iSTEM Program - Ryerson University

iSTEM Program-

iSTEM is a new and innovative program designed to provide internship funding to eligible sourthern Ontario SME's to hire qualified Ryerson University iSTEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates and graduate students for a 6-month work placement.

Ryerson University, with funding awarded through the Graduate Enterprise Internship porgram of FedDev Ontario, will provide a matching contribution of $10,000 for a graduate of an undergrad program, and $15,000 for an intern with a graduate degree or currently enrolled in graduate school. The sponsoring company must provide a match that is equal to or greater than the Ryerson/FedDev contribution, and is responisible for the administration of the internship funds. Ryerson University will facilitate the matching of interns with sponsoring companies.

The program allows the interns to gain experience in industry through a six month internship, and provides them with training in necessary business and management skills so that they can help contribute to a talent pool to meet a growing workforce demand for the knowledge-base economy in southern Ontario. It provides Southern Ontario-based small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) support to bring state of the art technical and management skills into their companies and supports them to find and hire graduates and graduate students with expertise they are looking for.

During the placement, the interns will receive training at a specialized 3-day Bootcamp designed and taught by distinguished professors from Ryerson University alongside seasoned, leading, industry executives. Training will include entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; interpreting the finances of innovation; business law and its impact on innovation; identifying opportunities, determining markets and assessing customer value.

Companies wishing to participate in the program must be prequalified by filling out an application form. Once they are qualified, that qualification will be maintained for the duration of the proram unless the organization undergoes major restructuring, moves out of southern Ontario or no longer qualifies as a SME, in which case they must notify the University. Once qualified, companies will be able to propose internship positions by providing the following information:

• a description of the proposed internship;
• the proposed company mentor and mentoring arrangement;
• the necessary qualifications of the intern;
• details on the forecasted benefits to result from the internship;
• the amount of any federal, provincial, territorial or municipal assistance or tax credit, received or likely to be received for the internship;

Please note that the proposed intership positions must also meet the requirements of the program (i.e. the intern must be undertaking work relevant to the STEM field) before it will be approved.

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