Mitacs launches new innovation opportunity for Indigenous students and businesses

Learn more at December 17 webinar: Indigenous Perspectives on Innovation

Vancouver, BC — Indigenous post-secondary students and businesses in Canada can now gain greater access to Mitacs’s programs thanks to a new funding opportunity that reduces the cost of participation.

Because Mitacs is committed to providing equitable access to its programs and financial barriers have been identified as a limiting factor of participation, the not-for-profit organization is currently offering a discount to fund innovation projects that include Indigenous post-secondary students and/or Indigenous businesses or not-for profit organizations that support Indigenous priorities in Canada. The reduced cost also applies to organizations with a mandate to work with Indigenous peoples or if their board comprises more than 50 per cent Indigenous people.

From now until January 29, 2021, Indigenous partner organizations or projects that include an Indigenous intern are eligible for a reduced fee for a four-to-six-month internship. A business investment of $2,500 can fund an undergraduate business student that receives a $10,000 internship award, and an investment of $3,750 can fund a graduate-student researcher that receives a $15,000 internship award.

Indigenous businesses and those hiring Indigenous student interns gain the opportunity to advance their research and development (R&D) by pairing with precisely the right researcher to fill their innovation needs. Mitacs interns accelerate their careers while applying innovative solutions to real-world business challenges. The funding will be distributed through the Mitacs research internship programs.

The goal of this new opportunity is to continue to drive research and innovation by reducing the cost of collaborations between Indigenous partners and academia during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Mitacs is fully committed to working with Indigenous peoples and creating equitable access to its programs within a partnership framework.

To learn more about the opportunity, you are invited to attend a special webinar:

Indigenous Perspectives on Innovation

December 17, 2020, 10 a.m. PT

Panelists include:

• Kelly Lendsay, President and CEO, Indigenous Works, moderator
• Andrea Reid, Indigenous fisheries scientist and conservation biologist, UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
• Chris Googoo, President, Ulnooweg
• Candice Loring, Business Development Director, Mitacs

Click here to register for the webinar.

To learn more about Mitacs opportunities, please connect with Candice Loring, Chris McLeod or your local Mitacs Business Development representative.

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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