The National Edge AI Hub is pleased to announce an exciting new collaborative publication opportunity in partnership with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Rajiv Ranjan, Dhaval Thakker, Baseer Ahmad, and Gagangeet Singh Aujla are currently editing an upcoming book focused on Edge AI, which aims to showcase cutting-edge research and innovation across the Hub’s partner universities. This initiative provides a valuable platform to highlight the breadth of expertise and impactful work being delivered across the National Edge AI Hub community.

As part of this effort, the Hub is seeking to include at least one chapter contribution from each partner institution, ensuring the book reflects the full diversity and strength of the network. The final publication will be positioned as a collective output from the entire Hub.

Contribute Your Ideas

To shape the direction of the book, a bottom-up approach is being adopted. Researchers and colleagues across partner institutions are invited to propose potential chapter contributions.

Submissions at this stage are intentionally light-touch. Contributors are asked to provide:

• A suggested paper title or topic
• Responses to a short form (only four questions)

Proposals will then be reviewed and selected based on emerging themes and overall fit within the book.

Get Involved

All colleagues within partner universities are encouraged to participate, and we welcome this call being shared widely within your institution.

Submission deadline: 5 June
Submission form: Link Here

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a high-profile publication and to help present a unified, impactful voice for the UK’s Edge AI research community.

The National Edge AI Hub invites UK academic institutions to collaborate on the development and delivery of events and workshops focused on all aspects of edge artificial intelligence. We are keen to work with colleagues across disciplines who are exploring or interested in edge AI, from foundational research through to real world applications.

The Hub can support those interested in hosting an event with practical and financial aspects of event delivery, including identifying speakers, event logistics, catering costs, and promotional activity. Our aim is to make it straightforward to convene high quality, inclusive events that foster collaboration, share emerging insights, and strengthen the UK edge AI community. We expect local engagement partners to make spaces available for free, to organise and facilitate the agenda and to ensure relevant stakeholders join the event.

We welcome proposals for workshops, seminars, training sessions, and interdisciplinary forums. If you are interested in developing a joint event or would like to discuss an idea, please get in touch via email: hub@edgeaihub.co.uk

The National EdgeAI Hub is excited to announced its 2026 pump priming call aiming to encourage research into Edge AI applications from non-technical perspectives. This initiative seeks to engage disciplines such as social sciences, medical sciences, and related fields to explore the societal, ethical, and practical implications of deploying AI at the edge. By supporting such projects, the Hub aims to broaden the impact of Edge AI beyond technical innovation, fostering insights into human, organisational, and domain contexts where these technologies can deliver meaningful benefits.

We are looking to fund projects lasting up to 12 months with £10k.

We strongly encourage applicants to develop proposals that foster interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise from diverse fields. Interdisciplinary approaches are essential for addressing the technical, societal, and ethical dimensions of Edge AI adoption and impact. In addition, we actively promote collaboration between academia and industry, as well as partnerships with public sector and civil society organisations. These collaborations help ensure that research is both innovative and practically relevant, enabling real-world application, knowledge exchange, and pathways to impact.

This call invites proposals to the three stands below.
Strand 1: Technology adoption and acceptance
Strand 2: Benefits realisation and technology assessment and impact
Strand 3: Responsible innovation

Applications must be submitted via email after the 1st of May 2026 and before the deadline 1st of June 2026.

For more information please visit the call’s page.

The National Edge AI Hub is pleased to share an early indication of an upcoming funding opportunity, anticipated to open in the second half of 2025. The Hub will support innovative, impactful projects that advance the design, deployment or adoption of Edge AI technologies across UK industry and the public sector. This call will focus on applied research and development activities that demonstrate clear potential for real-world use, economic value and societal benefit in relation to cybersecurity and data disturbances. Projects should align with the Hub’s mission to build capability and confidence in edge AI, and to enable UK organisations to develop trustworthy, efficient, and effective AI systems at the edge.

While we remain open to a broad range of application domains, we are particularly interested in proposals that target one or more of the following sectors:

• Energy
• Health
• Manufacturing
• Smart Cities
• Smart Transport

We welcome collaborations between academia, industry, and other relevant stakeholders. Projects must include direct cash contributions from industry partners, reflecting a shared commitment to delivering practical outcomes and long-term value. Funded project should also plan to contribute to a 2029 impact case study in collaboration with Hub partners. Match-funded proposals with clear financial investment from industry are highly encouraged. Further details, including eligibility criteria, funding scope and guidance on how to apply, will be released when the call formally opens later in 2025. In the meantime, we encourage interested parties to begin considering project ideas and potential partnerships.

For any queries about the fund, its thematic priorities, or its suitability for your business or organisation, please contact us at hub@edgeaihub.co.uk.

The National Edge AI Hub was thrilled to support the UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) Doctoral Consortium and Conference that took place in Newcastle on April 22-24, 2025. UKAIS aims to foster a better understanding of the Information Systems field within the UK. The UKAIS Conference is the leading event on Information Systems within the UK, and attracts scholars from the UK and overseas. They provide a forum for discussing issues in Information Systems teaching and research and lobby professional/policy bodies on behalf of the field.

The Hub hosted a session led by Professor Savvas Papagiannidis, who shared the Hub’s strategies for engagement and long-term impact. He spoke on the importance of embedding research within real-world contexts and encouraged attendees to think beyond their current projects, stressing the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need to develop soft skills in parallel with research skills. He also offered practical guidance on how early career researchers can begin building experiences that will have a positive impact on the course of their careers. He emphasised the importance of developing a deep understanding of deployment environments, forming relationships with industry partners, and contributing to a broader ecosystem of innovation.

Our EdgeAI Hub is taking part at the AI UK 2025, the national showcase of data science and artificial intelligence (AI). Hosted by The Alan Turing Institute and returning for its fifth year, AI UK is an in-depth exploration of how data science and AI can be used to solve real-world challenges. Our diverse programme is thematically structured around the latest innovations from across the AI ecosystem. With a broad range of interactive content, covering the latest thinking on fundamental AI, digital twins, algorithmic bias, AI ethics – and much more.

Come and visit our stand on the 5th floor!

https://ai-uk.turing.ac.uk

Nine new research hubs located across the UK will deliver revolutionary AI technologies while a further 10 scoping studies will help to define responsible AI.

Nine new artificial intelligence (AI) research hubs that will deliver next-generation innovations and technologies have been announced today. The hubs will provide focused investment that will enable AI to evolve and tackle complex problems across applications from healthcare treatments to power-efficient electronics.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has invested £80 million in the new hubs that will propel the UK to the forefront of advanced AI research. From combating cyber threats, to supporting better health treatments and delivering faster development of electronic devices and microchips, the research aims to transform the way we develop and use AI.

Increasing our understanding of AI systems
Three of the hubs will address the mathematics and computational research, which is foundational to AI, playing a pivotal role in increasing our understanding of new, efficient AI systems. Six of the hubs will explore AI for science, engineering and real-world data, which will provide the tools needed to accelerate future AI innovations and advance its application in key areas such as healthcare.

A further ten scoping studies have been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), also part of UKRI. The studies will help to define responsible AI across education, policing and the creative industries.

Today’s announcement comes on the same day that the government has published its AI regulation white paper consultation response, which carves out the UK’s own approach to regulation.

Next wave of brilliant AI innovation
Minister for AI Viscount Camrose, said:

The investment we’re pouring into these new projects is only possible as a result of our pro-innovation approach to AI. The AI Regulation White Paper consultation response we’ve set out today will see us forging ahead with that plan, driving forward the next wave of brilliant AI innovations.

These hubs will nurture new, cutting-edge breakthroughs, from healthcare treatments and more power efficient electronics to machine learning and chemical discovery.

New projects being delivered by BRAID will also help to define responsible AI in key sectors such as education, policing, and the creative industries, ensuring public trust in the technology as we continue to harness its transformative capabilities.

Accelerating the adoption of trusted and responsible AI

Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, Chief Executive of UKRI, said:

UKRI is supporting researchers and innovators to develop the next generation of AI technologies that will transform our economy and society. The investments announced today will help to deliver the capability the UK needs to realise the opportunities of this transformative technology. Through our £1bn portfolio of investments in AI research and innovation, we are supporting the development of new technologies, boosting skills, and accelerating the adoption of trusted and responsible AI.

The hubs, led by eight universities but working across the whole of the UK, underline the UK’s commitment to maintaining a leadership position in AI research, innovation and ethical deployment.

Delivering revolutionary AI innovations

Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of EPSRC, said:

Artificial intelligence is already transforming our world. EPSRC supports world-leading research to unlock its potential and ensure it is developed and used in an ethical and responsible way. Long-term research funding has led to revolutionary advancements that have made AI a powerful tool for many applications. These hubs will deliver revolutionary AI innovations and tools in sectors from healthcare to energy, smart cities and environment. They will achieve this by solving key challenges and improving our understanding of AI helping to drive the increased productivity and economic growth promised by this technology.

The investment today follows an announcement during autumn 2023 for 12 UKRI AI Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs). The UKRI AI CDTs will ensure that the UK has the skills needed to:

• seize the potential of the AI era
• nurture the British tech talent that will push the AI revolution forwards
• Responsible AI across education, policing and the creative industries
• Also announced today are 10 six-month scoping projects that will define what responsible AI is across sectors such as education, policing and the creative industries.

The projects are supported with £2 million AHRC funding through the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme. They will produce early-stage research and recommendations to inform future work in this area. They illustrate how the UK is at the forefront of defining responsible AI and exploring how it can be embedded across key sectors. In addition to the scoping projects AHRC is confirming a further £7.6 million to fund a second phase of the BRAID programme, extending activities to 2027 and 2028.

The next phase will include a new cohort of large-scale demonstrator projects, further rounds of BRAID fellowships, and new professional AI skills provisions, co-developed with industry and other partners.

International collaboration
Also announced today, a £9 million investment delivered by EPSRC through the International Science Partnerships Fund. This new investment will bring together researchers and innovators in bilateral research partnerships with the US focused on developing safer, responsible, and trustworthy AI as well as AI for scientific uses. The research will examine new methodologies for responsible AI development and use. Developing common understanding of technology development between nations will enhance inputs to international governance of AI and help shape research inputs to domestic policymakers and regulators.

Providing lasting contributions
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of AHRC and UKRI International Champion said:

The impact of AI can already be felt in many areas of our lives. It will transform our jobs and livelihoods, and impact on areas as diverse as education, policing and the creative industries, and much more besides. UKRI’s research will be at the heart of understanding this new world. The research which AHRC announced today will provide lasting contributions to the definition and practice of responsible AI, informing the practice and tools that are crucial to ensure this transformative technology provides benefits for all of society. The new bilateral EPSRC partnership programme between the UK and US, also announced today, highlights the vital role of international collaboration in all areas of research and innovation, not least AI. It ensures we share expertise and learn from each other to develop ways to harness the extraordinary potential of AI safely and fairly for citizens around the world. These projects are vital and timely interventions from across the research ecosystem to support responsible, safe and beneficial uses of the transformative power of AI.