Faculty of ArtIn this 2-hour workshop, Drs. Annika Rosanowski and Letitia Henville will show you how to develop a strategy for contacting local not-for-profits, community-based organizations, or industry partners who may want to host you for a paid Mitacs Accelerate internship.
In this workshop, you will learn:
- how to identify and reach out to organizations that do the work you want to get involved in;
- how to describe your academic interests to people in community organizations or either not-for-profit or for-profit companies; and
- about options for further help from the Arts Amplifier in the Mitacs application process.
Our approach won’t be to help you to complete the Mitacs Accelerate application form–rather, we’ll focus on supporting you in pitching your skills and experience to appropriate orgs so that you can develop your own paid work experience for Summer 2022 or beyond.
This is a workshop, not a lecture: you’ll complete an online worksheet, and we’ll be using Zoom’s breakout room feature to have you work in small groups on your worksheet.
What is Mitacs?
Mitacs is a federal funding agency that covers part of a student’s salary for applied research projects with industry or not-for-profit organizations.
Mitacs facilitates research collaborations to help non-academic orgs that are trying to address a particular gap, find a solution to a problem they have identified, or seek the answer to a question. These companies need researchers like you who come with the necessary skills to bridge the gap from identified problem to solution.
Both domestic and international students are eligible for Mitacs Accelerate funding.
What are some examples of Mitacs projects that social science & humanities students have done?
Mitacs traditionally has been strong in STEM fields, and so if you look up examples of previous Mitacs projects, you’ll see a lot about healthcare, AI, and advanced materials.
In the Arts Amplifier, we know that you don’t need to have software engineering skills to apply your research experience to an off-campus setting. We’ve worked with organizations like the Vancouver Art Gallery, Groundswell Alternative Business School, and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to develop Mitacs internship positions for UBC Arts grad students–in roles that have nothing to do with tech. So if you can’t find a previous project that fits with your skills and interests, then you belong in this workshop.
Mitacs requires employers to pay for part of a student’s salary–how can I persuade an organization to do that?
In the Arts Amplifier, we’re pretty good at finding funding for student salaries. Once you’ve started on your Mitacs Accelerate application, the Arts Amplifier’s Grants Editor will work with you to see how we can lower the co-pay for your employer. So, for the purposes of this workshop, we’ll ask you to put logistical questions to one side.
The RSVP list is now closed. If you need the Zoom URL, please email letitia.henville@ubc.ca