2024 Mitacs Accelerate Rolling Deadline

Eligibility

Who is eligible? 

• Students – from college students to undergrads and graduate students – and post-doctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada 

  • Postdoctoral fellows at all eligible Canadian universities. PhDs must have been granted no more than 5 years prior to the project’s start date, with exceptions available for extenuating circumstances such as parental leave or military service.  

• Faculty at all Canadian universities who are eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds, and faculty or designated staff at Canadian colleges 

  • Professors who want to send interns to Canada must be located in a Mitacs partner country (see  Accelerate International for details) 

• Recent graduates from a Canadian college or university, within two years of graduation (see the Accelerate FAQ page for more information about eligibility for recent grads)  

• Full-time graduate students and Postdoctoral fellows in select Mitacs partner countries (visit the Accelerate International tab for more details) 

• Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international students over the age of 18 

• All academic disciplines 

• For-profit corporations and eligible not-for-profit corporations, municipalities, and hospitals in Canada 

• Under the Accelerate Entrepreneur initiative, eligible intern-owned start-ups at approved incubators. Contact accelerate@mitacs.ca to confirm your start-up’s eligibility. 

• For-profit businesses operating outside of Canada 

Summary

Accelerate is the flagship program of Mitacs, and is open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from all disciplines. Accelerate interns will have the opportunity to collaborate with industry on research-focused projects. (Student entrepreneurs should contact Mitacs about a special opportunity to apply for funding for their own startups under this program.) Projects can range from four months up to 5 years in length, with funding starting at $10,000.  Applications are accepted throughout the year on a non-competitive basis. 

Submission Process 

Please visit https://www.mitacs.ca/our-programs/accelerate-core-students-postdocs/ for further details. 

Before You Apply 

1. Connect with a Mitacs Business Development representative in your region to start your application 
2. Check the eligibility of the student or postdoctoral fellow, academic supervisor, and partner organization 
   • 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. If applicable, send Conflict of interest (COI) and not-for-profit (NFP) organization eligibility check to a Mitacs Business Development representative in your region  
4. If you have a potential conflict of interest (COI):  
   • If you are uncertain if you have COI, please consult the Mitacs Conflict of Interest Policy or connect with a Mitacs Business Development representative in your region to discuss 
   • Students and postdoctoral fellow COI: Submit completed Mitacs Intern Eligibility and Conflict of Interest Declaration Form (doc) to your Mitacs Business Development representative for review 
   • Academic supervisor COI: Bring this to your academic institution's attention and include in your final application the information below (you may use your academic institution’s form or Mitac’s Academic Institution Acknowledgement template) (doc):  
     • 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
     • If your academic institution’s mitigation measures include the appointment of an independent administer, please complete the Independent Administrator Profile form (doc).  

How to apply 

1. Review the following information when you begin writing your proposal: 
   • Eligible research and adjudication criteria 
   • Writing Your Proposal guide 
   • Policies 
2. Get feedback on the proposal from all participants and your Mitacs Business Development representative 
3. Collect all required signatures: intern(s), professor(s), partner contact, and university Office of Research Services or equivalent 
4. Email your proposal package to your Mitacs Business Development representative 

Note: Interns travelling internationally (whether to or from Canada) for an Accelerate project must visit our Accelerate International page for additional instructions and requirements. 

Application deadlines

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.

Timelines 

• Apply anytime 
• Six- to eight-week peer review 
• College students can do three four-month internships, master’s students can do up to four four-month internships and PhD students can do up to eight 
• The  Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship  supports longer-term projects for graduate students 
• Internships start at four months 
• Postdocs can get up to three years of funding 
• Projects start at four months 

Expectations 

• Spend approximately 50% of the internship with the academic institution and 50% with the partner organization 
• Submit a final report and exit survey summarizing project results and experiences 
• Follow the Accelerate Code of Conduct 

Benefits 

• Apply your skills in a non-academic environment 
• Broaden your professional network 
• Get a stipend/salary starting at $10,000 per four-month period 
• Build out your CV with peer-reviewed research 
• Build flexible research partnerships 
• Fund students and postdocs 
• Get better matching for your partner: projects with three or more interns and six or more internships get increased matching funds