Graduate Student and Post-Doctoral Fellow Partnerships Available To Ontario Water Companies
Waterloo, Ontario – The Ontario Water Consortium (OWC) and Mitacs have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to open strategic partnership opportunities between Ontario’s innovative water companies, municipal utilities and highly trained college, undergraduate, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.
This agreement builds on the programs available through Mitacs which connect high-calibre academic candidates with industry, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities to foster innovation. Mitacs contributes roughly half of the funding for internships, which is generously provided by the Governments of Ontario and Canada, and the other half comes from the host company or municipality.
Through the MOU, OWC will help connect water technology companies and water utilities across Ontario to Mitacs programs to gain access to expertise and for college, undergraduate, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to get the practical experience they need to advance their skills, careers, or transition from academia to industry. Over the next three years, this MOU is anticipated to support projects worth over $1.8 million and provide 120 internships.
“The Ontario government is committed to supporting hands-on training and learning opportunities for post-secondary students and innovation in the water technologies and utilities sector,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “The partnership between the Ontario Water Consortium and Mitacs not only benefits the industry, but also provides post-secondary students with the training and real-world experiences they need to succeed in their future careers.”
OWC is building and enabling a thriving community of the most ambitious and innovative partners to advance technologies and science, and the enabling complimentary tools, policy, and knowledge to solve economic, environmental, and social issues which stem from challenges in the urban water cycle.
Mitacs has a strong track record of connecting companies with the high-quality research expertise within Ontario colleges and universities. Post-secondary students and post-doctoral fellows, under the supervision of a faculty member undertake a four- to sixteen-month project which investigates a research or development challenge experienced by a partner company or municipality.
Ontario water and wastewater companies that may be interested in leveraging funding for applied research projects through Mitacs programs in one are encouraged to contact OWC directly.
Background: About the Ontario Water Consortium (ontariowater.ca): OWC is dedicated to advancing the commercialization of innovative water technologies. OWC facilitates real-world testing, introducing companies to academic expertise, and funding industry-led collaborative projects to develop and demonstrate new products and services. The OWC has membership including technology companies and post-secondary institutions, plus an expansive network of partners and collaborators. Our vision is for Ontario to be a leader in the development, scale-up, and adoption of innovation that will solve water challenges both locally and globally. About Mitacs (mitacs.ca):
- Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
- Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.
Contact for Ontario Water Consortium:
Rahim Kanji
rahim@ontariowater.ca
226-808-2714
Contact for Mitacs:
Erin Rose Handy
ehandy@mitacs.ca
604-754-1440
Have a project that could benefit from Mitacs funding?
Visit the Mitacs Partnership webpage to learn more about:
- Project topic areas and potential themes
- How the program works
- Eligibility for businesses
- Eligibility for academics
- Benefits of the program