Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur

Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur

Funds student entrepreneur placements with shared support models and commercialization.

Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur is a variant of the Mitacs Accelerate internship program in which the industry partner is the applicant's own incorporated startup rather than an external organisation. It is designed for student and postdoctoral entrepreneurs who hold an ownership stake in an incorporated company and are seeking to use a university-based internship to advance the core technology or research underlying that startup. The program accepts applications at any time on a rolling basis, with evaluation completed in six to eight weeks.

The total award is CAD $15,000 per internship unit, split equally between Mitacs (CAD $7,500) and the startup partner (CAD $7,500, plus applicable taxes). The minimum student stipend is CAD $10,000 per unit, with up to CAD $5,000 available for research costs. Internship units run four to six months, and projects are capped at two years in total. To qualify, the startup must be incorporated — sole proprietorships and limited liability partnerships are excluded — and must be housed at an approved incubator facility. Consulting firms and employees who do not hold ownership in the startup are ineligible as interns.

Intern eligibility follows standard Mitacs criteria: Canadian citizens, permanent residents, international students with a valid study permit, or postdoctoral researchers with a valid work permit. Postdoctoral interns are capped at nine four-month units over a maximum of three years; recent graduates are capped at three internships within two years of graduation; undergraduate and graduate students may complete units subject to institutional discretion. The startup must demonstrate that the proposed research directly advances the technology at the core of its business, and the startup's own financial contribution must be paid directly to Mitacs before the project starts.