oppi Partners with employers, universities and mitacs canada to fund student planner internships 

OPPI is pleased to announce the commitment of $30,000 in funding to support planning student internships in 2021. This funding announcement allows OPPI to fund up to 12 research internship opportunities for up to four months.

OPPI will contribute $2,500 for every employer who contributes $5,000 under this initiative. With a project brief that matches the Mitacs Canada (Mitacs) funding criteria, Mitacs will match the $7,500 contributed by OPPI and the employer providing a total of $15,000 for the student internship project.
 
This opportunity is open to planning consulting firms, non-profits and municipalities.* All partners must be confirmed as eligible by Mitacs. Employers and students are encouraged to express their interest as soon as possible as there are eligibility requirements that must be fulfilled to complete the internships and applications take approximately eight weeks to be reviewed.
 
Now more than ever, evidence-based research is fundamental to the work of Registered Professional Planners and informing the choices of elected officials and decision makers in communities across Ontario. The internship opportunities allow OPPI to help student members to obtain meaningful employment and career development opportunities to set them up for future success and employers access new talent.

Program Details
Please see more information below, and contact information, for eligible employers and students. To learn more about this program and to express your interest, please contact Rupendra Pant, Member Engagement Manager, and/or Susan Wiggins, Executive Director, at OPPI. As we continue to build this research initiative, more information will be shared by OPPI.
 
For Employers:

• Projects may be eligible for further funding through the Mitacs Accelerate program. Each four-month internship would require $2,500 (+ applicable taxes) from OPPI and $5,000 (+ applicable taxes) from eligible partner organizations. Projects must fall within eligible research guidelines for the Mitacs Accelerate program. Research criteria can be found on the Mitacs website.
• Eligible employers for the four-month internships include planning consulting firms, non-profits, and municipalities.
• *Municipal applications should be submitted to Mitacs in early December; however, applications submitted by municipalities in early January risk not being approved on time (by March 31st). Municipal internships must start no later than March 31, 2021. Projects not with municipalities should be submitted early January at the latest. Internships for consulting firms can begin at any time. In both instances, there must be an outcome tied to each research internship.
• As an employer, please consult OPPI with your expression of interest but you can also consult your local Mitacs Business Development Representative (list below) to determine eligibility of your project/partner organization:
  • Queen’s University School of Urban and Regional Planning – Kristin Spong (kspong@mitacs.ca)
  • Ryerson University School of Urban and Regional Planning – Leslie Bone (lbone@mitacs.ca)
  • University of Guelph School of Rural Planning & Development – Emily Gordon (egordon@mitacs.ca)
  • University of Toronto Department of Geography & Planning – Christine Macdonald (cmacdonald@mitacs.ca)
  • University of Waterloo School of Planning – Ashley Hannon (ahannon@mitacs.ca)
  • York University Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change – Rachel Sung (rsung@mitacs.ca)

For Students:

• Eligible students must be OPPI student members from an accredited planning program at the commencement of research work.
• Candidates must maintain a full-time status in their degree program for the duration of the internship.
• Projects must fall within eligible research guidelines for the Mitacs Accelerate program.
• Students must have an academic supervisor in their program supporting their research internship.
• Eligible students who are interested in this opportunity are asked to contact OPPI to express their interest and can also contact their local Mitacs Business Development Representative to ensure student eligibility to participate.
• OPPI's funding will give priority for BIPOC student applications which meet the eligible criteria.