Graduate Student Educational Projects at UBC

Funded through The Mitacs Accelerate Program

Administered by Mitacs.

Program Overview

Mitacs-Accelerate connects graduate students and postdoctoral fellows under the supervision of a faculty member, with a BC company. The graduate or postdoc intern applies their specialized expertise to business research challenges, transferring skills from theory to real-world application. Companies have the opportunity to access high-quality research expertise and connect with potential future employees and collaborators.

Through Mitacs-Accelerate, the intern undertakes research onsite with the partner company, applying cutting-edge tools, techniques or methodologies to research issues and problems arising within the organization. This on-site research is expected to account for approximately 50% of the intern's time during the period of the internship. The intern will then spend the remaining time at his/her home university with their supervising professor, evaluating the best techniques or methodologies to be applied to the identified research issue.

Internships are available to all faculties, schools and departments at BC universities. Internship applications are accepted at any time and internship start dates are at the discretion of the intern, company and supervising professor.

Mitacs-Accelerate receives funding from the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation of the Government of British Columbia, the Networks of Centres of Excellence’s Industrial R&D Internship Program and Western Economic Diversification.

To learn more about Mitacs-Accelerate, visit www.mitacs.ca/accelerate.

Specifics

• Each 4-month internship project receives $15,000 in direct funding, with the partner organization and Mitacs each providing $7,500
• Longer projects are possible as multiples of 4-month internships on a case-by-case basis where there is a strong justification to do so
• Larger and longer projects are also possible. Please see the “Clusters” section below
• These funds are limited to supporting the direct costs of research as directed by NSERC.  A detailed description of eligible expenses is available at the following link: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/FinancialAdminGuide-GuideAdminFinancier/FundsUse-UtilisationSubventions_eng.asp
• The $15,000 will be provided to the intern’s academic supervisor as a research grant
• It is required that the intern receive a stipend of a minimum of $10,000 of the total grant per 4-month internship
• Any funds over and above the intern stipend will be used to support research related to the internship
• If the partner funds received towards the internship are being matched by a federal source (e.g. NSERC CRD grant), please inform program administrators in the proposal to ensure that the same industrial contribution is not matched by two federal sources of funds. Please note Mitacs Accelerate cannot match funds received from granting agencies like NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC or funds received from Universities. For any questions, please contact us.
• The intern must be a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow enrolled at a Canadian university
  • Eligible PDF’s must (1) have completed all requirements of his/her first doctoral degree no more than three years before the application submission date; and (2) be officially accepted for post-doctoral studies at a Canadian university.  Some exceptions are possible.  Please speak to the business development representative in your area.
• The intern need not be a Canadian citizen; foreign students and permanent residents are eligible
• The intern, academic supervisor and partner supervisor will meet at the initiation of the internship to agree on the research plan
• The intern will undertake a research project which has the potential to lead to, or supplement, the student’s thesis in the case of a graduate student or to further the PDF’s research program
• The intern will remain a student of their university while (s)he is an intern and shall not be an employee of the partner organization during this time
• There is a maximum number of internships an individual can complete during their academic career; please speak to a business development representative for more information

Mitacs-Accelerate Cluster projects

• An Accelerate Cluster project consists of a set of related internships undertaken by a team of 3 or more interns addressing a larger research goal. The Cluster can be made of multiple universities, multiple professors and multiple partners but the overall project must be cohesive.
• Clusters start of with a  minimum of 6 internships – with no upper limit
• To form a cluster a minimum of $36,000 ($6,000 per internship) is needed from the partner which is matched with $44,000 from Mitacs
• This base funding allows for 6 internships (stipends = 6×$10,000), and $20,000 to the research team as research and equipment costs
• Each additional $6,000 from the partner supports an additional internship (stipend = $10,000), and a further $3,333 to the research team as research and equipment costs
• Each cluster will have a Mitacs Business Development staff member available to help develop a full project proposal with milestones and to project manage these to completion
• All other policies and guidelines for the Accelerate internship program still apply
• Please speak to a business development representative for more information

Mitacs-Accelerate internships are funded in four-month units. Project funding comes to the University from Mitacs, and includes: 1) The Partner funds of $7,500, and 2) Mitacs matching funds of $7,500. Of these funds, $10,000 will go towards the intern's stipend and $5,000 is available to the intern's professor for expenses related to the project such as travel, accommodation, materials and equipment.

About Mitacs

Through unique research and training programs, Mitacs is developing the next generation of innovators with vital scientific and business skills. In partnership with companies, government and academia, Mitacs is supporting a new economy using Canada’s most valuable resource – its people. For more information, visit www.mitacs.ca.

Confidentiality

It is expected that the partner organization will not provide any confidential information to the graduate students who will work on the Projects. In the event that confidential information will be provided by the partner organization, however, UBC's standard confidentiality agreement must be used.

Ownership and Use of Intellectual Property, Data Results

All inventions and discoveries developed under the MITACS Accelerate Program will be assigned to the partner organization, excluding any third party proprietary tools that are used in the performance of the Project. The University reserves the right to use all data, results, inventions and discoveries for academic or non-commercial use only.

Copyright

Students will retain copyright in his/her written materials produced by the student as a result of the Project, including course reports. A copy of these materials will be provided to the partner organization.

Publications

The Student will not be restricted from presenting data or results of the Project(s) for the purpose of academic evaluation.

Warranty and Disclaimer

Each Project is experimental and exploratory in nature and no particular results can be guaranteed by UBC or the Student. The partner organization must undertake its own due diligence with respect to all matters arising from the Projects. The partner organization acknowledges that UBC and student make no representations or warranties, either express or implied, with respect to the data or other results arising from the Project. UBC and student specifically disclaim any implied warranty of non-infringement or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and will in no event be liable for any loss of profits, be they direct, consequential, incidental, or special or other similar or like damages arising from any defect, error or failure to perform, even if UBC or Student have been advised of the possibility of such damages.