R&D Experience Grants

Business eligibility

To apply for the grant, your business should be able to offer an R&D position which provides the student with worthwhile experience and plays a positive part in their professional development. You must:

• • Have an active R&D programme within your business i.e. 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 $28.95 per hour.

Your organisation 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.

There are limits in place as to how many students businesses can apply for. Businesses can apply for a maximum of 10 R&D Experience Grant students, as long as the student/R&D personnel ratio is met for all active student grants (Fellowship Grant, Career Grant or Experience Grant).

Student eligibility

Organisations wishing to take on a student intern funded by the grant must ensure that their candidate is:

• Studying, or has recently completed, an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or qualification at NZQA level 6-10. If the study has been completed, the closing date of their final semester should be less than 12 months ago.
• Studying, or has studied, science, technology, engineering, design or business at a New Zealand tertiary education institute.
• Legally permitted to work in New Zealand.
• Has not been previously employed at the business, unless part-time or temporary.
• Has not undertaken more than two R&D Experience Grant internships with the same business.

Important: please thoroughly read the Funding Agreement and Application Template to ensure you can comply with all terms and conditions, and obligations of the scheme

For 2025 - 2026: Eligible businesses will receive funding of $11,580 (plus GST) for 400 hours of full-time work upon proof of payment to the student. Public holidays and statutory holidays are included within this funding. Under the grant scheme, participating students will receive a minimum of $28.95 per hour. 

Businesses can apply for an R&D Experience Grant prior to identifying a suitable student.

For returning businesses with access to the grants online portal (Forge): you will be able to apply from 9am Tuesday 1st July. From your dashboard, you can select 2025/26 R&D Experience Grant at the bottom of the screen. Please read the Funding Agreement to ensure you can comply with all terms and conditions.

For new applicants of the grant: please get in contact with our team.

Once you’re confident you fit the eligibility criteria and are confident you can fill the role, you can start your grant application. You do not need to have a student selected before you start the application.

Important: please thoroughly read the Funding Agreement and Application Template to ensure you can comply with all terms and conditions, and obligations of the scheme

Businesses applying for the R&D Experience Grant are also responsible for recruiting eligible students. We’d actively encourage you to advertise the summer internship roles in the usual places you’d promote vacancies, such as your website and social media, as well as on the likes of Seek and Trade Me.

If you’re seeking a student from a certain course, with a specific type of knowledge, you may wish to approach the specific departments at universities and institutions directly.

There are a number of other sites and job boards dedicated to university talent and internships. You can find them on the R&D Experience Grant Resource Hub.