• Be enrolled in a university-level engineering or scientific credit program (engineering training, bachelor’s degree, master's degree, doctorate*);
• Find a Polytechnique Montréal professor who is will agree to supervise your internship.

* Postdoctoral fellows are not affected by these procedures.

In order to be eligible for a research internship at Polytechnique Montréal, you must find a professor working in your field of interest who is willing to accept you as an intern at a time that is convenient for you and for the desired duration. To do this:

1 - Consult our expertise directory and the related professors’ fact sheets to find the person who may be able to offer you an internship. Teachers are responsible for recruiting and selecting interns.

When sending your proposal, your email should contain the following information: 

• your up-to-date résumé (CV);
• your most recent transcript;
• why the internship is important to you and details of your research interests;
• the start and end dates of your internship;
• proof from your home institution that you will remain enrolled in your program of study during the internship.
   

2 - Once your internship supervision has been confirmed by a professor, please email the person in charge of the official invitation process in your future host department (see contact table below) so that they can tell you what the next steps are. Copy your future supervisor on the email.

3 - The person in charge of the official invitation process in your future host department will send you and your supervisor an information sheet that you will need to complete, sign and return.

Once we have received your completed profile form, signed by you and your future supervisor, the person in charge of your future host department will email you an official invitation letter, along with all the documents required to assist with your immigration process, if applicable.

You will also receive a draft internship agreement for consideration. This provides a framework for certain important aspects of the internship, such as intellectual property and confidentiality. The agreement also covers the various protections to which the intern is entitled under Quebec law. You must forward the internship agreement proposed by Polytechnique Montréal, which has been completed by you and the Polytechnique professor, to your home institution for signature by a legal representative. If your home institution also requires the signature of its own internship agreement, you must send it to your future supervisor (Polytechnique faculty member) at this stage. Both establishments must sign the two internship agreements.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: DO NOT PURCHASE AN AIRLINE TICKET BEFORE RECEIVING AUTHORIZATION FROM IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES AND CITIZENSHIP CANADA (IRCC).

Your internship can start and end at any time of the year. An internship of at least four (4) months is generally recommended to give the intern time to adapt to the new work environment and make a significant contribution to the research work. However, the research internship must not exceed 12 months.

Also, since the introduction of the work permit exemption for researchers staying a maximum of 120 consecutive days, internships of just under four months can be organized to facilitate the reception of international students.

Given the length of time it takes to get the appropriate immigration documents, you’ll need to take the necessary steps to find a supervisor well in advance (see the section entitled Preparing for your stay for processing times).

Students doing a research internship at Polytechnique Montréal remain registered at their home institution and pay no tuition fees during their stay at Polytechnique. However, they must have sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of settling and living in Montreal.

In order to finance your internship project, there are a number of scholarship programs that you may have access to:

Current students of Polytechnique Montréal:

• UPIR internship scholarships [French only]
• Mitacs Globalink
   

Students enrolled at a Canadian university:

• Polytechnique Montréal's Undergraduate Summer Internship Award Program 

International students :

• Canada-ASEAN scholarships and educational exchange programs for development
• Emerging Leaders of the Americas Program (ELAP) [French only]
• Mitacs Globalink [French only]
• Scholarships in Canada [French only]
• China Scholarship Council (CSC) [French only]
• Global Affairs Canada and other Canadian federal government departments [French only]
   

If you are not eligible for any of the above scholarships, you may be able to receive funding from your internship supervisor. Nevertheless, each professor is free to decide whether or not to offer financial assistance to interns under their supervision and dictate the rules for awarding it and the amount offered, if applicable. We encourage you to discuss this with them beforehand.

Here are the types of financial arrangements we can offer you:

• No financial compensation;
• Reimbursement of travel and/or accommodation expenses (original invoices, plane tickets and boarding passes will be required);
• Research grant: original proof of registration at your home institution valid for the entire duration of the internship will be required. If this proof does not include your student number, you must present an original document that does.

For international students: When you arrive in Canada, you must apply for a social insurance number (SIN). To get one, you must go in person to a Service Canada office with your letter of invitation from Polytechnique Montréal, your passport and your work permit OR your visitor record attesting that you benefit from the work permit exemption for researchers for a maximum stay of 120 consecutive days. If you have access to financial support and don't have a bank account in Canada, you'll also need to open one when you arrive.

Health insurance coverage is not provided for Polytechnique Montréal research interns. It is your responsibility to get sufficient coverage for illness and hospitalization during your stay in Canada. If you can't find this type of insurance, your must at least acquire travel insurance (hospitalization and repatriation).

Interns who are citizens of Quebec’s social security partner countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and Sweden) are entitled to RAMQ (Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec) health insurance (Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec) if they meet the conditions. If this applies to you, you must get a certificate from the competent organization in your country before your departure and take steps with the RAMQ upon arrival.

Immigration documents

In order to comply with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regulations, Polytechnique Montréal has decided not to register research interns as students. As stated in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Foreign Worker Manual (FW1), “unpaid employment undertaken for the purpose of obtaining work experience, such as an internship or practicum normally done by a student” is to be considered “work.” This concept applies whether the work is paid or unpaid. These regulations require research interns to hold a temporary work permit that defines their status in Canada.

Since this status is mandatory to comply with Canadian immigration regulations, Polytechnique Montréal will make no exceptions, except in the case of interns exempted from the work permit requirement by a movement order and for research stays of up to 120 consecutive days.

In 2018, the Government of Canada established a new measure allowing researchers to be exempted for short-term research stays. Interns granted this exemption are not required to get a work permit. However, like other interns, they are considered workers and not as students.

Consult all work permit and work permit exemption requirements for international research interns.

Canada Customs

When you get off the plane at the Montreal airport, there are four steps to follow:

1 – Border post: Present your passport and your letter of invitation as a research intern at Polytechnique Montréal and clearly indicate to the officer at the first border crossing the purpose and duration of your stay.

2 – Immigration/Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) – application for a work permit or work permit exemption:

• 2.1 Application for a work permit: You must present your passport, your approval letter or email from the Canadian visa office and your letter of invitation from Polytechnique Montréal in order to get your permit. Other documents or explanations may be requested by the CBSA representative. IMPORTANT: Make sure your passport contains the work permit before leaving the border crossing. 
• 2.2 Application for work permit exemption: If IRCC has already issued a notification letter stating that you are eligible for a work permit exemption for a research stay of up to 120 consecutive days, you must submit the notification letter, along with all documents filed when the application was made. Other documents or explanations may be requested by the CBSA representative. IMPORTANT: When the CBSA officer grants you the exemption, you must ask them for a visitor record. Make sure you receive this record before leaving the border crossing. 

3 – Baggage carousel.

4 – Customs control of imports (CBSA) and exit from the airport.

IMPORTANT: Interns whose first point of entry into Canada is another Canadian airport (e.g., Toronto or Vancouver) or a land border crossing must complete their customs and immigration formalities at these other points of entry into Canada and not at the Montreal airport. The order of procedures may be different at other border crossings.

Accommodation:

If you wish, you can stay on campus at the Université de Montréal residences [French only] by contacting them directly. There is greater availability during the summer period, from May 1 to the end of August. Polytechnique Montréal interns must pay the rate applicable to professors and research interns.

You can also do your own housing search, using the advice on the Polytechnique Student Services website.

Banking:

If you receive financial support from your supervisor, you must have a bank account in Canada. Bank transfers will be made automatically to your account every two weeks. Considering that there may be a delay of 3 to 4 weeks before you receive your first payment, we advise you to bring sufficient financial resources to cover your needs at the beginning of your stay.

Supervision:

Notify your Polytechnique Montréal supervisor of your arrival date and schedule a meeting with them to discuss objectives, tasks, schedule and any other matters related to your internship.

Department:

Report to your supervisor’s home department (see contact list below) and bring the following documents with you:

• Passport;
• Work permit OR visitor record, if applicable;
• Proof of insurance (for interns from outside Canada).

The individual assigned to interns in your department will then help you with the following things:

• Access to an ID number: Polytechnique Montréal identification number required to access the library and some laboratories;
• Password for wireless Internet access at Polytechnique Montréal;
• Financial assistance form, if applicable;

Documents required to get a pass at a student fare from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) if you wish.

Polytechnique Montréal encourages you to participate in the activities organized by the student committee Poly-Explore [French only]. The committee organizes a number of outings to help you discover Quebec culture and scenery. It’s a great way to make new friends!

HALILU IBRAHIM MAKINTAMI
Master’s in information technology
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

“Travelling to Montreal, Canada, was a huge eye opener for me. I got to experience different culture and traditions, try the famous Montreal poutine along with different varieties of cuisine and meet kind and intelligent people. Working at Polytechnique was another extraordinary experience as I got the chance to converse with staff members in French despite the fact that my program was conducted in English. The staff and students were so kind and showed the utmost professionalism throughout my stay. This is the type of opportunity that I will be thankful for forever.”

LENKA SCHEINHERROVA
Ph.d. in physical and material engineering
Czech Technical University, Czech Republic

“I am very thankful and happy that I could be part of Polytechnique as an intern. I met many great people and I could try what it’s like to do actual research. Students and interns here need to be very independent individuals by problem-solve on their own. Supervisors don’t expect us to follow them, they want us to be creative and patient. Sometimes it can be very challenging but when you can solve problems without assistance, you’re becoming a stronger person.”

LIIQILIN
Bachelor’s in electrical engineering
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

“The most important experience I gained during my research internship at Polytechnique Montréal is the confidence to be an independent thinker, by totally abandoning the original design concept and creating my own. I realized I could use the limited knowledge I had learned so far to solve problems. The whole process itself was a surprise to me since I never thought I could solve the problem at first. When I came back to Singapore, I realized that the research internship gave me great abilities both in academic and actual design work.”

JAEJOENG SHIN
Bachelor’s in engineering
Seoul National University, South Korea

“The biggest lesson from the research internship at Polytechnique Montréal was how we lived together. During the internship, I worked with professors, plumbers, technicians, sensor sales men, colleagues, etc. I experienced how engineers work together and I also realized that this did not only apply to engineering. Since Montreal is a multicultural city and there were many interns from all around the world, I met many friends and learned how we can enjoy our experiences together.”