Automotive Innovation Challenge
The OVIN Automotive Innovation Challenge (AIC) aims to provide post-secondary students with practical, hands-on experiences that will allow them to apply their knowledge and skills in solving real-world problems Ontario’s automotive and mobility sector is facing.
For more on this program’s current status, please visit the Programs Overview.
Program overview
The OVIN Automotive Innovation Challenge (AIC) brings together industry and post-secondary institutions to provide students with practical, hands-on experiences that will allow them to apply their knowledge and skills in solving real-world problems Ontario’s automotive and mobility sector is facing.
OVIN invites colleges and universities to collaborate with one or more industry partners, select a challenge they are facing, and host a student competition for solutions. The exact structure of the competition, including any benefits for participants or winners, will be determined by the educational and industry partners.
Objectives
The goals of OVIN’s Automotive Innovation Challenge are:
- To help post-secondary students develop practical, real-world experience that draws upon their knowledge and skills.
- To connect post-secondary students to the Ontario automotive and mobility sector, provide them with direct access to industry and their talent acquisition teams, and enhance their career development.
- To provide Ontario-based automotive and mobility employers and industry associations with fresh solutions to some of the problems they face.
- To build a larger, more diverse talent pool for Ontario’s automotive and mobility sector by facilitating collaboration between higher education institutions and automotive and mobility industry stakeholders in the province.
Program Details
- Programs must be developed in response to a real-world challenge that at least one industry partner in Ontario’s automotive and mobility sector is currently facing.
- Programs must provide opportunities for students from diverse academic programs to apply their knowledge and skills to solve a problem relevant to the province’s automotive and mobility sector.
- Applicants must demonstrate a plan for how they will engage students at the post-secondary institution – including students from equity-deserving groups – and encourage them to register for and fully participate in the Challenge.
- Post-secondary institutions and industry partners applying must demonstrate a diversity of backgrounds and expertise that will support them in delivering the program effectively.
Eligibility
- All post-secondary institutions applying, and their industry partners, must be based in Ontario
- Industry partners must be Ontario-based automotive and mobility companies or organizations, including but not limited to:
- Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs); and/or
- Tier 1 suppliers; and/or
- Relevant start-ups or SMEs operating in the automotive and mobility space.
- Industry partners and applicants are required to contribute resources such as expertise and other appropriate resources towards the program in a 1:1 match.
Matching Contribution
Applicant institutions and their industry partners are required to support the program through contributions equal to OVIN’s requested contribution, at least 50% of which must come from the private sector.
From Applicants that are classified as Post-Secondary Institutions:
Applicants that are classified as post-secondary institutions must contribute to the program by having at least one full-time employee whose salary for the program’s duration is paid wholly by the applicant. This employee must be dedicated to the development and implementation of the program. This employee’s role within the applicant’s organization and this employee’s expertise must be described in the applicant’s proposal. This employee will also be OVIN’s point of contact.
Please note:
- Matching contributions must be unencumbered from other government grant sources (it cannot be used to leverage other public funds to pay for a portion of the same activity) and must come directly from the applicant institution’s own budget. This must be clear in the applicant’s budget justification.
- Applicants are responsible for meeting their commitment to the matching contribution. Underspending will result in an equal amount deducted from OVIN’s final contribution.
From Industry Partners:
Applicant institutions’ industry partners are required to support the program through contributions equal to at least 50% of OVIN’s requested contribution and outlined in a Letter of Support. Contributions can include staff time, expertise, opportunities for student participants to engage with industry, and other appropriate resources.
How to apply
How to apply
The Automotive Innovation Challenge employs a one-stage application process. The full application package must include your application proposal and any other supporting documents.
For more details about this program, please see the Program Guidelines (PDF).
If you have any questions about the process, please contact Curtis Lundgren, Project Lead on OVIN’s Talent Strategy and Workforce Planning team at clundgren@oc-innovation.ca for further information.
Links to Important Documents:
Intake Form
Submit this intake form and see if this program is the right fit for your business!