GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS GRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH INTERNSHIPS

The Government announced today $270,000 in funding to support 29 Saskatchewan graduate students through innovative internship opportunities under the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) ACCELERATE Saskatchewan program.

The MITACS ACCELERATE Saskatchewan program funds short-term, applied research and development internships for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in 32 disciplines including physical, life and health sciences, engineering and arts. Interns are matched with private and public sector organizations to address the practical research and development needs of Saskatchewan communities, industries and post-secondary institutions.

"Our government is committed to supporting Saskatchewan's graduate students," Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris said. "Today's investment will provide graduate students with even more innovative opportunities to develop and apply their education and research skills. At the same time their work will directly address the real-world needs of our industries and communities."

Minister Norris made today's announcement in Regina at the Communities of Tomorrow facility, a strategic partner of the MITACS ACCELERATE Saskatchewan program.

Communities of Tomorrow is a non-profit corporation that builds partnerships to create sustainable communities. They bring together businesses, researchers and municipalities to develop innovative new infrastructure solutions. They support this work by providing funding, market research and commercialization expertise.

"Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows at Saskatchewan universities are some of the finest young researchers in Canada, if not the world," Vice-President (Research) at the University of Regina David Gauthier said. "Their contributions to scholarship and applications to real-world issues are greatly enhanced through these MITACS ACCELERATE internships. I would like to thank MITACS, the Government of Saskatchewan and the partner organizations for this far-sighted commitment to our researchers and their work."

ACCELERATE Saskatchewan is administered by MITACS, a federally-funded network of Centres of Excellence which brings together academia, industry and the public sector through research and training initiatives to develop cutting edge tools vital to today's knowledge economy.

"The ACCELERATE program is a new way for Saskatchewan to expand its research and development through partnerships which will benefit a significant number of graduate students in the province," said MITACS CEO and Scientific Director Dr. Arvind Gupta. "This program will help turn the innovators of today into the job creators of tomorrow."

To learn more about MITACS visit www.mitacs.ca.
To learn more about MITACS ACCELERATE Saskatchewan visit www.mitacsaccelerate.ca

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For more information, contact:
Marieka Barrie
Advanced Education, Employment and Labour
Regina
Phone: 306-798-3170
Email: marieka.barrie@gov.sk.ca