Working with our researchers

Learn more about what you can expect from student projects or commercial engagements with the University.

There are various ways that industry and businesses already do, and can directly engage with our faculty for research services, and they all involve some level of collaboration — from training our students to become employment-ready, to working together on industry-relevant research.

For more information, you may wish to contact UniServices, who works to connect the right researchers and organisations to create successful partnerships and results. You can contact them at research@uniservices.co.nz or via their website.

Ways to work with our Engineering researchers

Project type	Time period and duration	People and resources	Expected outcomes	Funding source
Internship	10 weeks in Dec - Jan	Undergraduate student(s)with relevant theoretical knowledge Internship salary (generally determined by company)	Smaller, low-risk project managed by your company	Company
Summer project	10 weeks in Dec - Feb	Undergraduate-level student(s), generally second to fourth year Approximately $6k	Student(s) can submit a focused report on a sepcific, well-defined small topic	Company
Final year/Part IV Project	7 months in March - Sept	Final/fourth year (Part IV) undergraduate student Costs up to $10k depending on concept owner and IP terms Our Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering puts an annual call to industry for projects, but this is available within all our Engineering departments.	Small research project managed by the University	Company
Masters-level project	Projects should start in March or July, and generally last for a year	Option one: your staff This generally involves staff from your company undertaking research related to their work — we accept part-time enrolments in many of our masters programmes, and any further arrangements (time, cost) are between you and your employee. Option two: student projects Dependent on availability of suitable student(s) Academic and company supervision Needs to be a project that meets our University's degree requirements	Focused report on a specific research topic/area	Company contribution to fees (usually around $8k); Callaghan Innovation funds a full stipend
PhD student project	Usually lasts 3 - 4 years, and can begin at any time of the year (typically March)	Dependent on availability of student Academic and company supervision Needs to meet University degree requirements for a PhD, so there will be additional justifications for technical/research depth and originality	Dissertation and focused report on a specific topic/area	Company contribution to fees (usually around $8k per annum); Callaghan Innovation funds a full stipend
Consultancy	On demand	Academic staff as project manager and owner Typically occurs for a fixed duration and dependent on academic's availability and teaching workload	Technically challenging problems addressed; "you pay for it, you own it" model	Company
Contract research	On demand	Academic staff as project manager and owner Access to students and technicians if required Dedicated project resources	Unique IP; "you pay for it, you own it" model	Company
High risk, high return, industry-relevant research funded by the government	2 - 6 years in total, with concept and application occuring in November, and full applications in May (by invitation only)	Academics as Principal and Associate Investigators May include Postdoctoral Fellows, PhD and masters students as required Industry as implementation partners Industry on government boards	IP sharing arrangement based on contribution	MBIE Endeavour Fund Smart ideas (high risk high return) Research Programme (ability to transform New Zealand's future)
Company co-location	On demand	Company staff co-located within the University's multidisciplinary and industry clusters Company integrated into our research environments, including the Newmarket Innovation Precinct	Environments to support company innovation	Company
R&D partnership	On demand, long term collaboration (5 - 7 years)	Academic as project manager and owner Generally involves individuals across multiple disciplines and departments Dedicated project resources Overarching framework agreements Relationship building beyond contract research services	May include licensing and access to University IP and specific technologies May include access to commercialisation support, stage-gate and investment committees Unique IP: "you pay for it, you own it" Access to free Open Innovation	Company