Mitacs Elevate

Eligibility

Postdoctoral fellow eligibility: 

• They are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or international applicants
• They are based at an academic institution (including colleges or polytechnics) located in Canada for the duration of the fellowship
• Their date of graduation from a PhD program is less than five years to proposed start date of the Elevate project, unless:
  • Fellows who have had a break in their career due to military service, illness, or family leave may be considered exceptions and must be approved in advance of application
  • If this situation applies to you or you have any questions, please contact Mitacs at elevate(at)mitacs.ca
• ​They have fulfilled all PhD degree requirements (e.g., successful defence, final deposit, and sign-off of the dissertation), meet the postdoctoral fellow eligibility criteria at their home academic institution, hold a postdoctoral fellow status for the entire duration of their Mitacs Elevate fellowship
• They can commit to the two-year Mitacs Elevate fellowship, including the exclusive professional development curriculum. Replacement or substitute fellows are not allowed
• Fellows who have held a Mitacs Accelerate award as a Master's or PhD student are eligible as long as they have not completed more than one year (three internship units equivalent) of Mitacs Accelerate at postdoctoral level. This must be completed before the start of the Mitacs Elevate fellowship
• Fellows cannot apply to multiple Mitacs programs for the same period of time.

Fellows are ineligible if they have: 

• Been employed for more than six months in an R&D position outside the academic institution after receipt of their doctoral degree
• Received an offer of employment from the proposed partner organization except an offer of this fellowship or short-term employment of up to six months while awaiting a decision on the Mitacs Elevate fellowship
• Completed more than one year (three internship units equivalent) of Mitacs Accelerate at the postdoctoral level before the start of the Elevate fellowship; and
• Previously held a Mitacs Elevate award. Fellows who have completed Mitacs Elevate are also ineligible for Mitacs Accelerate
• If the application is not recommended for an award, fellows may not be eligible to apply again if they have accumulated more than six months of industrial or partner organization work. It is recommended that fellows accept a temporary contract only if necessary and that the period is kept as short as possible. 

Summary

Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with an exclusive professional development curriculum component. Fellows address complex challenges through:

• A two-year research project with a partner organization in need of high-level expertise
• A professional development curriculum that prepares Elevate fellows for success as leaders in research and industry

Fellows progress through the program in a cohort, giving them cross-disciplinary networking and peer-learning opportunities they might not have otherwise in their careers.

Over the two-year fellowship, fellows divide their time between their partner organization's project and academic institution-based research with their academic supervisor.

The Elevate Fall 2022 call will offer 2 award options: Standard ($60k) and Thematic ($80k).

Standard

1. The award is valued at $60,000 per year with a minimum stipend of $55,000 

• Partner organization contributes $30,000 per year 
• The Indigenous Pathways offering will remain available. Indigenous Pathways supports Indigenous partner organizations and interns. Partners contribute only 25% of the cost of the project  

2. An exclusive professional development curriculum

3. Proposal assistance, including application feedback, from Mitacs representatives   

4. Certificate of completion after receipt of their exit survey and final report submission 

Thematic

1. The award is valued at $80,000 per year with a minimum stipend of $70,000 for projects addressing at least one of the following key priority sectors: agriculture and food, artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, clean technology, entertainment and media, quantum science, or social innovation 

• Partner organization contributes $40,000 per year 
•  The Indigenous Pathways offering will remain available. Indigenous Pathways supports Indigenous partner organizations and interns. Partners contribute only 25% of the cost of the project 

2. An exclusive professional development curriculum

3. Proposal assistance, including application feedback, from Mitacs representatives   

4. Certificate of completion after receipt of their exit survey and final report submission

Submission Process

How to apply
 

1. Connect with a Mitacs Business Development representative

a. Get your Elevate application started here
b. Click here for guidelines on how to write your proposal. IMPORTANT: When filling in the proposal, please make sure to follow the format provided. Changing or modifying the format provided may result in your application becoming ineligible.

2. Upload the following documents to your Elevate application: 

a. For postdoctoral fellow, please upload the following to your profile:

• Postdoctoral fellow’s CV
• One (1) recommendation letter* from a former supervisor or person familiar with the fellow’s research expertise 
• Any supplementary documents as applicable 

b. For academic supervisor, please upload the following to your profile:

• Proposed academic supervisor’s CV 
• One (1) recommendation letter* from the proposed academic supervisor 
• Any supplementary documents as applicable 

c. For partner organization, please upload the following to your profile:

• One (1) recommendation letter* from an eligible partner organization including financial contribution in dollar amount 
• Any supplementary documents as applicable

*All recommendation letters must include letterhead and signature. Please refer here for guidelines.

3. Submit your Elevate application by February 8, 2023, at 5 p.m. PT.

a. IMPORTANT: Please connect with your academic institution or Mitacs Business Development representative to confirm internal academic institution deadlines that may impact your submission timeline.

After you apply

1. You will receive an email confirmation that your application has been received.

2. The result announcement for the Elevate standard and thematic call is expected in June 2023.

   For more information on the adjudication process, click here.

3. If accepted, the project can only start after research approval of the proposal AND the receipt of the partner organization funds at Mitacs as per Mitacs Policy.

4. The last day to start the project is on September 6, 2023.

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Before you apply

1. Check the dates and deadline:

January 11, 2023
5 p.m. PT

If applicable, send Conflict of interest (COI) and not-for-profit (NFP) organization eligibility check to a Mitacs Business Development Representative in your region.

February 8, 2023
5 p.m. PT

Final applications are due.

IMPORTANT: Please verify with your academic institution or business development representative for internal institutional deadlines. 

June 2023

Result announcement for the Elevate Standard and thematic call is expected in June 2023.

All submitted projects can only start after research approval of the proposal AND the receipt of the partner organization funds at Mitacs as per Mitacs Policy.  

September 6, 2023

 Last date to start the Mitacs Elevate project

2. Check the eligibility of the postdoctoral fellow, academic supervisor and partner organization 

a. If you are collaborating with a not-for-profit, hospital, or municipality, you must seek partner and project eligibility approval before proceeding by connecting with a Mitacs Business Development Representative in your region 

3. Check if your academic institution requires co-funding.

4. If you have a potential conflict of interest (COI):

a. If you are uncertain whether you have a COI, please consult the Mitacs Conflict of Interest Policy or contact elevate(a)mitacs.ca
b. Postdoctoral fellow COI: Submit the completed Intern eligibility and COI Declaration to your Mitacs Business Development representative in accordance with the deadlines listed above
c. Academic supervisor COI: Bring your COI to your academic institution's attention and include in your final application the documents below: 

• Details on academic supervisor’s involvement with non-academic partner organization
• Evidence that the academic supervisor’s academic institution is aware of the conflict
• A description of the academic institution's mitigation measures