The UK’s AI skills base will be future-proofed with a £118 million boost to skills funding, the government announced today (Tuesday 31 October).
This will ensure the country has the top global expertise and fosters the next generation of researchers needed to seize the transformational benefits of this technology.
This includes naming, for the first time, the further 12 Centres for Doctoral Training in AI that will benefit from £117 million in previously-announced government backing through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), while a new visa scheme will make it easier for the most innovative businesses to bring talented AI researchers in their early careers, to the UK.
This is on top of funding for 15 science and technology scholarships at some of the UK’s world-leading universities, a £1 million grants scheme to help top AI talent relocate to the UK, and the pilot of a new STEM Olympiad scholarship scheme ‘Backing Invisible Geniuses’. It builds on a further £8.1 million recently announced, for postgraduate course scholarships in AI and data science.
Because of the pace of change in AI development, it is critical that the UK cultivates the top AI research talent to drive progress in crucial areas like AI safety, and to ensure the whole country can feel the gains that AI will unlock.
