About the program
The Mitacs Accelerate program matches an industry or not-for-profit partner’s contribution to the cost of a collaborative internship project. Students and/or PDFs can receive up to $15,000 in funding.
For example, one internship unit* can see that $7,500 in funding from the project partner (subject to applicable tax) matched with $7,500 from Mitacs per each 4-6 month period of work completed.
The Mitacs participant completes half of their internship on-site with the industry partner and the other half at the university under Faculty supervision. The Mitacs participant is responsible for completing a report about the project that is reviewed by their faculty supervisor and presented to the industry partner.
This is a great opportunity for students and PDFs to gain relevant hands-on industry skills in a non-academic environment while also building their own professional network.
*It's possible to have multiple internship units per project.
Our process for administering Mitacs Accelerate funding
The Office of Commercialization and Indusrty Engagement (OCIE) works with Mitacs to connect industry and/or not-for-profit organizations with talented students and post-doctoral fellows through the Accelerate program.
Together, they work on collaborative projects that can vary in length from four months to multiple years.
Timeline to completion
2-4 months (variable if Mitacs participant needs to be identified)
Parties involved
OCIE manager, Mitacs participant and faculty supervisor, industry representative, and Mitacs representative for Dalhousie
*The Mitacs agreement is part of the application process and is a non-negotiable standard form agreement to ensure transparency among all parties.
Eligibility
Full-time undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows in any academic discipline offered at Dalhousie University. Students and post-doctoral fellows can be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or international students.
Companies eligible for this program must be incorporated as for-profit and can be located in Canada or in any of our partner countries.
Eligible not-for-profit organizations must either have their headquarters in Canada or have a Canadian branch if their headquarters are located internationally.
Intellectual Property (IP) considerations
Companies and not-for-profit organizations
Do you have an interest in owning/protecting the intellectual property (IP) created during the Mitacs projects?
If yes, it’s important to note the IP provisions within Dalhousie’s standard research agreement for Mitacs projects listed above. Though slight adjustments can be made, deviation from the standard agreement is not encouraged due to time and resource constraints of the Mitacs planning process.
If you’re planning a Mitacs project at/with Dalhousie, you may want to explore some of these key considerations at the beginning of your planning process.
Students and post-docs
Do you intend to publish or use the IP you develop during your Mitacs project for other purposes (i.e. to fulfill the requirements of your thesis or to launch a startup)?
It’s important to consider that the company/not-for-profit you’re working with may have a vested interest in the IP generated during the Mitacs project.
Keeping this in mind, you’ll want to consider how you’d like to use the results of your work and manage conversations around IP with the company accordingly. If you haven’t considered how you’ll use your work in the future, it’s beneficial to discuss this with your academic supervisor. They may want to ensure that the results of the Mitacs project are able to be published and/or used for future research purposes.
Academic supervisors
Do you plan on contributing your IP to the Mitacs project?
If yes, it’s important for you to be aware that Dalhousie’s standard Mitacs research agreement does not cover the IP of Faculty members. This doesn’t prevent you from contributing your background IP if you’re not concerned with maintaining ownership over it.