Callaghan Innovation

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Funding has now been allocated and Experience Grants are closed for this year.

 

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About R&D Experience Grants

How can the grant help me?

Fresh talent can help you supercharge your Research & Development (R&D) projects. Through R&D Experience Grants, Callaghan Innovation funds tertiary-level students with relevant skills into real world R&D work experience.

The R&D Experience Grant is an internship designed as full-time work experience during the student summer break.

The student is expected to help you with an R&D project or activity.

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How does it work?

Your business will receive funding of $9,460 (plus GST) for 400 hours of full-time work upon proof of your payment to the student. Public holidays and statutory holidays are included within this funding.

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Who can apply?

For businesses

To apply for an R&D Experience Grant, your business must be an eligible business entity:

• Incorporated in New Zealand and 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 within your business i.e. a R&D budget and technical R&D staff
• Meet financial due diligence requirements
• Employ the student on the payroll (you must provide payslips at claiming (note: public and statutory holidays are supported within the funding))
• Pay the student a minimum of $23.65 per hour

Businesses can apply for a maximum of 10 students. Please see our guide for student/R&D personnel ratio:  Experience Grants - Number of Grants per Business Guide

For students

To be eligible for an R&D Experience Grant internship, students must:

• Be studying, or have recently completed, an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or qualification at NZQA level 7-10. If study has been completed, the closing date of your final semester should be less than 12 months ago
• Be studying science, technology, engineering, design or business at a New Zealand tertiary education institute
• Be legally permitted to work in New Zealand
• Not have been previously employed at the business in either a full-time or part-time permanent position (temporary short-term employment is permitted)
• Not have undertaken more than two Experience Grant internships with the same business.

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How do I apply?

For Business 

If you are new to Callaghan Innovation, please contact us through our Customer Support page to ensure you are supported through the process. Existing customers may apply through the online portal from 15 August 2022.

Please also see the R&D Experience Grant guides below.

For Students

Students apply directly to businesses. Businesses will begin advertising their R&D Experience Grant internships at a date yet to be determined. Students may find internships through:

• University jobs boards
• Summer of Tech is an IT internship programme
• MyWIL - Work-Integrated Learning at Waikato
• AUT interNZ
• University of Auckland's MyCDES Job board
• Industry Ready (Engineering)
• Job advertising sites such as Student Job Search, Seek and Trade Me 
• Tertiary institution research and enterprise offices
• Encouraging businesses that you want to work for to apply for a grant
• Searching our Grants Recipient tool to find businesses approved for grants this year

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How do I find a student?

Businesses that have been approved for an R&D Experience Grant will need to recruit eligible students. The organisations below can assist you with finding the right student for your R&D project:  

• Summer of Tech is an IT internship programme 
• Industry Ready helps companies find the best skilled engineering students
• NZUniCareerHub or at info@nzunicareerhub.ac.nz 
• The University of Waikato: Work-Integrated Learning
• AUT interNZ 
• University of Auckland's MyCDES Job board 
• Job advertising sites such as Student Job Search, Seek and Trade Me 
• Tertiary institution research and enterprise offices.

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R&D Experience Grant guides

Experience Grant - Number of Student Grants per Business

Experience Grant – Student Eligibility Requirements Guidelines

Experience Grant - Post Approval Checklist

Experience Grant - Information for Students

Experience Grant - Funding Agreement Example

Experience Grant - Application Template

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Is there a limit to the grants funding?

R&D Experience Grants are one of our most successful and popular initiatives. However,  there is a limit on the total amount of funding available for these grants and we encourage you to apply early to avoid missing out on funding.

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Further information

Answers to frequently asked questions about Experience Grants can be found at Student Grant FAQs.

For more information, contact us through our Customer Support page.