For a growing tech company building an AI team, hiring can begin with a technical internship or research collaboration. These programmes help employers assess candidates’ skills. They also give candidates a chance to see how the team works.

A stipend is an important part of the programme. It helps candidates cover participation costs and allows recruiting leaders to budget for talent development.

In Singapore, start by defining the arrangement. Is the candidate completing an academic requirement, joining a research project, or working as an employee? The answer affects employment status, work authorisation, CPF contributions, and tax treatment.

This guide covers stipend options, budgeting, and compliance for technical internships and research programmes.

What Is a Stipend, and How Does It Differ from a Salary?

In recruiting, a stipend usually means a fixed payment that supports an internship, training placement, or research programme. Companies may pay it monthly. They may also offer separate support for living expenses or relocation.

The payment’s name does not determine the legal relationship. According to MOM’s guidance for interns, the Employment Act and Work Injury Compensation Act cover interns who have an employer–employee relationship under a contract of service.

MOM also distinguishes between employment-based internships and internships that form part of academic course requirements.

Before preparing an offer, clarify the following:

Confirm the arrangement before setting the payment. The agreement, institutional documents, and actual work should be consistent.

Four Types of Support for Technical and Research Talent

These are programme design options. They are not statutory categories of stipends in Singapore.

1. Technical Internship Stipends

Technical internship stipends can support roles in software engineering, machine learning, and data engineering.

Explain more than the pay. Tell candidates what problem they will work on, who will supervise them, and which tools they can use. Define the expected deliverables.

For example, replace “contribute to model evaluation” with a clearer task: “Build an evaluation dataset, analyse errors, and present the findings to the team.”

Specific responsibilities help candidates assess whether the internship fits their goals.

2. PhD and Research Collaboration Support

PhD candidates need to understand the research conditions. Is the research question clear? Will they have access to suitable data and compute? Can the work contribute to a publication or degree?

Agree on the scope, time commitment, confidentiality, intellectual property, and publication process before the project starts. Involve the candidate’s institution where needed.

Scholarship holders may need permission for outside work or additional payments. For example, the NUS Research Scholarship terms generally require prior written approval for employment or other awards and allowances, except in specified circumstances.

3. Relocation and Short-Term Living Support

Candidates moving to Singapore may need help with travel, temporary accommodation, or other living costs.

State the amount, payment schedule, and reimbursement requirements clearly.

Assess work authorisation separately. MOM’s foreign student guidance identifies possible routes for training attachments. These include the Training Employment Pass, Training Work Permit, and Work Holiday Programme. Each route has its own eligibility requirements.

4. Research Resources and Professional Development

For AI projects, support may include compute, development equipment, courses, or conference attendance.

List project resources separately from cash payments. Explain who can use them and under what conditions.

Tax treatment depends on the benefit. The IRAS training guidance sets different conditions for training subsidies, scholarships, and benefits awarded for services. Avoid describing all such support as tax-free.

PhD and Research Talent: Choose a Route Based on Candidate Status

A candidate’s institution, enrolment status, and immigration status affect the available options. Use this table for an initial review.

Students Already Studying in Singapore

Under MOM’s work pass exemption rules, eligible Student’s Pass holders can work up to 16 hours per week during term time. They may also take part in an institution-run internship that contributes towards graduation requirements.

A work pass is required if a student takes leave during term time for an additional internship that does not count towards graduation.

Confirm the internship’s academic status with the institution.

Students Enrolled Overseas

The Training Employment Pass requirements state that the attachment must form part of the student’s course. The student must also attend an acceptable institution or receive a fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,000.

A TEP is valid for up to three months and cannot be renewed. A previous holder cannot obtain another TEP for the same type of training.

For a six-month project, confirm a lawful arrangement for the full period before it starts. Splitting the project into phases does not extend the pass.

Graduates and Full-Time Researchers

For an Employment Pass application, candidates must meet the applicable qualifying salary. They must also pass COMPASS unless exempted. Check the EP eligibility requirements for the specific candidate. A PhD does not guarantee approval.

For longer-term partnerships, consider university–industry programmes. For example, the NUS ECE Industrial Postgraduate Programme offers full-time research degrees in partnership with companies.

Check the programme’s rules for company participation, candidate eligibility, and research topics.

How to Set a Competitive Stipend

Use published data carefully. Keep institutional requirements separate from market comparisons and your own pay decisions.

Start with Relevant Published Data

The NUS Computing internship page lists a minimum monthly allowance of S$1,200. It gives an approximate median of S$1,500–S$1,600.

These figures relate to that institution’s computing internships. They are not a Singapore-wide minimum. They should not be applied directly to PhD AI research internships.

Scholarship payments can help you understand a candidate’s opportunity costs. Under the NUS Research Scholarship terms, the base monthly PhD stipend from January 2026 is S$3,000 for international students and S$3,800 for Singapore citizens. An extra S$500 is available under specified qualifying examination and payment-period conditions.

Scholarship funding is not a direct benchmark for corporate internship pay. Instead, ask whether joining the project would affect the candidate’s existing funding. Then assess whether your package supports the required commitment.

Compare Similar Roles

Create separate comparison groups for undergraduate internships, PhD research internships, and full-time research roles.

For each listing, record:

• Publication date;

• Technical requirements;

• Working hours and programme length;

• Cash pay;

• Additional support.

For PhD roles, also compare research specialisations, experimental skills, and engineering responsibilities. Consider how much independent research the role requires.

Calculate the Full Programme Cost

Include cash pay, applicable employer contributions, insurance, supervision, equipment, and compute.

Check these two items separately:

Work injury insurance. Under MOM’s insurance rules, employers must insure all employees doing manual work. They must also insure non-manual employees earning S$2,600 or less per month. This threshold excludes overtime, bonuses, annual wage supplements, productivity incentives, and allowances.

Coverage under the Work Injury Compensation Act and the duty to buy insurance are separate questions.

Skills Development Levy. According to the CPF Board’s SDL guidance, SDL is generally 0.25% of each employee’s monthly total wages. The monthly minimum is S$2 and the maximum is S$11.25.

Some student training arrangements qualify for an exemption. Check the SDL Exemption Order for the relevant institutions, conditions, and documents.

Put the Programme Conditions in the Offer

Explain:

• The technical problem and expected results;

• The supervisor and feedback schedule;

• Available data, equipment, and compute;

• Midpoint and final reviews;

• The timing and criteria for a possible full-time offer.

Make commitments the team can deliver. Confirm publication opportunities, project access, and conversion prospects before promising them.

Four Compliance Questions to Resolve in Singapore

1. Is There an Employment Relationship?

Review the agreement and actual working arrangement.

MOM’s intern coverage guidance states that the Employment Act and Work Injury Compensation Act cover interns with an employer–employee relationship under a contract of service.

Student status, a job title, or the word “stipend” cannot determine this alone.

2. Is the Foreign Candidate Authorised to Work?

A Student’s Pass does not provide unrestricted permission to work full-time.

MOM’s student work exemption rules set different conditions for term-time and vacation work. Exchange students cannot rely on the exemption described on that page.

Check institutional approval too. Under the NUS leave policy, international students face specific requirements when taking regular-semester leave for a local internship that earns no graduation units. They must cancel their Student’s Pass and apply for the necessary work pass through their employer.

Verify each candidate’s institution, pass, academic calendar, internship status, and availability.

3. Are CPF Contributions Required?

The CPF Board’s internship guidance states that contributions are generally payable for local employees, including interns, where an employment relationship exists.

An exemption may apply to students in MOE-subsidised institutions or programmes who undertake institution-approved training.

Employers must obtain and retain the relevant documents, including those for approved extensions. Student status alone does not establish an exemption.

4. Is Income Reporting or Tax Clearance Required?

The IRAS internship reporting rules distinguish between employment pay and certain educational attachments.

Employers must report income when students have employment contracts and receive pay for services. An allowance need not be submitted if the attachment is compulsory for the educational programme and only subsistence allowances are paid for daily expenses, board, and lodging.

The IRAS foreign intern guidance makes a similar distinction for tax clearance. It states that clearance is required where a foreign intern has an employment contract and is paid for services rendered in Singapore.

Assess income reporting, personal tax treatment, and tax clearance separately. Avoid blanket claims that stipends are tax-free.

Build a Long-Term Talent Pipeline

Evaluate whether the programme delivers results worth continued investment.

Track offer acceptance, project completion, supervisor time, full-time offer acceptance, and performance after conversion. Use these findings to adjust budgets, project scope, and supervision.

For an AI startup, a project also shows how a candidate works. How do they design experiments, investigate failures, and document results? Candidates can assess whether the team provides clear problems and useful feedback.

Where Does AI Talent Search Fit?

Before searching, define observable criteria. Include the research area, technical experience, availability, project length, and work authorisation to verify.

For example, replace “hire an AI PhD intern” with a more specific brief: “Find candidates with experience evaluating retrieval-augmented generation systems, relevant papers or projects, and availability that matches the programme.”

AI search tools can help identify relevant experience and organise public information. Confirm institutional approval, work eligibility, and collaboration terms during the hiring process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can every payment to a PhD candidate be called a research stipend?

First establish whether the arrangement is a research collaboration, internship, or employment relationship. Choose an agreement and payment structure that reflect it.

Can a Student’s Pass holder take a full-time internship?

It depends on the institution, academic period, and internship arrangement. Check MOM’s requirements and the institution’s approval process.

How long can an overseas PhD student participate through a TEP?

A TEP lasts up to three months and cannot be renewed. The student must also meet the TEP eligibility conditions.

Are NUS internship figures market-wide benchmarks?

The NUS Computing figures relate to its internship programmes. Use them alongside comparable roles rather than as a market-wide standard.

Are interns automatically exempt from CPF or SDL?

Assess them separately. CPF exemptions and SDL exemptions have different conditions.

What should a company prioritise with a limited budget?

Start with a feasible project, available supervision, and clear pay. Add other support once these foundations are in place.

An attractive stipend package explains the pay, working or research conditions, and participation requirements. Establish these for one role, build the budget, verify eligibility, and then begin the search.