Sponsor
Mitacs
Program
Description
Mitacs is proud to play a role alongside other key partners in the research community to support Ukraine during this difficult time. Mitacs has concluded a renegotiation of the renewal of its partnership with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding to fully fund up to 600 internships for Ukrainian students affected by the war, over the next three years through the following programs:
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The Globalink Research Award (GRA) supports research collaborations between Canadian universities and universities in other countries. Currently universities that have signed a GRA co-funding agreement with Mitacs are able to use their existing GRA allocation to support Ukrainian students.
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The Globalink Research Internship (GRI) is a competitive initiative matching top-ranked undergraduates with Canadian university faculty to conduct research.
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The Globalink Graduate Fellowship (GGF) provides financial support to Globalink alumni returning to Canada to engage in graduate studies at a Canadian university.
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The International Accelerate program supports research collaborations between interns, universities, and industry partners, both in Canada and abroad.
Mitacs is also exploring additional measures to support students from Ukraine, including both Ukrainian citizens and international students displaced by the war. These include proposed flexibilities and accommodations for displaced students traveling to Canada through the Globalink programs.
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For the current GRI cohort (Summer 2022), Mitacs has maximized the matching of Ukrainian students to available projects, introduced flexibility around arrival dates and internship duration to accommodate student needs, and deferred eligibility for students (registered for study abroad) unable to participate in the program this year as a result of the war. Partial virtual participation to allow aspects of a project to be conducted outside of Canada is also being accommodated. Mitacs is also allowing for extensions to the duration of a project for interns wishing to conduct research on a part-time basis. Projects can be extended beyond the original planned stay of 12 weeks up to four months (120 days). Project flexibilities will be extended to Ukrainian cohorts throughout the duration of the MOU, as needed.
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For GRA applications, Mitacs is expediting the research review process to ensure a swift approval, with the goal of a 10-day turnaround time. Flexibility on start and completion dates for Ukrainian interns participating in GRA is also being implemented. Students registered at Ukrainian institutions will be allowed to complete two sequential GRA projects of up to 24 weeks per project. GRA interns are currently only permitted to complete one unit in their life-time — this measure would enable Ukrainian interns to access a total amount of $12,000 for up to 48 weeks.
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Now that the MOU with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has been renewed, eligible Canadian academic institutions will be able to submit GRA projects with Ukrainian students and will not be required to provide co-funding.
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Former Ukrainian GRA participants will be eligible to receive a GGF award.
In addition, please note that Ukrainian students studying at Canadian universities are eligible to participate in the Accelerate and Elevate programs, provided they meet program criteria. If you are an eligible Ukrainian student at your institution looking for a research internship, or should a program be of interest, please contact Emily Gordon (egordon@mitacs.ca).