No, MATLAB Student licenses are only for people doing course work at a degree-granting institution, without pay.
The rules get potentially fuzzy for grad students who are required to teach courses or perform research as a degree requirement and whom are being paid a bursary; people in that situation should contact Mathworks (but don't be surprised if the response is that the Student license can only be used for the unpaid parts.)
When I did some research assistant work, I was considered an employee (or contractor) of the university, definitely not a student myself.
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