Student Funding Programs

The Applied Research and Innovation Internship Training Program is supported by funding from: 

  • BioTalent
  • Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC)
  • Environmental Careers Organization of Canada (ECO Canada)
  • Canada Summer Jobs
  • Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Career Launcher
  • Clean Foundation
  • Kootenay Career Development Society (KCDS) Fast Forward
  • Innovate BC
  • Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC)
  • Mitacs
  • Science Horizons Youth Internship Program
  • WILWorks

In addition to the funding programs above, Selkirk Innovates has secured a number of Mitacs cluster grants.

Selkirk College was the first college in BC to secure Mitacs student intern funding. Since then, we have continued to harness and grow the opportunities that Mitacs provides. Our student internship program provides learners with the opportunity to secure $10,000 for each paid earn-while-you-learn internship that is 4–6 months in duration.

Mitacs internships include dedicated faculty supervision and mentorship, the opportunity to work with industry and/or community on their projects and access to the suite of Mitacs training opportunities. Participating students also receive recognition of learning upon completion. It's a win-win-win experience for all involved.

Selkirk Innovates has secured advanced funding for new internships through the Mitacs cluster program. Interested employers and learners are encouraged to contact us and find out how to get involved.

Contact Selkirk Innovates

To access internship support, employers are required to provide grant matching funds ($7,500) plus overhead (20%) and GST. Employers receive intern support through Mitacs-funded grants, and they also receive access to highly specialized equipment and faculty expertise. It's a win-win-win experience!

Mitacs Cluster Grants

We gratefully acknowledge funding-matching provided by the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior of British Columbia (ETSI-BC), allowing our partners to bring down their cash contributions for Mitacs research internships, while still receiving access to intern support, highly specialized equipment and faculty expertise. 

See ETSI-BC-funded projects to date.

ETSI-BC-Funded Projects

Rural Resilience

The rural resilience internship program aims to provide research support to government and non-profit partners across the Kootenay region of British Columbia. 

Internships focus on themes related to our region’s ability to successfully respond to economic, social and environmental changes, including climate change, demographic shifts and rural economic transition. Results from these internships will build the capacity of our partners to make evidence-informed decisions about their programs, policies and products. 

The ultimate goal is to build rural resilience by helping our partners understand the context in which they operate, evaluate risks and opportunities, and consider options to respond in a way that aligns with best practice.

Technology and Natural Resources

The technology and natural resources internship program focuses on critical resource sectors in the Kootenay region of British Columbia, applying drone-enabled geomatics expertise developed over 20 years at Selkirk College. 

Research objectives include:

  • Extraction of forest survey metrics from drone-derived datasets
  • Design of a remote sensing approach to analyzing forest health
  • Creation of predictive models of the occurrence of whitebark pine
  • Use of remote thermal imaging in fisheries to monitor changes in thermal refuge
  • Applying remote sensing to quantify fish habitat
  • Use of drones/automation for fish/redd enumeration
  • Development of hydrological models
  • Understanding hydrological impacts of wildfire risk reduction 
  • Applying drone-based GIS to characterize hot springs
  • Creation of digital watershed maps
  • Use of LiDAR to estimate forest fuels and biomass removal via prescribed burns
  • Assist in reducing forest fire fuels through collection/analysis of LiDAR data
  • AI applications in air quality and noise pollution
  • Risk calculations for extreme wind events
Selkirk Technology Access Centre

This internship program serves to meet diverse development needs of rural businesses and organizations with economic and environmental mandates in the Kootenay region of British Columbia through applied advanced manufacturing, computer science and data science expertise.

Objectives include:

  • Providing an AI-assisted tool for municipal and industrial asset management
  • Supporting regional economic development strategies by:
    • Creating a cluster of sporting gear builders/designers in the recreation industry
    • Improving the digital presence of businesses (e.g., AI-readiness and e-commerce capabilities)
  • Creating prototypes in:
    • Fine art cinematography centered around our stunning natural landscape
    • Building design processes
    • Bat habitat restoration
    • Recycled battery material value-added products
    • 3D printing and design processes
Selkirk Ion-source Research Centre

The Selkirk Ion-source Research Centre (SIRC) has a vision to be Canada’s national ion-source research centre, advancing ion-source technology for particle accelerators in the medical, semiconductor, energy, security and discovery science sectors. 

Through partnerships with industry and academic institutes, SIRC conducts research and development and commercialization projects, while training graduate students (master’s degrees, PhDs) and vocational students (e.g., millwrights, machinists, digital fabricators) through work-integrated learning.

This internship program provides flexible capacity for discovery science-based research and development and projects focused on solving commercialization-ready, next-generation ion-source challenges in key market sectors.