Medtech Fellowship Partnership Expands
Medventions and Mitacs Partner to Fund Dozens of Medtech Entrepreneurship Fellowships Across Canada
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Medventions, a medtech fellowship program based at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, has formally partnered with Mitacs to fund 39 fellowships across Canada over the next two years, according to Business Wire. The deal, called the Medventions Mitacs Umbrella, was announced on June 9 during the Medventions Toronto Innovation Day.
The partnership covers fellowship sites in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Co-founder Dr. Ahmed Nasef said the agreement marks "an important milestone in building a pan-Canadian health innovation talent pipeline" and that "Canada must invest not only in technology but in the people who will commercialize it."
How the Mitacs Umbrella Model Works and What It Pays
Under the standard Mitacs Accelerate model, each internship is worth $15,000. Partners contribute $7,500 and Mitacs matches it with another $7,500, according to GrantCompass. Fellows in the Atlantic program earn $21 per hour. The new Umbrella agreement streamlines the process. Instead of applying for each internship one by one, Medventions can now place fellows faster under a single standing deal.
Mitacs President and CEO Dr. Stephen Lucas said the partnership "reflects a shared commitment to accelerating made-in-Canada medical innovations" and creates "a direct pathway from innovation to impact for patients." Mitacs is a federally backed nonprofit that links academic researchers with industry partners across Canada.
Medventions Grows From Toronto Into Atlantic Canada
Medventions launched in 2016 at Sunnybrook Research Institute, modeled after the Stanford Biodesign program. It expanded to Halifax, Nova Scotia in summer 2023 through a partnership with the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, according to Medventions.ca. In January 2026, it launched a third pilot site in St. John's and Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador, focused on anesthesiology, as reported by BetaKit.
Since 2016, the program has mentored more than 150 innovators, according to Sunnybrook Research Institute. Margaret Palmeter, Senior Director of Innovation at Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, said the collaboration will "strengthen the next generation of innovators and problem solvers — something healthcare needs not only across Canada, but around the world."
INOVAIT Adds $1.35M for AI Medtech Projects on the Same Day
On June 9, the same day the Mitacs deal was announced, INOVAIT committed $1.35 million to fund 10 new AI-powered medtech projects, according to INOVAIT. INOVAIT is a national network focused on image-guided therapy and AI. It is funded through Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada's Strategic Response Fund.
Raphael Ronen, Co-Executive Director of INOVAIT, said Canada's medtech sector "does not lack for bold ideas" but "lacks the commercialization mechanisms to validate them." He added that the pilot fund gives innovators "the runway to deliver prototypes." Medventions is supported by INOVAIT, Sunnybrook Research Institute, and the Strategic Response Fund.
Canada's Medtech Talent Gap Drives the Push for More Fellows
Canada's medtech sector supports 88,394 full-time jobs and adds $13.7 billion in value to the economy each year, according to Medtech Canada. But policy experts argue the country struggles to turn great research into commercial products. Canada imports $20 billion in medical devices annually, according to the Balsillie School of International Affairs, which points to a deep reliance on foreign technology.
Analysts warn that fellowship programs alone cannot fix the problem. Regulatory delays of three to four years and unpredictable hospital procurement processes often push Canadian startups to sell to the U.S. market first, according to the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Still, Medventions is seen as a rare "founder-first" model that trains engineers inside real clinical settings to solve real problems.
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