Mitacs Accelerate Increases Research Funding for SMEs

Mitacs is expanding their support for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through their Mitacs Accelerate program for a limited time. The Accelerate program has already tracked early success in autonomous driving and environmental sustainability projects. Therefore, Mitacs has decided to increase their funding coverage towards collaborative research projects between businesses and post-secondary institutions.

“Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for 20 years. Working with 70 universities, 6,000 companies, and both federal and provincial governments, we build partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.”

-Mitacs

As a not-for-profit organization, Mitacs has facilitated over 14,000 research projects in a wide variety of fields through these unique hybrid internships. By allotting funding towards research initiatives, many industries and businesses have become global leaders, placing Canada on the map for innovation world-wide.

What Is the Mitacs Accelerate Program?

The Mitacs Accelerate program connects post-secondary institutions and students from multi-disciplinary backgrounds with businesses looking to pivot their research and development practices. Moreover, these partnerships seek to develop new technologies, systems, and products. Mitacs is increasing their funding contributions for a limited timeto reflect the following conditions:

Amount of Funding:

• Applicants may now receive up to 75% of funding, up from the traditional 50% coverage, to a maximum of $15,000 per intern.
• Program can be used towards multiple internships for maximum funding amount of $15,000 for the first four months of each of their collaborative initiatives with a post-secondary internship and up to multi-million dollars in funding depending on the number of internships and partners associated with a project.

Eligible Applicants:

• Incorporated, for-profit businesses and select non-profits within Canada are eligible, as well as some for-profit businesses operating outside of Canada. All industries and sectors are supported; preference is given to innovative research and development projects.

Eligible Activities:

• Internship costs for research and developing tools, models, technology, or solutions to support the host business’ challenges.
• Projects can last between four months and two years (Masters students) or up to three years for PhDs and Post Doctoral Fellows.
• Companies retain the same grad student for the project’s duration.
• It is expected that the student spends a balanced 50% of their time with the institution and 50% of their time with the partner organization and submits a final report which summarizes their experience and trial results.

Program Deadline:

• The standard Mitacs Accelerate program accepts a continuous intake of applications, while this increased wave of funding is available until all funding has been committed or February 2022 for SMEs and NFPs.

What Does the Mitacs Organization Do?

Mitacs has stimulated research and development for over 20 years and the Mitacs Accelerate program is what has driven success in many of their facilitated initiatives. BetterLife’s TD-0148A project, a mental disorder treatment research initiative is a prime example of the benefits being generated through the help of Mitacs Accelerate.

“We are delighted to have Mitacs’ support to examine BetterLife’s TD-0148A in our established animal depression models. The high rate of resistance to SSRI and other first-line treatments for major depressive disorder indicates an urgent unmet need for alternative anti-depressant treatments.”

-Dr. Argel Aguilar-Valles, Professor in the Neuroscience department at Carleton University

Mitacs’ goal is to stimulate more collaborative solutions to challenges by fostering research and development on the national stage. Since innovation is a large source of inspiration for the Mitacs Accelerate program, they have placed a primary focus on helping undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students find real-world placements.

Furthermore, Mitacs also offers another program called Mitacs Elevate, which provides support to industry/academic partnerships to solve critical industry issues through innovative means.

Want to Learn More About Government Funding?

If your organization is looking to participate in research and development projects, government funding programs such as Mitacs Accelerate may be right for you.

Please consider government funding as a vehicle to get there and reach out to a Mentor Works representative today. For more information on current funding programs, visit the government funding directory for Agribusiness.