Mitacs Globalink: why it is the best research experience for an undergrad
(Mitacs is not paying me for writing this article. Share this article with your friends, their application doesn’t reduce your chances of being selected.)
This article in brief: Mitacs Globalink applications are open! You can read about it here and then apply here.
If you are an undergraduate interested in research, already have some research experience, and are looking for a summer research opportunity, Mitacs Globalink is the right place to look for!
I always say this to juniors: If you have no prior experience, in my opinion, you shouldn’t try for an international research internship. Instead, you could take up a project in your college during the academic year, gain some new skills and domain knowledge, take up a summer research project in an institute in India/your own country, develop your skills further and try for other foreign internship programs in the next year. More about that, *maybe*, in a future article.
(This is an ‘introduction and description about the benefits if you are selected’ article, not about the application process.)
For the uninitiated, the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship (GRI) is a competitive programme for undergraduates from Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Mexico, Tunisia, United Kingdom, and Ukraine. The selected students are offered a summer research project at one of Canada’s top universities. The professors also go through a thorough selection procedure, so you will surely have a good supervisor and a structured project as it was in its description.
What does GRI offer?
- A 12-week research project
- Stipend for living expenses
- Professional development workshops
- Local Globalink Mentors
- Social activities
- A chance for you to explore your independence and gain international experience in a new country
- The opportunity for you to connect with potential graduate supervisors should you be interested in returning to Canada for graduate studies with a Mitacs Globalink Graduate Fellowship
On the academic front: You will work with your supervisor, doctoral students, collaborate with lab members and attend lab meetings/journal clubs while working on your project. This ensures that you get an all-round experience of how research is carried out. Mitacs gives you free access to a range of online professional development workshops and pays for you to attend one professional development workshop/conference in Canada.
About the fun part
Mitacs also promotes (pays for you to enjoy, literally) various social and recreational opportunities. They organise meetups with Mitacs personnel and all Mitacs interns from the city you’re in, to tell you about further scholarship opportunities you now have access to. There will be adventure trips with your mentor and co-mentees, restaurant get-togethers, potluck outings in parks and much more!
You also get to experience the world-famous Canadian niceness, which is a pleasant surprise though you’re expecting it. Canada is a super-fun, super-safe place to be, and you’ll have no trouble even if it’s your first time abroad.
An important note about applying
Be completely honest. Please don’t bluff on your application, Mitacs will know, and then you run a risk of disqualification. It’s their job to read your applications and decide if you’re eligible, if your application is genuine, etc. so it won’t escape their eyes.
Share if you care!
If this helps you, please let me know, it would make me happy to know I helped you! Medium has a comments section, as I discovered in July 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, 1 year after I wrote this. Btw, this year’s Mitacs internship was cancelled, due to the pandemic but of course, that doesn’t reduce the worth of the Mitacs internship.
Edit: Some people my profile was when I applied: I had applied 3 years ago and it’s better if you ask seniors of YOUR DEPARTMENT of your Institute who applied recently. I had been trained in lab techniques related to the field I was applying to, I had some theoretical knowledge pertaining to the field of interest, I had completed a summer internship in Pune the summer before. I had no publications, and I had an 8.2–8.3/10 CGPA in the B. Tech course at department of biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur. I used their CV template but you can use your own if it’s similar to theirs. Write the TRUTH. I had chosen projects exactly as per my INTEREST and skill set.
