University of Lethbridge Science Commons building. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Provincial partnership to create 3,800 paid internships in Alberta

Oct 30, 2020 | 3:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Post-secondary students in the province will soon have more opportunities to gain real-world experience and actually get paid for it.

The Government of Alberta has partnered with Mitacs, a non-profit organization that attempts to solve challenges with research solutions from academic institutions through their Globalink Research Internship program.

$15-million from the provincial government, $22-million from the federal government, and $27-million from participating organizations will be spent boosting the number of paid internships by 1,275 in each of three years.

“Hands-on learning is critical to helping students get the skills and training they need, and to prepare them for success in their careers,” says Minister of Advanced Education Demetrios Nicholaides. “This partnership supports Alberta’s Recovery Plan, and helps ensure our province has the talent and ability to get Albertans back to work, meet labour market demands, and give students important experience needed for their future.”

Internships are available across six program streams:

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• Accelerate – Interns work on a peer-reviewed research project to address a business challenge faced by an industry partner
• Accelerate Entrepreneur – Students entrepreneurs develop research or technology at the core of their business supported by an incubator
• Accelerate International – Interns participate in global research collaborations
• Elevate – Post-doctoral fellows tackle a sophisticated research challenge
• Business Strategy Internships – Interns support businesses with restoring or modifying their business operations to adapt to the current business environment
• Assessment Internship Initiative – Interns assess a host organization’s technology need and help identify a path forward such as adopting new technologies.

“This funding will help Alberta businesses solve their innovation challenges by connecting them to top post-secondary talent so they can expand their companies, create jobs, and grow the provincial economy,” adds Mitacs CEO John Hepburn. “At the same time, these opportunities provide Alberta students with invaluable practical skills, applied research experience, and business contacts that will help them get jobs.”

The expanded partnership with Mitacs allows the province to target internship opportunities identified in Alberta’s Recovery Plan, while leveraging matching investments from other government and agencies.

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