Deadline: September 16, 2025
The Mitacs Innovation Awards 2025 are now open for nominations, celebrating Canadian ingenuity, research excellence, and transformative innovation. Now in its 15th year, the awards honour outstanding students, postdoctoral fellows, professors, start-ups, and industry partners who are shaping the future of research and collaboration in Canada.
This prestigious event is designed to showcase the remarkable work powered by Mitacs partnerships and highlight the positive societal and economic impact of Canadian research.
Why the Mitacs Innovation Awards 2025 Matter
The awards aim to:
- Recognise emerging innovators making groundbreaking contributions.
- Celebrate collaboration across academia, industry, government, and communities.
- Promote inclusivity and diversity within the innovation ecosystem.
- Support Canadian talent in research commercialisation and enterprise growth.
The 2025 award ceremony will be livestreamed via Mitacs’s social media channels, with highlights and inspiring winner stories shared afterwards.
Award Categories
Nominations are open across the following categories:
- Outstanding Innovation (4 winners)
Awarded to students and postdoctoral fellows whose projects demonstrate outstanding contributions with measurable social and economic impact. - Inclusive Innovator of the Year
Recognises individuals or teams whose innovation promotes social inclusion, accessibility, and diverse perspectives. - Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year
Celebrates Mitacs-supported innovators who have successfully launched a new venture or commercialised research results. - Canadian Enterprise Innovator of the Year
Honours industry partners demonstrating leadership in research and development while advancing Canadian talent. - Outstanding Research Leadership
Awarded to post-secondary supervisors with a proven track record of fostering impactful collaboration between academia and industry.
Eligibility
The awards are open to participants from:
- Colleges
- CEGEPs
- Polytechnics
- Universities across Canada
Both peer nominations and self-nominations are accepted. However, self-nominations in the categories of Outstanding Innovation and Outstanding Research Leadership must include a support letter from an academic supervisor.
⚠️ Late submissions will not be accepted.
Key Dates
- Call Opens: August 19, 2025
- Deadline for Nominations: September 16, 2025
How to Nominate
Applicants can submit nominations through the official Mitacs portal. Both individuals and organisations are encouraged to take part in recognising Canada’s most innovative talents.
Final Thoughts
The Mitacs Innovation Awards 2025 present a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on the brightest minds in Canadian research and innovation. Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or an industry leader, this is your chance to celebrate collaboration, inclusion, and groundbreaking impact.
👉 (contact grantsdatabase.org for proposal drafting, refinning and review)
