UKRI Metascience AI early career fellowships

Notify Faculty of intention to apply by: 6 March 2025 

Next Funder deadline: 10 April 2025

Apply for funding to carry out a fellowship early career fellows investigating of how the growing adoption of AI is changing the research landscape, including what epistemic, metascientific, ethical and socioeconomic questions this raises, and how governments, industry, and funding organisations should respond.

Scope

The AI Metascience Fellowship Programme will support a cohort of early career researchers to deepen their understanding of AI technology and pursue career paths which evaluate the phenomenon of AI-mediated science and guide our pursuit of it, covering one or more of the following objectives:

• building our understanding of how the growing adoption of AI is changing the research landscape and the day-to-day work of researchers
• building our understanding of the epistemic, metascientific, ethical or socioeconomic implications of these changes
• building understanding of how governments, industry, or funding organisations should respond to improve our research landscape

The following are some indicative examples of topic areas of interest:

• the impact of AI on the topics and methods of scientific research, and how this varies across disciplines
• AI and the pace of scientific progress
• explainability and alignment in scientific AI
• the educational and training implications of scientific AI
• the role of humans in AI-driven science
• epistemic and ethical considerations concerning the application of AI in the production of research outputs and the assessment of research

This programme will not fund fellows whose primary research focus is the direct development of scientific AI tools. 

Eligibility

The funding opportunity is open to early career researchers who have completed their PhD by the start date of the fellowship or who can demonstrate equivalent research or innovation experience.

There are no eligibility rules based on years since PhD or whether the applicant currently holds a permanent or open-ended academic position or job role. However, individuals should not previously have been a project lead or lead on an externally funded project or led a significant programme of work in a commercial or non-academic setting. 

All applicants must have a mentor based at the research organisation the fellowship will be undertaken at.

Duration and Value

Fellowships can be up to two years duration, with full economic cost (FEC) up to £260,000. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC. In most cases a fellow is expected to spend 100% of their working time on their fellowship, although fellowships may be held on a part-time basis, to a minimum of 0.5 FTE (but should be budgeted on a pro-rata basis). Fellowships may not be held on a part-time basis to combine the research and innovation with another part-time job. Projects must start by 30 September 2025. Applicants may request costs for salary, individual items of equipment under £10,000, and costs related to impact and to travel and subsistence. UKRI will not fund costs for project co-leads, additional researchers or individual items of equipment over £10,000 (inclusive of VAT). Costs for mentor time also cannot be claimed.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via the UKRI's funding platform, The Funding Service (TFS) by Thursday 10 April 2025 4:00pm UK time. Please also see our Faculty and University internal deadlines:

Research Services: 3 April 2025

Notify Faculty of Interest in Applying by: 6 March 2025