Add a PhD or masters graduate to your R&D team to stimulate innovation.
How can the grant help me?
The R&D Career Grant is an internship designed to bridge the first six months of employment-gaining work experience for recent PhD or masters graduate students.
The student is expected to support your business in solving an R&D problem faced in the development of a new product, process or service.
How does it work?
Your business will receive the first six months of the student’s annual salary costs up to:
- $30,000 (plus GST) for a masters graduate (based on annual salary of $60,000)
- $35,000 (plus GST) for a PhD graduate (based on an annual salary of $70,000)
Businesses can apply for an R&D Career Grant as soon as they identify a suitable student.
Who can apply?
For businesses
To apply for an R&D Career Grant, your business must be one of the following:
- Registered under the Companies Act.
- Registered under the Limited Partnerships Act.
- A Māori incorporation or trust established under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act, a trust set up to manage assets as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, a Māori statutory body, or a business controlled by one or more of these entities.
To qualify, your business must also:
- Have an active R&D programme i.e. a R&D budget and R&D staff
- Meet financial due diligence requirements.
For students
To be eligible for an R&D Career Grant internship, students must:
- Be about to complete, or have recently completed, a masters or PhD degree in science, technology, engineering, design or business ie have submitted a thesis for marking (or completed course requirement for taught masters) less than 12 months ago
- Have undertaken the study at a New Zealand tertiary institution if you are not a New Zealand citizen
- Be legally permitted to work in New Zealand
- Not have been employed in the industry under a professional arrangement related to your area of study except temporary, part-time or at a tertiary organisation
- Not have been previously employed at the business – unless this was short-term employment (eg over the summer break).
How do I apply?
For businesses
Talk to us and we’ll help you through the process. Phone Callaghan Innovation on 0800 4 CALLAGHAN (0800 422 552).
For students
Businesses will be looking for students all year round. Students can find interested businesses through:
- Talking to your tertiary school head of department or head of graduate studies
- University Career Hub
- The University of Waikato Cooperative Education Unit
- AUT interNZ
- University of Auckland's MyCDES Job board
- Job advertising sites such as Seek and Trade Me
- Internship facilitators such as Summer of Tech
- Encouraging businesses that you want to work for to apply for a grant
Career Grant guides
Career Grant - Application Guidelines and Template
Career Grant - Funding Agreement
Career Grant - Information for Students
Further information
Answers to frequently asked questions about Career Grants can be found at Student Grant FAQs.
We have found the R&D Career Grant a great way to find specialist advanced skills that increase our capability in strategically important areas.
Barbara Webster, GM Business Development & Innovation - Scott Technology
Updated: 13 August 2018