Supporting Future Talent – Winnipeg Free Press

When Ali Dehkordi began working on his PhD in Power Systems at the University of Manitoba in 2003, he interned at RTDS Technologies Inc.

At the time, the Winnipeg company had 13 employees.

A few years later, Dehkordi received one of the internship grants from Mitacs, a national nonprofit organization, for a research project at RTDS.

He is now an R&D leader and technical lead — and one of 20 PhDs and 50 engineers currently working at RTDS, which has a staff of 80.

It has also become a global leader in digital power system digitization, selling software and hardware worldwide.

On Monday, Research Manitoba renewed its partnership with Mitacs, increasing the non-profit's funding to $4.8 million over three years, enough to fund more than 400 expected program internships.

Mitacs is funded by the federal government and all 10 provinces and acts as a match between the private sector and mainly postgraduate students. It splits the cost of the four-month projects ($15,000 on average) with the company or organization that needs the research.

(In its early days, Mitacs was known as Information Technology and Complex Systems Mathematics, referring to its original mandate to connect mathematics researchers with industry. After becoming an independent, national non-profit organization in 2011, the acronym was phased out and is now simply called Mitacs. )

Mitacs research funding must be applied to students' thesis.

In Dehkordi's case, his research into power systems served to improve people's lives.

“It was my dream,” said the graduate of Sharif University of Technology in Iran.

John Hepburn, CEO of Vancouver-based Mitacs, said RTDS was one of its original partners in Manitoba and one of Dehcordi's first interns.

Dehkordi is one of 13 former Mitacs interns working full-time at RTDS, a company with customers in 55 countries.

The company will be acquired in 2022 by Ametek Inc. of Pennsylvania. company bought.

Its technology is used in the development and testing of electrical networks and related equipment. RTDS technologies have gained in demand as the emphasis has been placed on connecting renewable energy generation to power grids around the world.

Kelly McNeil, the company's president and CEO, said revenue has doubled in the past 10 years.

Although Mitacs funds research that allows graduate students to put their knowledge and learning into real-world applications, it's also a great recruiting strategy for companies.

McNeil is proud that all of RTDS' operations and all of its employees are located in Manitoba. As a small company in a highly specialized and niche market with a global customer base, recruiting talent can be challenging.

“Sponsoring Mitacs is a great way to develop future talent,” said McNeill.

The company has sponsored 23 interns over the years.

Jennifer Cleary, who has been CEO of Research Manitoba for less than two months after an extensive career in research administration at the University of Winnipeg and in the province, said she will increase support for Mitax by $1.5 million over the life of the three-year agreement. – interesting.

Research Manitoba's annual budget is about $14 million, with $1.6 million currently going to Mitacs.

“I've been in the research community for a while. I have benefited from Mitacs,” he said.

At least $500,000 of that will go to Mitacs' Indigenous Pathways program, which provides 75 percent of research funding for Indigenous students and/or Indigenous organizations, with its partner only required to fund 25 percent.

Another interesting aspect of Mitacs-sponsored studies is that if a student completes a Mitacs internship in Manitoba and successfully completes graduate studies, they are automatically enrolled in the Provincial Nominee Program, making them eligible for immigrant status in Canada.

“A lot of our students will stay,” Hepburn said.

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Martin Cash
Reporter

Martin Cash has written columns and business news for the Free Press since 1989. Over the years, he has chronicled a number of business cycles and the successes and failures (and booms) of many local businesses.

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