Eligibility

Mitacs Step workshops are open to Canadian graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, including past, present, and prospective participants in Mitacs programs. "Past" refers to any graduate student who has graduated in the past 2 years.

International students are eligible to attend the workshops. Students are eligible to attend Step workshops only in the province in which they are currently studying, except in the case of special circumstances as indicated by Mitacs. 

Mitacs Step workshops are currently offered in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador. 

Workshop Fees

Mitacs Step workshops are free for participants. However, to guarantee attendance, you must enter a valid credit card number to complete your registration. We currently accept only VISA and MasterCard.

Our workshops can only be registered with a credit card – unfortunately we do not accept any other form of payment. If you are not comfortable with entering your credit card information online, please contact Sue Lenio at slenio(at)mitacs.ca.

Your credit card will not be charged if you attend the workshop, or if you cancel your registration more than 5 prior to the date of the workshop. However, your credit card will be charged a $50.00 fee if you do not cancel within the designated cancellation period, or if you register but not attend the workshop.

Registration

Registration for Mitacs Step workshops is done online by the participant. The registration and cancellation system is self-managed, giving participants full and direct control over their accounts. 

To secure a seat at the workshop, participants must register online.  Unless you receive a confirmation from Mitacs that there is space available in a particular workshop, registrations are not accepted on-site.

When workshops are full, students are offered the option to register as a waitlisted participant. This means you will be contacted if a space becomes available, or if another workshop is opened due to high demand. You will be notified via email if a space becomes available. Ideally, this will happen 7 calendar days before the date of the workshop. However, a space may become available a day or two prior to the workshop date. If another workshop is opened due to a high waitlist, you will have to re-register. Note that those on the wait list receive priority to register.

To cancel your registration for a workshop or to remove yourself from the waitlist, follow the instructions below:

• Go to the Mitacs Step registration page here.
• Log in to the system by first clicking the link “Already registered”, and log in by using your email address and the password you selected upon first registering for the program.
• After logging in, you may make modifications by clicking the link named “CLICK TO CHOOSE WORKSHOP” in the bottom-right corner.
• You will now be able to add and remove workshops from your schedule.  To remove a workshop, simply uncheck the box listed next to the entry.  Click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen to finalize your file.

PLEASE NOTE: Once you have unchecked a workshop and finalized your file online, you have officially cancelled your registration.  Your credit card will NOT be charged the $50.00 no-show fee.

Participants must attend a workshop in its entirety; attendance at part of a workshop is not possible. Mitacs Step workshops are practical and interactive; it is important to participate in the workshops from beginning to end.

PLEASE NOTE: Cancellations are accepted up to 5 days prior to the workshop. If you cancel your registration after this time you will be charged the $50.00 cancellation fee.

**Students who register and do not take part in the workshop will be charged a $50 no-show fee. 
 

Travel Funding

Limited funding is available for travel and accommodation for participants attending a workshop outside of their university area. Students must be registered for a workshop before they can be considered for travel funding. These funds are not meant to cover all expenses, but rather help offset some of the costs incurred.  All original receipts must accompany the travel claim. It is your responsibility to find the most economic method of travel.

Permitted Expenses Include:

• Mileage for use of a personal vehicle – the current rate to expense is $0.20/km. This includes fuel as well as wear and tear on the vehicle.
• Accommodation fees; excluding incidentals.

Non-refundable expenses include, and are not limited to:

• Fuel for a personal vehicle – the cost of fuel is covered in the mileage expense, as well as wear and tear on the vehicle.
• Personal Navigation Systems (GPS). As there are many alternatives to access directions such as maps and the internet, we are not able to support purchases for items such as these.
• Parking ticket violations and traffic tickets
• Alcohol, including when purchased with meals

Funding is only available for travel within your province. If you are interested in applying for travel funding, please first register for the workshop then contact the Mitacs Step Program Specialist in your region:

• In British Columbia, Alberta or Saskatchewan: sep-bc@mitacs.ca
• In Ontario or Newfoundland:  sep-ontario@mitacs.ca 

Travel funding award expires 90 days from the date of the workshop; travel claims must be submitted within 60 days of the workshop.