Mitacs

Drives Innovation across Canada starting from Vancouver

INNOVATIONS

OF THE WORLD

As Featured In:

Government & Utilities

Mitacs solves R&D challenges and develops innovation capacity by creating essential links between businesses and post-secondary students. With the support of the Governments of Canada, British Columbia, and provinces across the country, more than one hundred post-secondary institutions, and industry and not-for-profit partners, Mitacs provides the platform to allow businesses and students to achieve their goals. Whether commercializing research or developing products, Mitacs connects highly trained students with businesses and not-for-profit organizations to drive Canadian innovation. For over 20 years, Mitacs has funded research, created job opportunities for students, and helped companies reach their business goals.

1QBit

A recipient of the World Economic Forum 2015 Technology Pioneer Award, 1QBit is a leader among the most promising technology companies. 1QBit partners with Fortune 500 clients and leading hardware providers to solve problems in the areas of optimization, simulation, and machine learning. To further the development of its products cost-effectively, 1QBit partners with Mitacs to source top talent. In seven years, 1QBit has grown from a four-person start-up to a global leader in quantum computing with over 100 people located across Canada.

“Mitacs has been an invaluable resource supporting the growth of 1QBit. It has connected us to universities and helped us source top research talent and has enabled us to leverage government funding to maximize our investment in groundbreaking research,” says Landon Downs, president, and co-founder of 1QBit.

Mitacs has connected 1QBit with more than 55 interns, including graduate and undergraduate students from Canadian and international universities. These interns have helped develop computing algorithms to study the capabilities of the first commercially available quantum computers to assess their potential to solve a large variety of complex problems faster than classical computers. Approximately one-third of the 1QBit team comprises current or former Mitacs interns, including four key senior researchers.

Hydrogen-In-Motion

Hydrogen in Motion (H2M), dedicated to creating innovative hydrogen solutions, drives towards a more sustainable future. Mitacs Award Winner, H2M CEO Grace Quan leads the company with a passion and vision to empower a carbon-free economy.

“At Hydrogen in Motion, we partner with Mitacs, an organization that supports internships for students from any discipline. Internships allow us to support our innovation needs and access highly skilled motivated workers,” says Quan.

With the help of Mitacs, Hydrogen in Motion has grown to become a trusted Canadian hydrogen-storage business, continuously solving complex technological challenges every day. Mitacs and Hydrogen in Motion have partnered on 10 projects with researchers from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. As a recognized innovator in its field, Hydrogen in Motion and Quan have received numerous recognitions including the Clean 50, Convergx’s Innovation award, and Business BC’s Most Influential Women in Business Award.

BarrelWise Technologies

Founded in 2018 by four business and engineering graduate students, BarrelWise Technologies is based out of the Hatch Accelerator at UBC. The company applies its expertise to build and improve tools that enable winemakers to better practice their art. Research-and-development lead and Mitacs Entrepreneur Award Winner Miayan Yeremi is part of the Barrelwise team improving wine production. By delivering consistent quality and data-driven insights, Barrelwise brings science and innovation to the forefront of winemaking today and into the future.

“The global pandemic highlights more than ever how important it is to support local innovation, and Mitacs is extremely proud of the continued creativity and ingenuity shown by our network of young entrepreneurs,” says Mitacs CEO and Scientific Director John Hepburn. “Not only will their innovations ultimately help Canada recover from this crisis, but with continued investment in talent, research and development, they will help propel the country forward in the global innovation economy.”

Mitacs quick facts:

Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions at home and around the world.
Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia, along with the Government of Alberta, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.