CREDIT: ANDRESGARCIAM
The Ont. government will provide over $10 million to help Mitacs provide paid internships for post-secondary students.

The Ontario government is providing over $10 million to help give post-secondary students a jumpstart on their careers. Mitacs is a non-profit organization that builds research partnerships between industries and post-secondary institutions. With the $10 million in funding, it will create 2,700 paid internships for post-secondary students to help them gain skills they will need to obtain in-demand jobs after they graduate.

“We are proud to support high-quality research internships to help provide the next generation of talent with the real-world experience they need to get good jobs after graduation, and help businesses address their talent and research needs,” Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities said in a statement. “This support for innovative, hands-on learning, and the efforts of employers, students and postsecondary education institutions to expand opportunities, has made Ontario a national leader in experiential learning.”

This investment supports high-quality research in Ontario. These internships range widely, with support for key provincial priorities like critical minerals, manufacturing, and healthcare. The investment will fund internships in the following programs: Accelerate, Elevate, Globalink, and Business Strategy Internship. Mitacs internships are paid learning placements that last four months and may be on-site, online or a combination of both.


Nina Mistry, who did an internship at Queens University, shared how the internship helped further her research.

“My Mitacs internship, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, enabled me to do critical background research to support my goal of developing a mobile self-therapy tool for survivors of sexual assault,” said Mistry in a statement.

“Thanks to the generous support I received, I was able to determine the main symptoms and conditions survivors face as well as gain an understanding of exercises, tools, and techniques used by psychologists to help survivors. I have no doubt that the funding announced today will go a long way in helping other Ontario students and postdocs pursue their innovative ideas.”

Since 2017, Ontario has given over $57 million to Mitacs to support up to 14,205 research internships. The government will be investing more than $500 million over the next 10 years to support high-value research across Ontario’s colleges, universities, research hospitals and research institutes.

“Mitacs is a proud partner of the Government of Ontario. Together, we are building innovative partnerships that drive cutting-edge innovation and create job opportunities for students and postdocs across the province,” CEO of Mitacs, John Hepburn said in a statement. “Through the investment… we will be able to help match more top talent to industry, improve productivity and drive economic growth.”

Ontario’s latest funding for Mitacs builds on the government’s ongoing efforts to help advance Ontario-made research and innovation at post-secondary institutions across Ontario, setting up both businesses and students for success in the future.