Venture Taranaki has partnered with Massey University since 2012 to help Taranaki businesses and industry sectors access Massey University’s expertise, knowledge, and innovation when looking to innovate. We help support Taranaki businesses in gaining access to Massey’s expert team for information or research and development expertise, and we also have strong ties with capable students who can be engaged for internships or jobs in Taranaki. The partnership builds on the long association Massey University has with Taranaki and serves to expand longstanding research, teaching, and alumni connections between Massey, Taranaki’s business sector, and wider communities.
The economic drivers for Taranaki are also amongst Massey’s strengths – food, agriculture, horticulture, fundamental and natural sciences, and sustainability. With Massey’s drive to support innovation and to work on some of the big challenges for New Zealand, it’s an exceptionally good fit. We have a Massey University staff member based in the Venture Taranaki office, who helps Taranaki organisations identify opportunities where the University’s faculties, staff, and research centres can be of assistance.
Engaging interns to work on R&D projects is a great ‘win-win’. Interns can be students who are currently undertaking their university studies, or recent graduates. They bring theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained via their studies, as well as ‘fresh thinking’ to projects, and can be a dedicated resource to ensure the job gets done. The win for the intern is the opportunity to apply themselves to a project of consequence, add to their real-world learning, and build industry networks.
There have been many Massey students, from all levels of studies, working with businesses in Taranaki – completing either Summer or 6-month-long internships.
A good number of companies in Taranaki have had projects completed by final-year bachelor’s degree students or postgraduate students – students who are able to complete a real-world project towards their Bachelor's, Master’s or PhD qualifications. Not only are the students who undertake these projects well-qualified to undertake them, but the projects also benefit from the backing of Massey’s expertise, facilities, and equipment.
The type of organisation, project type, and duration, will influence what sort of co-funding might be available for internships or applied projects. It's worthwhile talking to our Massey representative here in Taranaki about what you are planning to achieve.
In addition to co-funding for companies, or fellowships on offer to support Applied Masters or PhD projects, there are a range of scholarships that students can apply for themselves. These can usually be awarded severally and help encourage students to undertake applied projects while studying for postgraduate qualifications.
The Pivot Award is a partnership between the Bashford-Nicholls Trust and Massey University. Offered annually since 2019, these Awards supports collaborative projects whereby Taranaki and Massey University seek to apply research-in-action to innovation initiatives which have potential to re-shape agriculture for the future.
Looking for an internship that gets your foot in the door of a great company in an even better region? Taranaki is home to cutting-edge innovation, stunning natural beauty, and a strong sense of community.
Grant: Callaghan Innovation R&D Career Grant Role: Master’s Graduate Project - Subsequently appointed to a permanent position Project: Product Development
Lan Luo, a Master’s graduate in Food Technology, undertook a nine-month project at Van Dyck Fine Foods, with the first six months funded by an R&D Career Grant. Lan worked on a range of projects relating to Van Dyck’s product range and manufacturing processes. Lan’s ‘fresh eyes’ were highly valued, and the company was grateful for the opportunity the R&D Career Grant had provided, allowing them to get a good understanding of her capabilities, which ultimately led to offering Lan a permanent role. Lan credits her Bachelor’s and Master’s studies with growing her skills and knowledge but is also rapt about her career development whilst at Van Dyck’s.
Grant: Callaghan Innovation R&D Experience Grant. Role: Summer Internship Project: Product Development
Jordan Iremonger, an Industrial Design Honours graduate from Massey University, completed a summer internship at Howard Wright Ltd. He worked on a critical project focused on improving elements of Howard Wright’s M9 Trauma Stretcher to minimise visual artefacts during X-ray procedures, which will improve image quality. His project involved extensive research into materials, joint geometry, and alternative manufacturing methods. Jordan collaborated with R&D team members, toolmakers, and radiologists, including hands-on testing at Taranaki Base Hospital, gaining valuable insights into the world of medical product design.
The internship was Jordan’s first time living in Taranaki, and he was quickly won over, drawn in by the lifestyle, outdoors, and strong sense of community. Grateful for the opportunity, he says the internship gave him real-world experience, boosted his confidence as a designer, and forged lasting connections. Thanks to post-internship support from Venture Taranaki, he has secured a permanent role with Formsteel, fulfilling his goal of launching his design career in a region he’s grown to love.
For Howard Wright, having Jordan integrate within their team to solve a long-standing problem proved extremely valuable, with his work allowing them to improve upon the design of their popular medical trauma stretcher for future updates.
Grant: Bioresource Processing Alliance Fellowship Role: Applied Master’s project Project: Product Development
Jerome Chua, a Massey University Master’s of Food Technology student undertook an twelve-month project at Ocean Pearl Fisheries funded by a Bioresource Processing Alliance Fellowship grant. Jerome worked on a project designing an innovative sausage bait made from crayfish waste to solve a rig fishing challenge whilst keeping dolphins safe. Drawing on his food technology expertise, Jerome developed a unique bait sausage using crayfish industry waste stream and a specialised binder system to ensure the bait stayed on the hook—offering a compelling, sustainable lure for rig. The results exceeded expectations. Rig readily took the bait, and the collaboration turned unavoidable crayfish mortalities into a valuable resource. The project not only keeps fishers in business but also strengthens circular practices across multiple fisheries.
Photo credit: Seafood New Zealand
Megan's s ummer internship at Fonterra Brand ’s Bridge Street Eltham operation , complemented her studies towards a Bachelor of Food Technology (Hons) .
Over a summer Megan worked on a range of tasks, working with Lead Cheese Maker, Cathy Lang , on new product development, on the cheese manufacturing floor and packing room, analysing cheese variability and working on SOPs in preparation for audit. Megan said, "w orking alongside professional food technologists was a really great learning opportunity that allowed me to get a better idea of how commercial projects operate and the role of a food technologist within that ."
Andrew completed his Bachelor of Agricultural Scienc e majoring in Horticulture at Massey University, Palmerston North at the end of 2019.
Alan Wells , Andrew’s supervisor, was pleased to note how much further Andrew’s crop and weed identification knowledge grew. At the same time, he worked with them over the summer – something only time in the field (literally) could provide. Data collected by Andrew has assisted the development of new products Lonza have worked on. Andrew moved on to an exciting role in R&D around new-to-NZ crops for a Taranaki-based new start-up enterprise prior to returning to Massey to study for his Master's degree in 2023.
Megan O'Reilly , Research & Development Manager at Van Dyck Fine Foods Ltd , New Plymouth thought laterally and enlisted Emma Muir , a second year Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering) student to help them with their summer project work.
Emma found it rewarding to work with the R&D Manager, and to be involved with factory trials. From Megan’s perspective, she was able to reflect that VDFF were able to obtain a better understanding of some influences on manufacturing to adjust documentation to prevent gaps in their data , providing ongoing benefits for the organisation. C onstantly creating new flavour rotates, Megan said she appreciated the new ideas and feedback students provided, while also lending valuable assistance in preparing benchtop samples and sourcing ingredients , while learning and having fun in the process .
Catherine Taiapa, R&D Manager at Armatec Environmental Ltd , New Plymouth, found she was able to put final year Bachelor of Agribusiness student Alton’s passion for contributing to Taranaki’s transition to a low carbon economy to good use. She deployed Alton to a summer project involving anaerobic digestion technologies. Alton says: “The ability to witness the everyday achievements of the team was very fulfilling, something that is challenging to witness in a large business environment.
My time at Armatec also taught me to be resilient and to never be afraid of taking risks. In a changing global economy, the ability to take risks to adapt to change is critical more than ever in order to achieve our region's 2050 vision. As someone who aspires to run my own business in the future, the internship provided me with valuable insights on the day to day operations of a small business”.
Sarah Yu, who was studying a Graduate Diploma in Arts (Environmental Studies) at Massey Palmerston North, had been involved in implementing Environmental Management Systems aligned with ISO 14001 Standards and other related work experience and studies in Hong Kong, so had strong capabilities as an environmental advisor. Sarah said that she learnt a lot from her team at DIALOG Fitzroy , and that she found her manager, colleagues, and other friends and associates she met while in Taranaki to be really helpful in terms of both her work and personal life, taking the confusion away from being new to Taranaki.
Euan worked for First Gas Ltd in his summer internship following his third year of studying towards a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), majoring in Mechatronics . He put his research skills to good use helping to reduce the risk on one of their highest-risk activities, with ongoing benefits to First Gas . Highlights for Euan were the opportunity to work within a project team, a friendly work environment, excellent mentoring in terms of developing both technical and project management skills and great contacts in industry to whom he can refer when progressing his career.
Tash completed her third year of studies towards a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) majoring in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering and then made a beeline back to New Plymouth, for an extended-duration internship at Begin Distilling as part of her study programme.
One of Tash’s R&D projects entailed her experimenting with a range of brewing methods to find a way to produce a high quality alcohol base from product ‘seconds’ that were being discarded as waste from a Taranaki food producer. 10 weeks of Tash’s extended internship was funded by a Callaghan Innovation R&D Experience internship grant. LA Alexander Trust, noting Tash’s contribution to our emerging food and beverage sector, stepped in and also supported her internship, providing funding for a further five weeks.
Shikeale completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) with a double major in Chemistry and Biochemistry which was fortunate. Fortunate for the Be g in Distilling -Massey University team who are collaborating on a project exploring the opportunity to emerge a New Zealand-grown juniper industry. Her work on testing juniper berries over summer resulted in her making some interesting findings regarding the volatiles present in NZ-grown junipers. While Shikeale has taken up a great role with Fonterra Palmerston North, she left a legacy to the juniper project which has informed further research. S hikeale’s summer internship was given generous support by LA Alexander Trust and contributed to a project supported by AGMARDT funding.
Rebekah , a first-year Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) student at Massey University, Palmerston North, majoring in Mechatronics assessed the wastewater pump stations across the district , which involved sleuthing in records, visiting sites with the site technicians and producing site visit reports for each site.
Her South Taranaki District Council , supervisor, said that t he assessments made by Rebekah helped them immensely with their condition assessments, valuation records and forward works planning , going even further to say that: "T he work Rebekah did w as top-quality and what I would have expected from a degree-qualified mechanical engineer with several years’ experience ."
Georgina worked at Osflo Fertiliser Ltd in Taranaki over summer while also finishing her Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) via distance learning.
Initially she worked on a variety of desktop research papers to validate the various nutrient, agricultural and environmental benefits of Osflo fertiliser products, then, with the help and support of the Osflo team, set about establishing a series of trials to replicate her findings. Once the internship came to an end, Osflo offered Georgina an ongoing full-time position.
Sam Powick had just completed a Bachelor of Science when he was recruited to work on R&D project work for Hiringa Energy . With a keen appetite for further learning, and seriously interested in research, Sam worked on a Masters project exploring the potential of a catalytic agent in the clean production of hydrogen. A Hiringa -Massey University collaboration sought funding for the project from the Energy Education Trust of New Zealand (EETNZ) and they supported the project over two years. Working at a real-world intersection between pure chemistry and engineering, Sam delivered on several fronts. He completed an exciting applied research project, successfully completed his Masters at the same time, and also regularly updated EETNZ with very professional reports regarding the project progress and findings.