Mitacs Accelerate

• Partner contribution starts at $7,500 per internship unit (4–6 months), resulting in a $15,000 research award per unit, of which the intern receives a minimum stipend/salary of $10,000.
• For projects with 6 or more internship units and at least 3 interns, the partner contribution per unit can be reduced to $6,000, awarding $13,333 per unit with a minimum intern stipend of $10,000.
• Partner organizations may contribute additional funds above the minimum contribution; these will be added to the award but will not increase Mitacs' contribution.
• The partner's financial contribution is subject to applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST), Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), or Quebec Sales Tax (QST).
• Funds are released to the academic institution only after the partner's contribution is received and the proposal is approved.

• The applicant must be a for-profit corporation, a not-for-profit corporation, a municipality, or a hospital operating in Canada.
• Organizations operating outside Canada are eligible only as additional partners on projects with a Canadian partner organization.
• The project must involve collaboration with an eligible Canadian academic institution and support research and development objectives.
• For projects with not-for-profit, municipal, or hospital partners, the project must demonstrate economic or productivity orientation, as described and assessed in the application.

Who is eligible?

• For-profit corporations in Canada
• Not-for-profit corporations in Canada
• Municipalities in Canada
• Hospitals in Canada
• For-profit and not-for-profit organizations operating outside Canada (as additional partners with a Canadian partner organization)

Eligible expenses

• Intern stipend or salary (minimum of $10,000 per four- to six-month internship unit).
• Research costs directly related to the project (up to $5,000 per internship unit).
• Top-up of intern stipend/salary using additional partner contributions if provided.
• Specialized equipment or materials required for research, only if additional partner funding is included in the budget.

Eligible geographic areas

• British Columbia
• Yukon
• Québec
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Prince Edward Island
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Alberta (Note: Limited funding for 2024-2025)
• Saskatchewan (Note: Limited funding for 2024-2025)
• Manitoba (Note: Limited funding for 2024-2025)
• Ontario (Note: Limited funding for 2024-2025)

• The project must qualify as research within its discipline.
• The proposed project must be appropriate for the academic degree level of the intern(s).
• Objectives of the project must be clearly defined.
• The methodology must be suitable for achieving the stated objectives.
• The project timeline should be realistic and achievable.

• Peer review of proposals generally takes six to eight weeks, with possible extensions for complex or multi-internship projects.
• Intellectual property resulting from the project remains with the academic institution and partner organization as per the academic institution’s IP policy.
• Interns, professors, and partner organizations all have defined responsibilities before, during, and after the internship, including mandatory exit surveys.
• The new digital application portal is available, and eligibility for this platform depends on the award structure and absence of joint funding or known conflicts of interest at application.