Elevate

Businesses across Canada that need advanced research expertise but don’t have the capacity to hire senior R&D talent outright have historically turned to Mitacs Elevate as a way to bridge that gap. Designed to embed highly trained postdoctoral fellows directly into partner organizations, Elevate helped companies tackle complex innovation challenges while building long-term connections to Canada’s academic research ecosystem. Through hands-on collaboration, fellows worked closely with business teams to translate research into practical solutions aligned with real commercial needs.

For participating organizations, the value went well beyond extra research capacity. Elevate supported projects with non-repayable funding of roughly up to $120,000 over a two-year period, covering most of the fellow’s compensation along with modest research costs. Businesses also benefited from proposal guidance from Mitacs advisors, access to university resources that might otherwise be out of reach, and a structured professional development curriculum that strengthened project management and commercialization outcomes. This made the program especially attractive to innovative companies in technology, life sciences, manufacturing, clean tech, and other R&D-driven sectors operating anywhere in Canada.

While Mitacs now delivers similar postdoctoral industry support through its Accelerate program, Elevate remains an important reference point for understanding how Canadian businesses can leverage funded research talent to solve pressing challenges. Exploring the details can help determine whether a Mitacs-supported fellowship aligns with your innovation and growth plans.