Mitacs has opened applications for its Elevate winter Fellowship Program for Postdoctoral Students in 2018.
Application Deadline: 24th January 2018
Eligible Countries: All
To Be Taken At (Country): Canada
About the Award: Mitacs Elevate is the only postdoctoral fellowship in Canada with professional skills training component. Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with a customized research management training component. Fellows address complex challenges through:
- An exclusive research management curriculum for postdoctoral fellows in any discipline
- A minimum one-year research project (normally two years in duration) with a partner organization in need of high-level expertise
- A Partner Organization Business Case, developed to outline project objectives, risks, and stakeholder success criteria, and ensure project value
Elevate fellows progress through the program in a cohort, giving them cross-disciplinary networking and peer-learning opportunities they might not have otherwise in their careers.
Over the two-year fellowship, Elevate fellows divide their time between their partner organization project and university-based research with their faculty supervisor.
Type: Fellowship
Eligibility:
- Mitacs Elevate is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international applicants. The fellow must be based at a university located in the same province as the partner organization for the duration of the fellowship.
- Fellows must be committed to the two-year fellowship, including the training and development, when applying to Elevate. Replacement and/or substitute fellows are not allowed.
- Postdoctoral fellows may apply for Mitacs Elevate fellowship if their date of graduation from a PhD program is no more than 5 years prior to the proposed start date the research project. Fellows who have had a break in their career due to military service, illness, or family leave may be considered as exceptions and must be approved in advance of proposal submission. If this situation applies to you and/or you have any questions, please contact Mitacs at elevate(at)mitacs.ca.
- Successful candidates must have fulfilled all degree requirements (e.g., successful defense, final deposit, and signoff of dissertation) for their PhD at time of project start date which can be no later than September 5, 2018.
- All fellows who successfully enter into the Elevate program are responsible for ensuring that they meet the PDF eligibility criteria at their host institution and that they will hold a PDF status by the start date of their fellowship (no later than September 5, 2018) and for the two-year duration of the Elevate program.
- Fellows must not have been employed for more than six months in an R&D position outside the university after receipt of their doctoral degree; and
- Fellows must not have received an offer of employment from the partner organization except an offer of this fellowship or short-term employment of up to six months while awaiting a decision on the fellowship.
- If the application is not recommended for an award, the candidate may not be eligible to apply again once he or she has accumulated more than six months of industrial or partner organization work. It is therefore recommended that candidates accept a temporary contract only if necessary and that the period of the contract be kept as short as possible.
- Fellows who have held a Mitacs Accelerate award as a Masters, or PhD student are eligible to apply. Applicants may also apply if they have been approved for no more than 3 internship units of Accelerate funding (1 year equivalent) support at the postdoctoral level to be completed before the start of the Elevate fellowship. Postdoctoral fellows who have already held a Mitacs Elevate award are not eligible to apply again to Elevate or to apply afterwards to Accelerate.
- Fellows cannot apply to multiple Mitacs programs for the same period of time.
Number of Awards: Not specified
Value of Award:
- $55,000 minimum annual stipend/salary (for fellowships awarded after April 1, 2018)
- Training curriculum valued at $7,500 per year
- Submission assistance, including application feedback, from Mitacs representatives
- Certificate of completion after receipt of their exit survey and final report submission
Duration of Program: 2 years
How to Apply: Applicants are strongly encouraged to resolve the following before submitting their proposals:
- Submit an Intent to Apply no later than January 24, 2018, at 5 p.m. PT (non-mandatory)
- If applicable, submit an Intern or Supervisor Conflict of Interest (COI) Declaration. A declared conflict of interest must be submitted to [email protected] no later than January 24, 2018, at 5 p.m. PT. Please consult the Conflict of Interest section under Program Administration.
- Proposals with a not-for-profit partner must seek partner and project eligibility approval before proceeding. Please contact us at [email protected] a business development representative to discuss the eligibility of an NFP organization before submission of the completed application package.
- All applications should be prepared using the most current template found on the website. We strongly encourage you to submit a draft copy of your proposal for a one-time pre-review to [email protected] Pre-reviews must be provided using the current program application form and will be accepted no later than February 7, 2018, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Review the Writing Your Elevate Proposal Guide when you begin writing your proposal
The completed Mitacs Elevate proposal should be written and submitted no later than February 21, 2018, at 1 p.m. PT to [email protected] Late submissions will not be accepted.
A completed Application Package consists of the following:
- A completed application form
- A memorandum signed by all parties, including relevant university research office, submitted as a scanned PDF
- Applicant’s CV
- Proposed academic supervisor’s CV
- Three signed letters of support maximum, on letterhead:
- One (1) letter of support from the proposed academic supervisor
- One (1) letter of support from a former supervisor or person familiar with the fellow’s research expertise
- One (1) letter of support from an eligible partner organization on partner organization letterhead that confirms the amount of the financial commitment
- Any supplementary documents as applicable
Please submit the documents of your package as separate documents. Please do not combine them all in one file. ZIP files recommended.
If references would like to send their letters confidentially, they may email them to [email protected] All letters must be received at Mitacs by the competition deadline.
When you have all the necessary documents ready, please submit them by email to [email protected] All applicants will receive a confirmation email from Mitacs when a complete application has been received.
Award Providers: Mitacs
