R&D Career Grant

R&D Career Grant is sponsored by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). This grant covers 6 months of salary for businesses hiring a Master's or PhD graduate into their first full-time R&D role. It aims to introduce businesses to fresh perspectives and help accelerate R&D projects while providing graduates with real-world experience.

R&D Career Grant - Business. govt. nz Applications for the R&D Career Grant will open later in 2026.

The grant helps you employ a master’s or PhD student who studied science, technology, engineering, design or business. You give them a job for 6 months and they help you solve an R&D problem. introduce your team to fresh ways of looking at the challenges you’re working on, helping you accelerate your R&D projects give the student a chance to use their knowledge on real-world projects while building their capability.

You look for a suitable master’s or PhD student. You apply for the grant using the Innovation Services online portal. If successful, you employ the student full-time for 32–40 hours a week to work on an R&D project in your business for 6 months.

The student will be based mostly at your business, not at university or at home. Each month, you submit a claim using the Innovation Services online portal to get reimbursed. You provide progress reports to let Innovation Services know how it’s going.

After the grant ends, you can stop employing the student. Innovation Services will fund 6 months of the student’s annual salary. This must be for a full-time job of 32–40 hours a week.

You’ll put the student on your payroll and pay them the same way you pay your other employees. You’ll be reimbursed monthly, up to a total of: $30,000 plus GST for a master’s student, based on an annual salary of $60,000 $35,000 plus GST for a PhD student, based on an annual salary of $70,000. How much you’ll be funded depends on the student’s actual salary.

For example, if a master’s student gets: $56,000 a year, the maximum funding you'll get is $28,000, based on 6 months' salary $120,000 a year, the maximum funding you'll get is $30,000, which must still be reimbursed over 6 months. Your business must be one of the following: a company incorporated and registered in New Zealand a Māori incorporation or a trust or a similar organisation managing Māori assets under multiple ownership.

You’ll also need to show that your business: has enough money to keep running for at least the next 6 to 12 months employs at least one full-time R&D person has an active R&D programme, with an R&D budget worked on R&D activities in the previous year and has an R&D plan for the upcoming year. If your business is part of a group You can apply if your business is part of a group.

For example, if it is a sister company, parent or subsidiary of another company. You apply for the student your business will employ and sign a separate funding agreement. Your business employs the student and you get reimbursed, not the group.

Government shareholding may affect your eligibility You’ll need to confirm you are not 50% or more owned or controlled by any of the following: local authority and local regional promotions bodies government departments or agencies Public Finance Act 1989 Schedule 4A companies Tertiary Education Organisations including any that are foreign owned entities controlled by any of the above — control means 50% or more ownership trusts, other than a Māori Trust listed under ‘Make sure your business can apply’ above a company that was incorporated in another country but is registered to do business in New Zealand.

If you’re not sure how to look for a master’s or PhD student, check university talent websites and job boards. If you’re looking for a student from a specific course, or with a specific type of knowledge, you can talk to individual departments at universities and institutions.

About NZUni Talent NZUni Talent Employers Summer of Tech Check if the student is eligible The master’s or PhD student must: be about to complete, or has recently completed, their degree in science, technology, engineering, design or business (NZQA Level 9 or 10) be either a New Zealand citizen, or have received their master’s or PhD from a New Zealand university have submitted a thesis for marking or have completed course requirement for taught master’s less than 12 months ago.

The student needs to be legally allowed to work in New Zealand. Also, they can’t have already worked: in your industry as a paid employee in a role related to their area of study — unless it was temporary or part-time work or at a tertiary organisation for you — unless it was a temporary job for less than 3 months or an R&D Experience Grant internship.

If you need more than 1 student You can get multiple grants and students depending on the size and capability of your R&D team. You can apply for 1 student for every 2 R&D full-time equivalents (FTEs) in your team, up to 10 students. If you have only 1 R&D FTE, you can apply for 1 student.

You’ll need to apply for a separate grant for each student. You can employ students under both R&D Career and Experience Grants. Example 1: when you can apply for more students You have 10 R&D FTEs and 3 R&D Career Grant students.

You can have up to 5 interns, so you can apply for 2 other student grants. Example 2: when you can’t apply for more students You have 12 R&D FTEs and 6 R&D Experience Grant students. You can’t apply for more student grants at this time.

You can apply for a new grant 1 month before the current grant(s) ends. For example, if the current grants ends on 30 July, you can apply from 1 July for a new grant that starts 1 August. Here’s a step-by-step overview of the application process: If you’re new to R&D grants and unsure if your business can apply, get in touch.

Read the information on this page to understand what you need to provide. Download the application template and fill it out. Take your time, get feedback, make sure your information is correct.

Copy your completed template answers into the portal and upload any documents that are required. Submit your application. You’ll receive email confirmation.

Innovation Services will contact you if you need to supply more information. You’ll get an email to let you know the outcome. If approved, you’ll sign a funding agreement with MBIE.

The R&D Career grant application template example will be available later in 2026.

What you'll need to provide Innovation Services needs details about your business, including: New Zealand business bank account details for reimbursement information about what kind of business it is, what it does, background and compliance information about the previous year’s R&D activities and an R&D plan for the upcoming year financial evidence for the last 2 years, and that it has enough money to keep running for at least the next 6 to 12 months — a cashflow template is in the Innovation Services online portal if your business has any issues that could harm the reputation of MBIE or its R&D programme.

You’ll also need to provide information about your R&D project, including: project title, start and end dates number of full-time R&D employees total funding you’re asking for.

You’ll need to provide details about the students you’re applying for, including: the number of students you’re applying for evidence that they meet eligibility criteria, including area of study, place of study, immigration status and evidence of qualifications the R&D work the student will do, their area of specialisation, how your R&D is relevant to their study mentor details, a professional development plan for the student, and how they will benefit your business.

Conditions you need to meet You’ll need to confirm the student: is about to complete their studies, or has recently completed their studies less than 12 months ago is applying for their first full-time job after finishing their studies hasn’t already worked for you, unless it was in a temporary role.

Your responsibilities include: employing the student on your payroll for at least 6 months of full-time work providing payslips when you claim reimbursement paying all tax, KiwiSaver employer contributions, ACC, recruitment fees and other levies relating to the student’s employment making sure the student works at your business, not at home or a university.

How to get reimbursed Each month, you’ll need to submit a claim using the Innovation Services online portal. You’ll send payslips, a tax invoice and a brief progress report. At the end of the 6 months, you’ll send a final report.

Contact Innovation Services if the student stops working for you, or something else changes. Innovation Services will look at how that affects the grant and talk to you about it. Connect with Innovation Services Describing R&D in your application When you apply, you’ll need to describe the previous year’s R&D activities and what you have planned for R&D in the coming year.

Make sure what you’re doing fits the R&D definition. Some supporting activities may qualify as R&D if they are key to your planned R&D work. For example: writing specialised software to monitor R&D results designing and producing testing or analysis equipment routine crop management of plants for core R&D activity documenting results for internal approval disassembling testing equipment or prototypes and disposing of waste.

Activities on this list are not usually eligible unless they are essential for your R&D: market research, testing, development, or sales promotion reproducing existing products or processes from examination or public information minor adaptations or improvements to existing offerings data mapping or migration testing research in social sciences, arts, or humanities cosmetic or stylistic changes bug, beta, system requirement, user acceptance, or data integrity testing comparing already proven algorithms testing security protocols to uncover flaws converting or integrating systems onto new software platforms routine data operations or presentation writing test results, analysis, or maintaining R&D documentation.

If you’ve had a grant with Innovation Services before, talk to your Funding Engagement Specialist. Otherwise, use the link below to get in touch. If you’re a student with concerns about the grant or project, try talking to your employer first.

You can also contact Innovation Services directly. Connect with Innovation Services Innovation Services