Investment in innovation to boost British Columbia’s economy

Mitacs, a national, not-for-profit organization, connects companies and not-for-profit organizations with local experts in the academic community to address their research and development challenges. These partnerships promote innovation in British Columbia across all sectors of the economy. Specifically, Mitacs programs support research and development, job creation, entrepreneurship, commercialization, and the retention of skilled workers, as revealed in a longitudinal survey.

The three-year funding agreement will bring hundreds of research and training opportunities to undergraduates, grad students, and postdocs. The funding will be matched by industry funds and federal sources.

Since 2004, the Government of British Columbia has supported more than 3,255 research internships, trained more than 7,940 student and postdocs with career skills, and supported more than 585 international research collaborations through Mitacs.

Quotes:

Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director, Mitacs

“Today’s Tech Strategy announcement supports innovation and productivity, which are keys to a vibrant economy in British Columbia. This is an investment in BC’s competitiveness and long-term economic growth, and Mitacs is proud to collaborate with the provincial government by promoting research, business innovation, and talent development.”

Daniel Abram, CTO, Shield-X Technology

“Without Mitacs’ support, I don’t believe that we could have gotten to the stage that we are, with our products almost ready to hit the market and revolutionize the concept of helmet protection.”

Mitacs Accelerate outcomes from British Columbia participants:

• 89% of companies indicated that the Mitacs internship program was successful in meeting their corporate needs
• 68% of companies indicated that the project results have been or will be commercialized
• 42% of companies have invested $100,000+ of new money in R&D as a result of participating in in the program
• 25% of companies have hired one or more interns into new positions
• 19% of Mitacs interns have started their own company

Mitacs facts:

• Mitacs is a national not-for-profit organization led by Canadian universities that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for more than 17 years.
• Working with 60 universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.
• Mitacs Accelerate connects companies and not-for-profit partners with graduate students and postdocs, who apply their specialized expertise to business research challenges.
• Mitacs Globalink offers two-way student mobility opportunities to further strengthen international research collaborations.
• Mitacs Elevate provides research management training to postdoctoral fellows as they collaborate with companies and not-for-profit partners on complex research projects.
• Open to all disciplines and all industry sectors, projects can span a wide range of areas, including manufacturing, business processes, IT, social sciences, design, and more.

Links:

• For information about Mitacs and our programs, see mitacs.ca/newsroom.
• To read about the BC Tech Strategy, visit https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca.

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