Government announces $15 million over three years for Mitacs internships

On May 15, then Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney announced the Government of Alberta would be investing $15 million over three years into the Mitacs internship program. Myles McDougall, member of the legislative assembly for Calgary-Fish Creek has since taken over the advanced education portfolio and Sawhney has become the minister of Indigenous relations.

Mitacs is a research and innovation organization that offers internships for post-secondary students as well as connecting researchers to industry. Mitacs’ internship programs offer post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows research and work-integrated learning opportunities.

“This partnership between Mitacs and the Government of Alberta is a cornerstone of our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of leaders,” Sawhney said at the announcement. 

“By providing mentorship, internship funding, and hands-on experience, we are not just supporting students — we are fueling Alberta’s economic growth, empowering entrepreneurship, and driving the commercialization of cutting edge research.”

Sawhney said the investment would support over 3,000 internships for post-secondary students. She said the Government of Alberta’s partnership with Mitacs began in 2020. Since then, 23 post-secondary institutions have benefited from Mitacs funding, according to Sawhney.

The Government of Alberta launched the Globalink Research Awards program in partnership with Mitacs in 2021. The government provided $350,000 annually to provide 85 internship opportunities. Sawhney said the government has renewed the Mitacs Globalink Research Awards agreement as of March this year.

“Its renewal, coupled with today’s announcement of $15 million for the Mitacs internship program reinforces our government’s ongoing commitment to fostering innovation, supporting Alberta students, and driving the province’s economic growth,” Sawhney said.

U of A alumni speak about their experience with Mitacs

Sid Biswas works as a senior research scientist at Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API). He spoke about his experience as a Mitacs postdoctoral fellow in collaboration with the University of Alberta. 

He said his background was in molecular biology and his research topic was the identification of new antiviral drugs SARSCOVID2 and other viruses.

“I was fortunate enough to [end] up in a project through Mitacs that bridged the gap between academia and industry,” Biswas said.

“I was mostly on [the path of] old, traditional research before I joined Mitacs, but it changed my thinking of research being applied and more on an innovative platform.”

He said his time at Mitacs helped him launch his research and career at API.

Biswas told The Gateway “it was a great experience working both at U of A at the academic settings as well as at the industry platform.”

U of A alumnus David Antoniuk also spoke at the announcement. He got his PhD in engineering physics at the U of A and co-founded Applied Quantum Materials Inc. (AQM) with another U of A alumnus. He’s the chief executive officer (CEO) of AQM as well as the CEO of Dark Matter Materials Inc.. Both companies are U of A spinoffs. 

He said AQM’s relationship with Mitacs began about seven years ago and the company has had eight Mitacs fellows. Antoniuk said four of those fellows still work for AQM full-time.

Antoniuk said the companies have made innovations in areas such as cancer detection, COVID-19 testing, and hydrogen technology.

“All of this would have been impossible, I believe, without the support of Mitacs,” he said. “The fellows work with us, they work with the [U of A], they give us access to equipment in facilities that we don’t have but the university does.”