New Zealand PM Luxon Unveils ₹1.3 Crore Scholarship & Virtual Internships For Indian Students At IIT Delhi

New Zealand: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a NZ$260,000 (approximately ₹1.3 crore) partial scholarship package under the New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA) 2025 during an education-focused event at IIT Delhi on March 18.

The event marked a major milestone in the reciprocal education partnership between New Zealand and India, with a focus on academic excellence, cultural exchange, and innovation.

Virtual internship programme & research collaborations

Additionally, a virtual internship programme was started, which offered 30 IIT Delhi students the opportunity to work remotely for New Zealand companies. This programme is designed to provide cross-border industry experience as well as exposure to the New Zealand workplace environment.

New Zealand and Indian institutions will sign a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in the areas of student mobility, collaborative research, and academic exchange.

Joint research collaborations

The conference recognised the efforts of joint research collaborations between India and New Zealand in fields like artificial intelligence, sustainability, disaster resilience, and high-tech engineering. Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director of IIT Delhi, pointed out the importance of the collaboration, expressing that it has promoted knowledge transfer, collaborative research, and student mobility.

Prime Minister Luxon reaffirmed New Zealand's pledge to preparing students to succeed globally by highlighting, "Through the initiatives announced today, we are building stronger connections and empowering future leaders and innovators."