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Make your Mitacs internship even better — or make a positive impact on a peer

A Mitacs internship is an exciting and enriching opportunity. To get the most from that experience, it can help to have guidance from someone who’s been there and can support your professional development. And for interns in underrepresented groups, there can be unique challenges in the workplace that are difficult to navigate alone.

Mitacs Peer Mentoring gives Mitacs interns in targeted groups the support they need to thrive, and experienced Mitacs interns the chance to make a meaningful impact on a peer as their mentor.

Apply today

Applications are open until June 22, 2026.

Questions before you apply? See our FAQs section.
If you don’t see your answer there, email pilots@mitacs.ca.

Of past participants of the Mitacs Peer Mentoring pilot:

85%

 of mentees found the overall experience satisfying 

92%

 of mentors found the overall experience satisfying

 

85%

 of mentees said the support helped them gain confidence in the workplace

 

95%

 of mentors said the experience enhanced their leadership skills

 

Key benefits of peer support

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Why seek a mentor

  • Get advice and moral support rooted in shared identity and recent experience
  • Identify opportunities for growth and skill development
  • Build communication, teamwork, time management, and critical thinking skills
  • Foster resilience and a sense of community
  • Increase awareness of career options
  • Expand your industry network

Why become a mentor

  • Enrich the experience of someone who is where you once were with guidance and empathy
  • Receive compensation ($25 per hour for up to eight hours per month) for mentoring time
  • Build leadership, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking skills as well as confidence
  • Strengthen mentoring and coaching skills
  • Foster resilience and a sense of community
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Eligibility

Who can be a mentee or mentor?

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Mentee

Current Mitacs interns who:
  • Identify as a woman in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field
  • Identify as any gender in a Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts (SSHA) field
  • Have an upcoming/ongoing Mitacs Accelerate or BSI internship that will continue for at least eight months beyond the mentorship start date
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Mentor

Experienced Mitacs participants who:

  • Identify as a woman in a STEM field
  • Identify as any gender in an SSHA field
  • Have completed at least two Accelerate, BSI, or Elevate internship units (8–12 internship months)
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Program expectations

  • The formal peer support period lasts a minimum of two IUs (about eight months) but could run longer depending on the mentee’s IUs.

  • The expectation is that mentors meet with their mentee a minimum of twice per month to stay connected and engaged.

  • At the program outset, mentors must complete a two-hour training course (with compensation) overviewing administrative tasks, expectations, and Mitacs’ culture. Both mentors and mentees have recommended optional training courses and sessions.

  • Work (activities for which mentors are compensated) may total up to eight hours per month.

Apply today
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A rewarding experience for
mentors and mentees

 

"The Mitacs Peer Mentorship program has been a truly rewarding experience for me as a mentor. It gave me the opportunity to share my experience and support someone at the beginning of their journey. In many ways, it felt meaningful to offer the kind of guidance I once needed but had to navigate without."

Mitra Taraghi
Polytechnique Montréal, Industrial Engineering, PhD (Mentor)

“The peer mentorship experience was supportive, welcoming, and very helpful. Learning from someone at a similar stage made the guidance practical and easy to relate to, and it helped build my confidence. The program created a strong sense of community and made me feel supported throughout the process.”

Sana Sharif
Université Lakehead, Electrical and Computer Engineering, PhD student (Mentor)

“[My mentor] has greatly helped me take action and improve my internship experience, life as a PhD student, and my mental health.”

 

Rezvan Mohammad Rezaee
McGill University, Engineering, PhD (Mentee)
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Frequently asked questions

The peer mentorship lasts a minimum of two IUs (about eight months). The expectation for mentees and mentors is to meet at minimum twice per month, including any additional preparation and work in advance of the meetings. Mentors and mentees must also complete Mitacs reporting and surveys for the mentorship.

Additionally, mentors must complete a two-hour mentorship training course at the program onset, which covers administrative tasks, expectations, and Mitacs’ culture.

Depending on a suitable match, the mentorship could start as early as the month of June/July or later in August/September.

Mentors are compensated for their work during the mentorship (up to eight hours per month).

After you submit your application, the program administrators will review it for eligibility and completeness. Then the application will be added to the pool for matching based on the details you provided (degree level, department/field of study, interests, experiences, matching preferences, research keywords, etc.). If there’s a suitable match, you will be notified.

Please note that we cannot guarantee a match.

Past mentees are not eligible as mentees but can apply and choose to participate as a mentor. 

Past mentors can apply and opt to participate as a mentor again or both mentor and mentee if eligible.

Talent and research powering innovation

  •  All across Canada, Mitacs is helping college, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows access funding, source research placements in their chosen discipline, and gain invaluable hands-on experience by applying their expertise to real-world projects with leaders in industry and non-profit organizations. 

57,300 +

 highly skilled interns 

 

14,800 +

 post-secondary supervisors

 

123,500 +

 internships

 

  • (April 2018 to March 2026)
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Looking for peer support?
Want to make a positive impact?

 

Apply today