Saskatoon, SK – Mitacs and International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) are pleased to announce the first “requests for researchers” under their $1.2 million partnership to fund student internships to advance research and development into innovations in the minerals industry.
As publicized in 2019, the partnership will be implemented based on an annual “request for researchers” issued by IMII and facilitated by Mitacs’s connections with colleges and universities in Saskatchewan and across Canada. The first call includes research related to:
- Mine surveying and microseismicity in Saskatchewan’s potash sector (engineering, geophysics and related fields at both the polytechnic and graduate levels); and
- The participation of girls and women in STEM programs and careers (psychology, sociology, education, gender studies or related disciplines at graduate levels).
Under the partnership, Mitacs and IMII will support Saskatchewan’s major minerals companies by leveraging funding, connections, and academic research expertise. The partnership will help advance innovations that matter to mining by bringing together research collaborations between industry and academia, while also assisting in the development and recruitment of highly qualified technical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.
Quotes
Jennifer Wilksie, Interim CEO, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Officer, Mitacs
“Mitacs is pleased to see its partnership with IMII to support innovation important to Saskatchewan’s minerals industry moving forward. Advancing research within this valuable sector with a cohort of interns not only provides opportunities for post-secondary students, it will also build new relationships between researchers and industry in several disciplines.”
Al Shpyth, Executive Director, IMII
“This partnership recognizes the value the minerals industry places on training and research to meet its innovation needs. Highly qualified people are key building blocks of innovation, and research driven by the needs of industry is a proven path to their development.”
Mitacs quick facts:
- Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada for business and academia. Working with 60 universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.
- Open to all disciplines and all industry sectors, projects can span a wide range of areas, including manufacturing, business processes, IT, social sciences, design, and more.
- Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan, along with every other province, industry and not-for-profit partners, and academic partners.
IMII quick facts:
- IMII is a non-profit organization jointly funded by industry and government and is committed to developing and implementing innovative education, training, research and development partnerships for supporting a world-class minerals industry.
- IMII’s unique collaboration model facilitates a research focus to meet the industry needs, present and future, for many areas including safety and environment. This collaboration also helps to define the current and future needs in the education and training programming, including a focus on Indigenous peoples and women in mining.
Links:
For more information about these first requests for researchers, see
https://www.mitacs.ca/en/opportunity/983/view
https://www.mitacs.ca/en/opportunity/981/view
https://www.mitacs.ca/en/opportunity/982/view
For more information about Mitacs and its programs, see www.mitacs.ca
For more information about IMII and its initiatives, see www.imii.ca
