Mitacs Accelerate Program

Sponsor

Mitacs

Program

Accelerate 

For More Information

Mitacs Accelerate Program Information

Mitacs Accelerate Allocation for Guelph 2025/26

For more information on research security, please visit the websites below:

• Mitacs Research Security
• UofG Safeguarding Research
  • U of G Guide to Mitacs Research Security Requirements

Description

Mitacs Accelerate allows students to work closely with a partner organization and faculty supervisor, using the latest tools and techniques available to them in both academic and industrial settings. Projects are a cost-shared model with Mitacs through the support of federal and provincial governments, matching the industry partners or non-for-profit (NFP) organizations' contributions.

Eligibility

• 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 from the proposed 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 students 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.
• Interns who meet the criteria above (students, postdoctoral fellows and recent grads) may be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, international students (with a student visa) or international postdoctoral fellows (with a valid work permit). Interns must be 18 years old or older.
• All academic disciplines.
• Academic supervisors are eligible if they are faculty at a Canadian academic institution who are eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds.
• For-profit corporations and eligible not-for-profit corporations, municipalities, and 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.  
  • 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 on international travel. 

Maximum Project Value

Interns are provided with a stipend/salary starting at $10,000 per four-month period. Typically, internships are approved for a total of $15,000, including a minimum $10,000 stipend and maximum $5,000 in research costs with $7,500 coming from the industry partner matched with $7,500 from Mitacs.

Project Duration

Master’s students can complete up to six internship units. PhD students can complete up to twelve internship units. Postdoctoral fellows can complete up to nine internship units. Undergraduate students and recent graduates can complete up to three internship units. Each 'internship unit' is designated as four months.

Note: There is an eight-to-ten-week peer review prior to approval for internship start.

How to Apply

To access 2025/26 Accelerate IUs, potential applicants must follow the below steps, as outlined in the Mitacs Accelerate Allocation for Guelph 2025/26 Research Alert: 

• Please first connect with Guelph’s Mitacs Advisor, Fatemeh Bakhtiari (fbakhtiari@mitacs.ca) to discuss your potential project. Mitacs will pre-review the proposed partner(s) and intern(s), to assess and confirm eligibility. Your project will then be ear-marked for the appropriate number of IU’s.
• Please note, the following application requirements must be met:
  • At least 50% of interns must be named at the time of application. If your application only involves one intern, then they must be named at the time of application.
  • Project duration can be from 4 months (1 IU) to 5 years.
  • Partner(s) and intern(s), as applicable, must be pre-reviewed and deemed eligible by Mitacs.
  • Partner(s) must be supplying new funds, to be invoiced by Mitacs, and subject to HST (*see note below).
• Following meeting the above criteria, the lead researcher will initiate an application in Mitacs’ portal, which, once completed, will be pre-reviewed by Mitacs. Once this pre-review is complete, the lead researcher/supervisor must submit a PDF of the application (includes sign-off/approval by the lead researcher, intern(s), and partner(s)), along with a signed OR-5 to the Research Services Office at research.services@uoguelph.ca.
• While IUs are ear-marked once Mitacs has initially reviewed the proposed project, the IUs are not guaranteed until a completed application is received and approved for final submission by the Research Services Office.

*Please note, if the proposed partner funding being utilized in an application is unspent funding already under an agreement/account at the University, the lead researcher must contact the Research Services Office before engaging Mitacs to verify the ability to use the funds for a Mitacs Accelerate application. This will require review of the account and agreement, and engagement with Research Financial Services, to review options for utilizing the funding already at the University.

For more information on the application review and program administration/fund release process, please see the 'Program Administration' tab of the Mitacs Accelerate webpage.