Connecting Industry with University Expertise Christopher Bowman, Ph. D. Director, Business Development Prairies

Who is Mitacs? A private, not-for-profit organization Financed by the federal and provincial governments, as well as Canadian universities and private enterprise Support research and development in all academic disciplines across the country

To encourage and support research collaborations between industrial and academic partners – Connect industry with top university researchers to advance: Industry innovation Research excellence Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) training and recruitment Mitacs Mandate

Each program tackles a specific requirement in the Canadian research talent supply chain. The Mitacs approach… AttractTrainRetainDeploy

Mitacs Programs Globalink – International undergraduate student research projects at Canadian universities Accelerate – Grad student and post-doc internships to support research and development projects STEP – Business and professional skills training for grad students and post-docs Conference Services AttractTrainRetainDeploy

Goal: Attract top international students to Canadian universities – Globalink 1: Recruit international undergraduate students for summer internships; – Globalink 2: Retain these candidates through fellowships at their Canadian host University 2013 : recruitment from India, China, Brazil and Mexico. – Call for summer 2013 students: July Globalink:

Professor submits project – Forms on website ( – Deadline for summer 2013 is July 31, 2012 – Can submit up to four projects – We support projects in all disciplines Projects are reviewed for scientific merit Students apply to program – Best students from best institutes selected – Students matched to projects – Announcement of matches in January, 2013 Globalink Process

Mitacs-Accelerate Canada’s premier research internship programme. Objective: To initiate and support collaborations between university researchers and external partners Adopted model: Collaborative research projects are built from (multiple) graduate student internships.

Accelerate: Advantages Applications are short Full support of the Mitacs BD Team No application deadlines Peer-reviewed Fast review For-profit and not-for profit partners International students welcome

Open to graduate students and post-doc fellows – All academic disciplines are supported – Undergraduate students can be included Internship is based on a research project of industrial interest Accelerate: Eligibility & Timeline

Student spends approx. half time at company, half time at university Travel subsidies available Accelerate: Funding – Research Project, One Block $7,500 Industry Partner $7,500 Mitacs $15,000 research grant $10,000 minimum student stipend $5,000 other project-related expenses $5,000 other project-related expenses

Accelerate: Funding – CLUSTERS Extra leverage for medium to large projects Minimum: 3 students (scalable) Minimum total funding: $80K (6 blocks + $20K flexible) Scalable: each additional $18K from industry generates $22K from Mitacs $36,000 Industry Partner $44,000 Mitacs $80,000 research grant $20,000 other project-related expenses $10,000 internships $10,000

Accelerate: Project Scope Some past project submissions: – Implications of a whole genome scan in beef cattle – Exploiting effects of selenium on cell survival and immunity to improve lactation of dairy cows and functionality of their milk – The role of essential amino acids in milk protein production in lactating dairy cows

Accelerate: Process A researcher begins (or continues) a collaboration with an external partner – Not-for-profits, provincial entities are acceptable partners in Saskatchewan. An intern (or interns) are identified – Projects can be approved provisionally pending the location of interns The intern prepares a proposal, with assistance from company, professor, and the Mitacs BD

Accelerate Successes Since 2003, 3,500 internships nation-wide In 2010/2011: – Canada-wide: 1358 internships totaling $19.4M – In 2011/2012, 27 internships were supported in Saskatchewan – We have funds to grow significantly, to internships in SK

Mitacs Accelerate InDev Pilot program Projects of a developmental nature (non-research) Eg. Prototyping, software development, business, marketing, etc. Intern spends ~ 50% time at company Additional travel & accommodation support available 2 week review turnaround $11,000 Research grant ($7,500 industry partner $3,500 Mitacs) $10,000 Minimum intern stipend $1,000 Other project expenses

We can help support your research and students We offer: – Financial support for research – A jump-start to HQP training – Freedom from NSERC subject restrictions The match: – Very difficult to “find a company to support my work in…” – We CAN help with: The reverse match Advice and assistance to ‘make a pitch’. Accelerate and WCVM

Acquiring important interpersonal skills for the industrial environment Open to other graduate students/post-docs STEP: Workshops in: Management of scientific projects Communications, networking and establishing partnerships Business etiquette Presentation skills

Mitacs can take on the task of organizing conferences and meetings for applicants. See Mitacs website ( for detailswww.mitacs.ca Conference Services and Networking Events

For More Information Christopher Bowman Director, Business Development, Prairies Thorvaldson 226.7, University of Saskatchewan

Special Thanks to Our Funding Partners Through the Industrial R&D Internship Program

Industry Partners