Connecting Industry with University Expertise Christopher Bowman, Ph. D. Director, Business Development Prairies
Apr 01, 2015
Connecting Industry with University Expertise
Christopher Bowman, Ph. D.Director, Business DevelopmentPrairies
Who is Mitacs?
• A private, not-for-profit organization • Financed by the federal and provincial governments,
as well as Canadian universities and private enterprise• Support research and development in all academic
disciplines across the country
• To encourage and support research collaborations between industrial and academic partners– Connect industry with top university researchers to
advance:• Industry innovation• Research excellence• Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) training and
recruitment
Mitacs Mandate
www.mitacs.ca
• Each program tackles a specific requirement in the Canadian research talent supply chain.
www.mitacs.ca
The Mitacs approach…
Attract Train Retain Deploy
Mitacs Programs
• Globalink – International undergraduate student research projects at Canadian
universities
• Accelerate – Grad student and post-doc internships to support research and
development projects
• STEP – Business and professional skills training for grad students and post-docs
• Conference Services
Attract Train Retain Deploy
• Goal: Attract top international students to Canadian universities– Globalink 1: Recruit international undergraduate students for
summer internships;– Globalink 2: Retain these candidates through fellowships at their
Canadian host University
• 2013 : recruitment from India, China, Brazil and Mexico.– Call for summer 2013 students: July 2012
www.mitacs.ca
Globalink:
• Professor submits project– Forms on website (www.mitacs.ca)– Deadline for summer 2013 is July 31, 2012– Can submit up to four projects– We support projects in all disciplines
• Projects are reviewed for scientific merit• Students apply to program
– Best students from best institutes selected– Students matched to projects– Announcement of matches in January, 2013
Globalink Process
www.mitacs.ca
Mitacs-Accelerate
Canada’s premier research internship programme.Objective:• To initiate and support collaborations between
university researchers and external partners Adopted model:• Collaborative research projects are built from (multiple)
graduate student internships.
Accelerate: Advantages
• Applications are short• Full support of the Mitacs BD Team• No application deadlines• Peer-reviewed• Fast review• For-profit and not-for profit partners• International students welcome
• Open to graduate students and post-doc fellows– All academic disciplines are supported– Undergraduate students can be included
• Internship is based on a research project of industrial interest
Accelerate: Eligibility & Timeline
• Student spends approx. half time at company, half time at university
• Travel subsidies available
Accelerate: Funding – Research Project, One Block
• $7,500 Industry Partner
• $7,500 Mitacs
$15,000 research
grant
$10,000 minimum
student stipend
$5,000other project-
related expenses
Accelerate: Funding – CLUSTERS
• Extra leverage for medium to large projects • Minimum: 3 students (scalable)• Minimum total funding: $80K (6 blocks + $20K flexible)• Scalable: each additional $18K from industry generates $22K from Mitacs
• $36,000 Industry Partner• $44,000 Mitacs
$80,000 research
grant
$20,000other project-
related expenses
$10,000
internships
$10,000
$10,000$10,00
0$10,00
0$10,00
0
Accelerate: Project Scope
• Some past project submissions: – Implications of a whole genome scan in beef cattle– Exploiting effects of selenium on cell survival and
immunity to improve lactation of dairy cows and functionality of their milk
– The role of essential amino acids in milk protein production in lactating dairy cows
Accelerate: Process
• A researcher begins (or continues) a collaboration with an external partner– Not-for-profits, provincial entities are acceptable partners
in Saskatchewan.
• An intern (or interns) are identified– Projects can be approved provisionally pending the
location of interns
• The intern prepares a proposal, with assistance from company, professor, and the Mitacs BD
Accelerate Successes
• Since 2003, 3,500 internships nation-wide
• In 2010/2011:– Canada-wide: 1358 internships
totaling $19.4M– In 2011/2012, 27 internships
were supported in Saskatchewan
– We have funds to grow significantly, to 50-75 internships in SK
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
17 2795
157229
630
1040
1300
Number of Internships per Year
Mitacs Accelerate InDev
• Pilot program• Projects of a developmental nature (non-research)
• Eg. Prototyping, software development, business, marketing, etc.
• Intern spends ~ 50% time at company• Additional travel & accommodation support available• 2 week review turnaround
$11,000Research grant
($7,500 industry partner$3,500 Mitacs)
$10,000Minimum intern stipend
$1,000Other project expenses
• We can help support your research and students• We offer:
– Financial support for research– A jump-start to HQP training– Freedom from NSERC subject restrictions
• The match:– Very difficult to “find a company to support my work in…”– We CAN help with:
• The reverse match• Advice and assistance to ‘make a pitch’.
Accelerate and WCVM
www.mitacs.ca
• Acquiring important interpersonal skills for the industrial
environment
• Open to other graduate students/post-docs
www.mitacs.ca
STEP:
• Workshops in:• Management of scientific
projects• Communications, networking
and establishing partnerships• Business etiquette• Presentation skills
• Mitacs can take on the task of organizing conferences and meetings for applicants.
• See Mitacs website (www.mitacs.ca) for details
Conference Services and Networking Events
www.mitacs.ca
For More Information
Christopher BowmanDirector, Business Development, Prairies
Thorvaldson 226.7, University of [email protected]
306-202-9630