Dear Queen’s Research Community,
We are pleased to see that engagement with Mitacs programming has continued to rise at Queen’s. As you are likely aware, Mitacs relies on both federal and provincial commitments to deliver on its internship programs. Based on current funding commitments affecting several provinces, institutions in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are facing new Mitacs funding constraints.
In Ontario, Mitacs has announced significant reduction of available funding in 2024-2025 for the Accelerate program, including joint Mitacs–Tri-Agency applications. While provincial funding has increased in recent years (current annual funding $10.8M), it remains significantly below demand. Moreover, due to changes in the federal funding landscape, Mitacs will be required to increase the proportion of each internship unit (IU) funded by provincial dollars in Ontario (the ratio of provincial to federal funding per IU has varied between provinces and depends on total funding available at each level) to maximize delivery.
Considering the level of federal funding to Mitacs, provincial commitments, plus the average use of the Accelerate program by each institution, Mitacs has determined a maximum number of Accelerate Intern Units for each university for the current fiscal year.
Queen’s Accelerate Allowance: 170 internship units for current fiscal year
We have been allocated a maximum submission limit of 170 Accelerate IUs for the current fiscal year (April 1, 2024 through to March 31, 2025). This equates to just over half of the average annual activity relative to prior years. Please note that all institutions in Ontario received the same proportional reduction.
We realize this news will raise a lot of questions. You are encouraged you to read through the rest of this announcement for a high level summary of our approach.
Status of Mitacs applications
- Projects already approved by Mitacs (successful review notice or NOA received) will continue to be honoured and have already been counted against our total 2024-25 allocation. These include SSHRC/NSERC-Mitacs joint projects, all flavours of the Accelerate program and multi-year Accelerate projects.
- Applications submitted as of today’s date (June 26, 2024) or pending signatures from Research Services have been accounted for and will be honoured within our institutional allowance.
- Faculty members with applications in development will be contacted by Kristin Spong, our Mitacs Business Development Advisor, in the coming days to assess the status of their application. Only those researchers who have informed us that they are working on an application will be contacted. This information will be used to determine next steps in filling our allocation, and whether new applications will be possible this fiscal year.
- If you are planning an Accelerate application and have not yet spoken Kristin Spong, please reach out immediately by emailing kspong@mitacs.ca.
- Researchers are encouraged to contact Kristin to understand if there is an opportunity to transfer either the full project or a portion of it to the Elevate or Business Strategy Internship (BSI) programs. Your discipline specific Research Projects Advisor can also work with you to determine other suitable funding opportunities.
- Due to the current funding backdrop, projects with a high proportion of named interns (over 50% named internship units) and which are less than 2 years in duration are encouraged.
Projects not impacted by these restrictions:
“Quantum” projects refer to those in the ‘quantum’ field of science and technology which seek to predict and explain the behaviour of atoms and molecules and involve the manipulation and control of systems at the atomic and subatomic levels. Quantum science and technology projects broadly refer to projects that aim to study one or more of the following:
- Quantum computers – a type of computer that exploits the behaviour of microscopic elements of the size of atoms to perform calculations;
- Quantum software – software and algorithms that run on quantum computers, and enable the operation and design of quantum computers and/or development and optimization of quantum applications;
- Quantum communications – networks that utilize the laws of physics to protect and share data;
- Quantum sensors – devices that use quantum science to perform measurements with high sensitivity and accuracy; and,
- Quantum materials – materials with unusual magnetic and electrical properties resulting from quantum effects
In order to be eligible to the Indigenous Pathways offering, one of the following requirements must be met:
- The partner organization must be a for-profit organization with self-identifying Indigenous persons (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) who hold 50% or greater ownership shares
- The partner organization must be a not-for-profit organization with board membership consisting of 50% or greater self-identifying Indigenous Persons (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit)
- The student assigned to the project must be a self-identifying Indigenous person (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit)
Next Steps
Mitacs has committed to work with the university to ensure that applications submitted do not exceed the University’s allowance.
If you have any questions regarding the change in funding, please contact Kristin Spong, our Mitacs Business Development Advisor, at
I understand this news is not ideal, and we strongly encourage you to liaise with our office and Kristin before initiating any Accelerate application via the online application portal and/or drafting an Accelerate application.
We are on hand to provide support as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Karen Samis
Director, Grants and Research Operations
June 26, 2024.