Why Elevate?

The Challenge

According to the June 2012 OECD Economic Survey: “while Canada has made great strides in macroeconomic and structural policy settings, and its academic research is world class, the pay-off in terms of business innovation and productivity growth has not been large.”

The OECD identifies two key priorities for improving Canada’s economic performance: boost innovation within Canadian businesses, and increase the number of graduates who possess the right combination of expertise demanded by employers, including technical skills, industry experience, business acumen and communications skills.

Our Solution

The Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship program addresses the needs of the Canadian economy by strengthening academic-business collaborations, producing graduates with the broad range of skills for innovation, and developing solutions to business challenges. It is a comprehensive training program that provides fellows with: 

• A grant to support applied research;
• Business and communication skills to complement their technical skills; and
• Opportunities for identifying and addressing company R&D challenges.

Graduates of the Mitacs Elevate PDF program come out with a broader perspective on research and innovation along with skills to put them into action.

The Mitacs Elevate PDF program was piloted in southern Ontario starting in 2009, with the support of the Government of Ontario and the Federal Development Agency of Canada.

Program Mission and Objectives

The Mitacs Elevate PDF program expands Canada’s research innovation capacity by equipping highly-trained recent PhD graduates with skills to identify, address, and manage industrial research challenges. This is achieved by:

• Building receptor capacity in Canadian industry for PhDs;
• Strengthening connections between academia and industry through long-term research collaborations; and
• Addressing industry-specific research challenges through collaborative research projects.