2026 Mitacs Accelerate (Rolling Deadline)

Eligibility

Academic supervisors

• Academic supervisors are eligible if they are faculty at a Canadian academic institution who are eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds.

Partner organizations

• Partner organizations can be for-profit corporations (must receive more than 50% of their funds from non-government sources), eligible not-for-profit corporations, municipalities, or hospitals in Canada.
• For-profit businesses and not-for-profit corporations operating outside of Canada are eligible as additional partners on projects with a Canadian partner organization.
• Eligibility can be confirmed with a Mitacs Advisor.

Intern

An intern can be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, international student with a student visa, or international postdoctoral fellow with a valid work permit. Interns must be 18 years old or over, and fall into one of the following categories:

• Registered students and postdoctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible if the date of graduation from a PhD program is less than five years to the start date of the project. Exceptions are available for extenuating circumstances such as parental leave or military service. Fellows must not have been employed full-time at the partner organization prior to applying.
• Recent graduates (must be within two years of graduation at the start of their project), and non-degree students (diploma, certificate, etc) are eligible at the academic institution’s discretion. (Any interested applicants should check with their institution to first determine whether they are able to support other types of university interns before drafting an application.)
• Visiting students and researchers at Canadian academic institutions who are completing a degree at a university abroad may also be eligible at the discretion of the Canadian institution.
• How many internships can one intern do?
  • Post-secondary students are eligible for any number of internships at the discretion of their institution. Interns must be enrolled as a student at an eligible institution throughout the course of the internship and have time in their schedule to commit to the project.
  • Postdoctoral fellows can do up to nine (9) four-month internships (up to three (3) years)
  • Recent graduates can complete up to three (3) four-month internships within two years of their graduation date
  • Interns may not participate in more than one internship at the same time.

Further, all parties must declare any potential conflicts of interest upon application submission, including:

• An academic supervisor in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
• An intern is in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
• Programs participants with a close family relationship with each other, or with someone in a position of ownership employment or influence at the partner organization.

Interns may interact remotely with an international partner organization and/or travel to interact in person. Any travel must be in accordance with their Canadian academic institution’s policies.

Summary

Mitacs Accelerate creates dynamic collaborations that partner for-profit and not-for-profit organizations with Canada’s brightest academic minds. This research award provides leveraged funding of $15,000 CAD per four- or six-month internship, where interns will work collaboratively with their academic supervisor and partner organization on a research project.

The Accelerate program aims to:

• Help businesses optimize their budgets, grow their R&D and tap into the expertise of highly skilled students, graduate students, recent grads and post-docs to solve your research challenges.
• Help students broaden their professional networks, tap into funding opportunities, and gain invaluable hands-on experience at for-profit and not-for-profit partner organizations seeking skilled research talent.
• Help professors build game-changing research partnerships with industry leaders, tap into flexible funding, and help drive the innovation of tomorrow.

Funding

Standard funding model requires a partner contribution starting at $7,500 CAD per internship (4 or 6 months) which results in a $15,000 CAD research award. Of this award, the intern must receive a minimum $10,000 CAD stipend or salary.

Postdoctoral researcher funding model requires a contribution of $10,000 CAD per internship (4 or 6 months) which results in a $20,000 CAD research award. This funding model is only available to postdoctoral interns.

How to apply

1. Review the following information when you begin writing your proposal:

• Mitacs Responsible Conduct of Research Policy ( found on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”, including information on eligible research)
• Adjudication criteria (see at the bottom of this page under “Program Administration”)
• Writing Your Proposal guide (under “Application”)
• Mitacs’s other relevant policies (including Mitacs Indigenous Research Policy, Research Security Plan, etc), all findable on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”.

2. Reach out to one of our UCalgary Mitacs Advisors:

a. Angelo Nwigwe, MBT Director, Business Development – Calgary/Lethbridge M: 403.836.6708, anwigwe@mitacs.ca

b. Annie Hoang, MSc, Business Development Specialist, Calgary, Ph: 403-462-7550 ahoang@mitacs.ca

3. Determine the right application process for your project (information below)

Option 1: Our Digital Application Process:

In 2024, Mitacs launched a new digital application portal as a first step towards digitizing our entire application process, leveraging digital tools to further enhance your application experience.

To be eligible for the new digital process, your project must:

• Use one, or a combination of the following Award values:
  • $10,000 Standard Award (1:1)
  • $15,000 Standard Award (1:1)
  • $13,333 Cluster Funding (1:1.2) – Requires 3+ unique interns, 6+ internship units
• Not jointly funded with another funder such as NSERC, SSHRC, Genome Canada, etc.
• No known COIs at the point of application
• Please note our digital platform cannot currently accommodate applications to our Indigenous Pathways program or post-doctoral fellowship funding models. We are striving to enable these as soon as possible.

We are striving to enable the above exclusions in our digital application as soon as possible.

Steps to apply using our digital process (RAP):

1. Click here to download the Accelerate application for the digital process.
2. Apply on the Accelerate Registration and Application Portal (RAP).

Option 2: Our Non-Digital Process

Mitacs Accelerate is incrementally transitioning to a digital application process.

To see if your project is a good fit for the digital process, please review the Accelerate Digital Application Process option.

All applications eligible to be submitted via our digital process will be asked to do so. For applications that cannot yet be accommodated in our online portal, the below non-digital option remains open.

Steps to Apply:

1. Download the Accelerate application for the non-digital process. These can be downloaded in the “Application” section below.
2. Collect all required signatures: intern(s), professor(s), partner contact, and university Office of Research Services or equivalent.
3. Email your proposal package to your Mitacs Advisor for submission.

Proposal Package Requirements:

• Accelerate proposal (under Applications). Please note that only the latest version of the Mitacs Accelerate template proposal will be accepted.
• Intern CV located under Applications (interns may use Mitacs’s optional template).

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.

For further details and before initiating an Accelerate application in the respective provinces, please contact your Mitacs Advisor

How to Apply

1. Review the following information when you begin writing your proposal:

• Mitacs Responsible Conduct of Research Policy ( found on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”, including information on eligible research)
• Adjudication criteria (see at the bottom of this page under “Program Administration”)
• Writing Your Proposal guide (under “Application”)
• Mitacs’s other relevant policies (including Mitacs Indigenous Research Policy, Research Security Plan, etc), all findable on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”.

2. Reach out to one of our Business Development team members to be paired with a Mitacs Advisor.

3. Determine the right application process for your project:

• Option 1: Digital Application Process
• Option 2: Non-Digital Process

Visit: https://www.mitacs.ca/our-programs/accelerate/ for details. 

Please note: Applications may be subject to review by Research Security. If you have any questions please contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.