Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship

About the opportunity

The Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship is a 10-week research programme hosted in Cambridge, UK, starting January 18, 2027. It enables fellows to develop and complete research projects on technical and governance measures to mitigate risks from frontier AI systems. Research is structured across three primary streams: Technical, Governance, and Technical AI Governance. Fellows receive guidance from dedicated research managers and expert mentors from organizations across government, academia, and industry, including the University of Cambridge, UK AI Security Institute, Centre for the Governance of AI, RAND Corporation, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Participants are provided dedicated office desk space in Cambridge and receive support to pursue impactful careers in AI safety or policy.

Funding and benefits

• £10,000 stipend
• Visa support
• Meal provisions during working hours
• Travel expense coverage
• Dedicated desk space at the Cambridge office
• Expert one-on-one mentorship tailored to individual research agendas
• Dedicated research management support
• Access to regular social events and community activities
• Networking and introductions to leading organisations in AI safety and governance
• Extra financial assistance in special cases to support impactful career transitions

Who can apply?

• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Open to applicants globally from any subject area or career stage without credential restrictions
• Researchers looking to apply expertise to high-priority questions in AI safety or governance, explore a new research direction, or work across disciplines
• Professionals from technical, policy, security, legal, economic, or other fields wishing to transition to frontier AI safety and governance
• Individuals seeking to deepen or redirect an existing research agenda toward risks from increasingly capable AI systems
• People with distinctive domain expertise or perspectives that can improve understanding of advanced AI risks

Required documents

• Completed written application including short essay responses
• References (contact information requested during Round 2 interviews)

When to apply

• Applications open for the Winter 2027 cohort
• Application deadline: September 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM Anywhere on Earth (AoE)
• Round 1 interviews (top ~20% of applicants): Late September 2026
• Round 2 interviews: Early October 2026
• Fellowship start date: January 18, 2027 (10-week duration)

How to apply

• Complete and submit the online written application form, which takes approximately 2 hours and consists mostly of short essay questions
• Participate in Stage 1 interviews in late September if shortlisted among the top ~20% of candidates
• Participate in Stage 2 interviews in early October if selected, during which ERA will also contact your references
• If selected, receive a final offer and collaborate with ERA to refine project ideas and match with mentors before the fellowship begins

Additional information

• Research spans three streams: Technical (evaluations, interpretability, robustness, alignment, and control), Governance (regulatory tools, international cooperation, and corporate governance), and Technical AI Governance (compute governance, auditing, monitoring, and hardware-enabled verification)
• Alumni have published research in top AI journals and conferences such as NeurIPS