UKRI Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering (Grant)

Apply for funding for ambitious and exploratory projects bringing together AI and domain expertise. Projects will have the potential to unlock new opportunities for applying artificial intelligence (AI) to important research challenges in priority science and engineering disciplines. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)funding. The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £250,000. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC. Projects must be no more than one year in duration with a fixed start date of 26 April 2027. Demand management Demand management is not currently being applied to this funding opportunity. However, should the level of interest exceed what can be managed within the assessment process, UKRI may introduce limits on the number of applications that can be submitted. Further details will be clearly communicated where this is the case. UKRI encourages organisations to support applicants in preparing well-planned, high-quality applications that are competitive for funding relative to the funding opportunity Aim This funding opportunity is delivered as part of the UKRI IS8 AI Programme. Funding for this opportunity is subject to Full Business Case approval.Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a powerful research tool with the potential to transform how science and engineering are conducted. AI technologies can help researchers analyse complex datasets, generate new hypotheses, design experiments, accelerate modelling and simulation, and uncover insights that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve through conventional approaches.The UK has world-leading strengths across both AI and science disciplines. However, many research communities are still at an early stage in understanding how AI capabilities could be applied within their disciplines, where the greatest opportunities for transformation lie, and what new AI tools, methods, data resources or collaborations may be needed to address domain-specific challenges.There is therefore a need to support exploratory activities that bring together AI expertise and domain knowledge to identify opportunities, understand barriers to adoption and build evidence for future AI-enabled research.This funding opportunity aims to: • drive the development and wider adoption of AI capabilities across research fields, helping to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation across the UK research and innovation system • strengthen collaboration between AI specialists and domain researchers, enabling the development of new interdisciplinary approaches and research directions • speed up the embedding of AI as a research tool in a fair and inclusive way, complementing UKRI’s wider investments and activities in this area • develop researchers’ understanding and practical capability to use AI tools and methods effectively within their disciplines, supporting responsible and informed adoption across the research system • ensure sustainability and legacy by establishing the skills, collaborations, networks and resources needed for continued AI adoption beyond the lifetime of the awards, enabling long-term impact across the UKRI portfolio Scope Through this investment, we seek to stimulate new collaborations and research opportunities that explore how AI can be effectively and responsibly embedded within science and engineering research. The funding opportunity is intended to support ambitious, exploratory activity that tests the potential of AI to transform research practices, accelerate discovery and unlock new scientific capabilities, rather than support incremental advances.We welcome projects that seek to understand, demonstrate or evaluate how AI could be applied to address important research challenges. This may involve adopting existing AI capabilities in novel ways, applying them to previously unaddressed research challenges or identifying requirements for future AI tools, methods and approaches.We encourage projects with the potential for significant impact, recognising that some of the most transformative opportunities may involve substantial uncertainty and risk.A clearly defined, application-focused research challenge must be central to every application. Applications should explain: • the challenge, opportunity or research question to be addressed • why collaboration with AI expertise is necessary • the AI approaches that will be explored • how these approaches could advance the state of the art within the application domain As levels of AI maturity vary significantly across disciplines, applications will be assessed on both the significance of the underlying research challenge and the potential for AI-enabled innovation and impact.Assessment will consider the appropriateness of the proposed AI approach in the context of the research domain, rather than focusing solely on the novelty of the AI methods being applied.Applications are expected to bring together an AI expe

This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible . UKRI individual eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit UKRI’s eligibility page . International researchers As Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a lead funder for this funding opportunity, international researchers can only apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’ as part of an applications making use of the UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation agreement or the UKRI-IIASA agreement. You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners. Resubmissions We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder. Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy . Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: • career breaks • support for people with caring responsibilities • flexible working • alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

Click https://funding-service.ukri.org/OPP1328/apply/1355 on the UKRI Funding Service to apply.We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions system.The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. To apply Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. • Confirm you are the project lead. • Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. • Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. • Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. • Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing. • Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.When including images, you must: • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) • insert each new image onto a new line • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include: • sentences or paragraphs of text • tables • excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: • how applicants use the Funding Service • how research offices use the Funding Service • how reviewers use the Funding Service References References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.Hyperlinks can be u