.
Intellectual property is left to be shared between the university, its researchers, and the industry partner, according to the intellectual property rules of the host university, unless a separate agreement is negotiated between the university, its researchers, and the industry partner. Mitacs strongly recommends that any discussions pertaining to intellectual property and confidentiality – where relevant – be resolved prior to submitting the Mitacs Elevate proposal.
NOTE: All recommendation letters must include letterhead and signature.
From former/current supervisors
Former or current supervisors who are providing a letter of recommendation on behalf of an applicant should include the following information:
- When did you supervise the proposed fellow, and how many other students have you supervised at the same level? [as applicable]
- Please comment on the productivity and accomplishments of the proposed fellow, relative to other researchers you have known and/or supervised at the same career stage.
- Make note of any particular achievements (e.g., publication record, patents, awards and scholarships, high-impact research results, leadership, mentoring, accomplishments in teaching, related industry or entrepreneurial activities) by the proposed fellow that you would like to further comment on.
All Mitacs Elevate fellowship proposals undergo a two-stage review process:
Stage 1: an administrative review to confirm program eligibility, followed by
Stage 2: an external review based on peer assessment of the research project proposals.
Peer assessment criteria are grouped into two (2) broad categories: the technical merit of the proposed research project; and the excellence of the proposed fellow. For these categories, Mitacs seeks arm’s length expert reviewers to answer the following questions:
A. Technical merit of the proposed project
- Does the project significantly contribute to the advancement of knowledge or the development of new applications, and is there an appreciable element of novelty?
- Are the objectives achievable, given the current state of the art and the expertise of the project team?
- Are the methods and techniques appropriate for the objectives?
- Is the proposed project at an appropriate level for a postdoctoral fellow
B. Excellence of the proposed fellow
- Relative to other researchers at the same career stage, how would you characterize the achievements of the proposed fellow (e.g. publication record, patents, awards and scholarships, mentoring, accomplishments in teaching, related industry or entrepreneurial activities, etc.)?
- The Elevate program offers training opportunities to develop leadership, communication and business skills. Does the candidate demonstrate commitment to this professional development?