Lunch and Learn: Opportunities for Students and Industry

Join us for lunch and a presentation highlighting opportunities offered by NSERC and Mitacs to establish connections between industry and academics. Students and industry professionals are welcome to attend.

NSERC offers several programs that might be of interest to the participants: 

Industrial R&D Fellowships (IRDF) help companies hire a recent PhD graduate for a two-year period to undertake a research project (or projects) of importance to the company, and to evaluate the postdoctoral fellow for potential long-term employment.  NSERC provides $30,000 per year while industry partners must contribute $10,000 per year (cash) plus fringe benefits and project costs. The current average company contribution is $25,500.

Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships (IPS) help companies collaborate with highly qualified science and engineering students at the master's and doctoral levels, for two to three years, respectively. Students undertake relevant research at the company's research facility.  NSERC will contribute $15,000 per year while industry partners must contribute $6,000 per year.  Students will spend 20% of their time at the industry partner’s facilities (50 days in a calendar year)

Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) help organizations hire an undergraduate-level researcher for 12-16 weeks, full-time, to undertake a project of importance to the firm. Most participating organizations are private sector for-profit companies, but some non-profit and government-owned organizations may also be eligible. NSERC provides a maximum of $4,500 for a 16-week work term and companies must provide a minimum of $1,125.

MITACS programs include: 

Accelerate Research Internship Program brings together academia and industry to develop cutting-edge research-based tools and is an effective way for industry to gain access to research expertise within Canadian universities. Graduate students or Post-Doctoral Fellows undertake research on-site with companies within Canada to develop new tools and techniques to address high-level industry issues. The intern gains valuable industrial experience and an opportunity to apply their research to address novel issues, while the industry partner gains access to highly trained individuals (the intern and their supervising professor).
The cost to the company is $7,500 for the four-month period, which is matched by Mitacs Accelerate providing an additional $7,500. Approximately 50% of the intern's time over the 4 months is spent onsite with the partner. The balance of the intern's time is spent back at their home university, further advancing the research under the guidance of their supervising professor.

Mitacs can also support larger research projects-"cluster Internships"-where companies can make use of teams of researchers working towards a common goal over a longer period (the company cost per internship is reduced since more interns are supported and Mitacs matching funds are increased). Researchers from various faculties and even at various universities can work together on a project. For example, a computer science engineering researcher may work alongside a economics or business intern.

New! Pilot program - Accelerate development internships enables students to work with companies on development-oriented (non-research) projects
For more information: Mitacs' Accelerate Program: www.mitacs.ca/accelerate