Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: December 1, 2026, 4:00pm UK time (Application deadline) | April 26, 2027 (Fixed project start)
Funding Amounts: Up to £250,000 full economic cost, funded at 80%, for up to 12 months; £5 million total fund
Summary: Supports exploratory collaborations between AI specialists and domain researchers to transform research in five priority science and engineering areas.
Key Information: Applicants must participate in distributed peer review; missing review deadlines can automatically disqualify their application.
Description
UK Research and Innovation’s IS8 AI Programme supports ambitious, exploratory projects combining AI expertise with domain knowledge to address important research challenges. Projects must focus on engineering biology, advanced materials, quantum technologies, medical research or fusion energy. The opportunity seeks potentially transformative applications rather than incremental advances, including novel uses of existing AI capabilities and identification of requirements for future tools and methods.
Projects may demonstrate feasibility, develop prototype tools or workflows, identify data and infrastructure needs, or create research roadmaps. The programme aims to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, develop researchers’ practical AI capabilities, and support responsible, fair and inclusive adoption. It also seeks lasting skills, partnerships, networks and resources that sustain AI-enabled research beyond individual awards.
