MHRC and Mitacs Winter 2022 Mental Health Internship

Sponsor

Mitacs and Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC).

Program

Winter 2022 Mental Health Internship

For More Information

For full details on the program and how to apply, please visit the MHRC-Mitacs Winter 2022 Mental Health Internship web-page.

Description

MHRC is partnering with Mitacs on this funding opportunity for Master students to work with their academic supervisor and partner with a local service provider or community organization.

The successful applicant will be awarded $15,000 for a six-month term; funds will be paid directly to the student’s academic institution and held by the student’s supervisor. The project would begin in January 2022 and end in July 2022. 

This jointly funded scholarship is part of MHRC’s 2021-2022 Studentship cycle, where students share their time between academic institutions and community service providers, tying together their research with the needs of the end-users — the community and people with lived experience. MHRC aims to drive systemic change by encouraging the adoption of effective, research-informed, and client-centric approaches to mental health treatment.

Focus of Research:

All projects must have clear potential for impact to the studied population, and therefore must partner with a community service provider and integrate the insights of people with lived experience into each stage of their project.

There are four main project themes for internships being offered in this application cycle:

1. Enhancing Workplace Mental Health - Research supporting employee mental health in the workplace and the development of programs to help mitigate work-related stress. People spend a large portion of their lives in workplaces, and poor mental health has been shown to lead to increased absenteeism, decreased productivity and increased employer healthcare costs. COVID-19 has both augmented and spotlighted the importance of supporting mental health in workplaces, and at least 70% of Canadian businesses do not have a workplace mental health strategy (Deloitte, 2019).

2. Supporting Diverse Populations – Research supporting specific groups of people with unique needs. These may include but are not restricted to Indigenous populations, BIPOC populations, refugees and recent immigrants, LGBTQ+ communities, and/or women as examples.

3. Advancing Digital Service Delivery – Research focusing on assessment and efficacy of existing - not new - digital products and services.

4. Analyzing MHRC Mental Health Polling Data – MHRC, in collaboration with Health Canada, has been conducting ongoing polling of the mental health of Canadians since March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online portal demonstrating some of the information available from this extensive and comprehensive work can be found on MHRC's COVID-19 Data Portal.

Projects that combine one or more of the above themes are also encouraged.

Eligibility

For full details on eligibility requirements, please visit the MHRC-Mitacs Winter 2022 Mental Health Internship web-page, and view the Call for Applications document. For questions regarding eligibility, please contact Jillian Hatnean, Mitacs Account Manager via email, jhatnean@mitacs.ca.

Maximum Project Value

$15,000.

Indirect Costs

0%.

Project Duration

Six month internship. Projects begin in January 2022 and end July 2022. 

Special Notes

Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page.

How to Apply

Application Process:

Applying to the Mitacs-MHRC partnership is a two-stage process: Preliminary application to MHRC, then formal Mitacs Accelerate application.

Stage 1 (due date - August 30, 2021):

• Candidates must be identified at this stage and are the lead applicant. They will have identified their academic supervisor, and their partner organization (please contact Jillian Hatnean, jhatnean@mitacs.ca, to ensure eligibility).
• Please send a research proposal of a maximum of four pages addressing the questions below, along with your resume, to Sarah Murphy, smurphy@mhrc.ca and cc: Jillian Hatnean, jhatnean@mitacs.ca.
• The research proposal must include the following:
  • A high-level description of the proposed research, including:
    • Project title
    • The research question(s)/objective(s) you will address with your project
    • The research gap(s) that is/are being addressed
      • Identify which of the three project themes the proposal is targeting
      • Provide a background of relevant prior research that supports the need for your project. Please include references at the end of your application
    • A description of your planned methodology
    • The anticipated deliverables (expected outcomes, results, and/or documents (manuals, best practices, thesis, journal publication, etc.)
    • Projected timeline
    • How the project will include people from the target community throughout its development
    • A letter of support from the partner organization proposed for this project
• Existing or proposed partners (Applicant must confirm partner's eligibility with Mitacs, see contact details above).
  • Community organizations
  • Government mental health services
  • Non-profit organizations in the healthcare sector
  • Healthcare providers like hospitals, private clinics, etc.
• Financial Clarifications
  • Is the student already receiving funding or a stipend? If so, from where and how much?
  • Are there eligible expenses other than the student’s direct funding that this money may be used for by the institution or supervisor?

Stage 2 (due date - October 1, 2021):

• Successful eligible applicants from stage 1 will be invited to submit a Mitacs Accelerate application no later than October 1, 2021 (please note internal deadline above). Successful projects must start by January 31, 2022.
• For questions pertaining to this partnership or application process, please contact:
  • Sarah Murphy, Research and Executive Coordinator, Mental Health Research Canada, smurphy@mhrc.ca.
  • Jillian Hatnean, Account Manager, Mitacs, jhatnean@mitacs.ca