Funding for research

We offer PhD studentships to postgraduate applicants who:

• will focus their research on human-centred AI
• are eligible for UK fees

Your research proposal should be on a topic such as: 

• online health
• social and embodied AI
• democratic futures
• trustworthy AI 

Funding

Studentships typically cover fees and include a stipend (living allowance). They focus on a theme or selection of themes, which vary from year to year.  

How to apply

Learn more about the studentship, including how to apply, on our postgraduate research project page for the interdisciplinary studentship in human-centred AI.

Funded from the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and allocated to the University by HEFCE, this fund is designed to stimulate Knowledge Exchange activities which align to the University Strategy, the Knowledge Exchange & Enterprise (KEE) Strategic Plan, and/or the Civic Strategic Plan.

These include collaborative projects with business, industry, local government, public sector or charitable organisations, community bodies, and the wider public.

The WSI Knowledge Exchange Fund invites applications for interdisciplinary socio-technical projects in the areas of web science, data science or human-centred AI, and welcomes applications from all disciplines, particularly those led by early career researchers. 

Activities

These include collaborative projects with business, industry, local government, public sector or charitable organisations, community bodies, and the wider public. Projects may involve:

• developing and maturing new technologies, ideas and inventions
• co-creation of innovation
• translation of research
• commercialisation for social good initiatives
• activities which contribute to levelling up and supporting the University’s civic agenda
• placements and secondments
• CPD and external skills development
• projects focusing on equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI)

Projects must involve collaboration with an external non-academic partner and should support or undertake knowledge exchange (KE) activity.

How to apply

The Web Science Institute (WSI) is now accepting expressions of interest (EoI) to the WSI Pilot Project Fund 2025-26.  

The Web Science Institute Pilot Project Fund supports small-scale research projects that align to the interests of the institute: Web Science, Data Science, Human-Centred AI or Socio-Technical Studies. Research themes may include - but are not limited to - the below:  

•    Culture and Creative Industries  
•   Civic, local and regional AI infrastructure and institutions  
•   Work and the Economy    
•   Science  
•   New Forms of AI  
•   Ethics of AI  
•   Digital Humanities  
•   History of AI and the Web   

How to apply