Mitacs creates new opportunities for Canada’s COVID-19 generation thanks to $40M

Thanks to an injection of government funding, 5,000 new internships mean opportunities for students and pivots for companies during COVID-19

Following the federal government’s investment of $40M to create 5,000 new internships, Mitacs is pleased to report that all of the work-integrated learning opportunities stipulated in the agreement have been generated. The purpose of the additional internships created midway through the federal budget cycle was to help post-secondary students and businesses across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new internships are in addition to the 10,000 Mitacs provided for fiscal year 2020–21. With two months remaining before the March 31 end of this fiscal cycle, Mitacs is on track to generate a total of 15,000 internships this year — increasing its business productivity by roughly 50 percent since the COVID-19 funding was announced.

The 5,000 new internships comprise a combination of what Mitacs refers to as “COVID-19 special calls.” These include the new offering of Business Strategy Internships, special COVID-19 discounts for small-to-medium sized businesses and projects supporting vulnerable populations, and extended eligibility for undergraduate students. Additionally, hospitals and municipalities may now act as partners. See links below for related success stories and news items.

Quotes:

The Honourable François‑Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Students drive creative solutions for the workforce and, in times like these, we need to ensure that they can continue to build job-ready skills and contribute in meaningful ways to meet pressing health, economic, environmental and social challenges. This investment in Mitacs has quickly generated more opportunities for students and businesses to help during the pandemic and will continue to do so as we work to build a healthy, more resilient, and more prosperous country for everyone.”

Dr. John Hepburn, Mitacs CEO & Scientific Director

“I am delighted to report that Mitacs has generated 5,000 new internships that support students with vital opportunities and businesses with essential talent to help pivot. Our efforts will mitigate the impact of the pandemic on this generation of students that would otherwise have missed important career development opportunities. I’m especially proud of our Mitacs people who have been able to accomplish this feat in the course of just over six months, during a pandemic when businesses are facing severe economic challenges.”

Related links:

Success stories from Mitacs-supported projects related to COVID-19:

• Unique training program bolsters Canada’s capacity to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, as well as viral immunotherapies for cancer
• Montréal-based small business launches smartwatch that enables early detection of COVID-19 and support for seniors in residences
• Mitacs interns from five universities help to implement solutions to deal with the emerging second wave of COVID-19
• Mitacs interns working at iMD Research create a Bluetooth contact-tracing bracelet to predict the likelihood that COVID-19 patients will need to be hospitalized
• Mitacs, USask and U of R to support Indigenous and northern communities with new digital technologies in fight against COVID-19
• Innovative Virtual Medical Assistant Uses AI to Direct Canadians on all Things Pandemic-Related
• Mitacs research fellow helps pivot decontamination from fruit to N95 masks
• Research intern key to company’s COVID-19 pivot

Special Mitacs funding initiatives launched during COVID-19 include:

• Scotiabank and Mitacs launch the Scotiabank Economic Resilience Research Fund
• Mitacs launches new innovation opportunity for Indigenous students and businesses
• New Brunswick businesses and post-secondary institutions to benefit from collaboration between Mitacs and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• New partnership engages Vancouver Island students and employers
• Nova Scotia investing $1 million in Mitacs for economic growth and innovation
• Innovation PEI invests in future by renewing — and reinforcing — partnership with Mitacs
• Canadian municipalities gain access to Mitacs funding, talent, and solutions
• Ontario funding for Mitacs leads to skills investment in fight against COVID-19
• October is Small Business Month: Mitacs helps kick-start economy by investing more than $20M to support Canadian innovation
• Innovate BC-Mitacs partnership drives business solutions for COVID-19
• Business Strategy Internships
• Mitacs and Kids Brain Health Network partner to support children with disabilities during COVID-19
• Mitacs partners with Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to support students and businesses in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador
• NSBI-Mitacs partnership drives COVID-19 economic recovery solutions
• Seniors and caregivers to benefit from Mitacs and AGE-WELL funding for new technology during COVID-19
• Yukon offers Mitacs internships to study impact of COVID-19

About Mitacs:

• Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
• Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada along with 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.

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