Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand’s Innovation Agency, partners with the premier IT internship programme for New Zealand in order to connect more businesses with skilled student R&D talent.
According to a recent press release, the Agency teamed up to help businesses source well-trained, highly skilled students or new graduates for R&D internships.
R&D Experience Grant
Registering on the programme normally costs NZ$ 500+GST. However, the Agency’s R&D Experience Grant recipients can now register for free.
Once registered, businesses will be able to use the programme’s powerful skills-based search to find an intern from more than 3,000 tertiary students and graduates throughout the country.
These students have a range of backgrounds that include software and app development, testing, design, business analysis, data science and analytics, HR, and marketing, among others.
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 businesses with an R&D project or activity.
Businesses that have been approved for an R&D Experience Grant will need to recruit eligible students.
In return, businesses will receive funding of NZ$ 8,460+GST for 400 hours of full-time work upon proof of payment to the student.
Industry 4.0
In other news, the Agency is looking to take more than 40 New Zealand companies to learn, network and connect with international manufacturers.
The delegation will be comprised of New Zealand manufacturers, together with capability providers, who are keen to get a deep insight into manufacturing industries, trends and innovation platforms including the adoption of Industry 4.0 practices.
Specific Asia-Pacific examples will be showcased throughout the event programme.
The event is Asia-Pacific’s leading trade event for Industry 4.0 and will take place in Singapore from 22 – 24 October 2019. Additionally, technical tours and site visits are scheduled on 25 October 2019.
It is designed to help companies start, scale and sustain their adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and solutions.
Manufacturers, government agencies, and businesses that range from SMEs to multinational corporations, will gather together at this event to learn, share their insights into transformational Industry 4.0 initiatives, network and do business with each other.
Opportunities and benefits
The following activities and opportunities are in line for the delegates:
- Attend a pre and post-delegation workshop
- See a range of live showcases of technologies and real-world applications, wherein customers can adopt similar solutions back in New Zealand
- Take part in a hands-on experience at the Learning and Collaboration Labs, Innovation Zone and Consultancy Clinic
- Take part in guided site visits with Singapore manufacturers
- Investigate the competition as well as understand more about technology trends and what is working for global successful manufacturing companies
- Access knowledge and insights from multi-disciplinary businesses and establish connections to support collaborative international relationships during and after the event.
- Learn from and collaborate with other New Zealand companies attending both the delegation and conference.
The Agency will co-fund a limited number of companies based on stage, strategy and suitability.
It is important to note, however, that this will only happen if there are enough interested participants. Interested delegates will be notified by 9 September 2019, whether the mission will proceed.
Participants will also be notified of eligibility for attendance and additional funding.
