Mitacs

Mitacs is a nonprofit national research organization that, in partnerships with Canadian academia, private industry and government, operates research and training programs in fields related to industrial and social innovation.

History
Mitacs was founded by Canadian mathematicians in 1999. The organization, whose name originally stood for "Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems", worked in the field of mathematical sciences and associated disciplines but has since expanded. In 2004, the Mitacs Accelerate program was launched and has since supported over 10,000 internships nationally.

Programs
As of late 2020, Mitacs operates six main programs:

Accelerate
The organization's flagship program has supported over 10,000 research internships for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows since 2004 and has since replaced the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships Program.

Elevate
The two-year program has the objective of providing postdoctoral fellows with professional and leadership development training with a partner organization.

Globalink
The international program supports two-way research collaboration between Canada and research partners abroad. In 2016, the Globalink Research Internship program welcomed 565 students across Canada.

Canadian Science Policy Fellowship
The program matches PhD-level researchers to government agencies to influence evidence-based policy-making.

Entrepreneur International
The program offers travel grants to Canadian start-ups housed in university-linked incubators. The grant enables start-ups to connect with international incubators.

Business Strategy Internship
The program provides funding to students who develop innovative projects designed to help Canadian businesses.

Awards
Mitacs presents annual awards in seven categories:
 * Alejandro Adem Legacy Award for Outstanding Innovation — Indigenous
 * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — International
 * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Master's
 * Award for Outstanding Innovation — PhD
 * Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Postdoctoral
 * Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership — Professor
 * Mitacs & NRC–IRAP Award for Commercialization

Funding
Mitacs is jointly funded by the federal and provincial Canadian governments, academic partners and research partners. Between 2006 and 2015, the organization received $128 million in investments from the federal government. In 2015, the federal government pledged $56.4 million over four years (starting in 2016) to Mitacs in support of graduate-level research and development internships.