The Prime Minister has announced a new scholarship to attract the world’s best talent to the UK, and specifically to Manchester.
The Sparck AI scholarships, named after pioneering British computer scientist Karen Sparck Jones, will provide full funding for master’s degrees at nine leading UK universities specialising in artificial intelligence and STEM subjects – from Edinburgh to Manchester, and Newcastle to Bristol.
Set to rival the likes of globally recognised Rhodes, Marshall and Fulbright scholarships, at least 100 talented undergraduates level students from the UK and abroad will see unparalleled access to industry partnerships, work placements and mentorship opportunities, including in the UK’s AI Security Institute as well as leading tech firms like Darktrace, Faculty and Quantexa.
This will not only drive forward AI innovation that grows the UK economy but also gives young people a direct route into highly skilled jobs in the UK’s tech sector – furthering our Plan for Change.
By covering both tuition and living expenses, the scholarship could also be of interest to talent students from low-income backgrounds who might otherwise be unable to afford university – spreading opportunity across the UK.
Professor Duncan Ivison, Manchester University President and Vice-Chancellor:
“The University of Manchester welcomes this important scheme to attract and retain leading talent to the UK and AI sector. We look forward to providing Sparck Scholars with the opportunity to excel within our internationally leading environment for AI related learning, research and innovation, and supporting them to flourish as future leaders in this critical technology area.”
The government has also announced an expansion of its Turing AI Fellowships with new Pioneer fellowships, providing established professionals from any part of academia, humanities, research, or industry with resources to develop AI skills and knowledge to tackle a specific challenge in their fields. Fellows will receive funding, priority access to the AI Research Resource for compute power, and be connected with AI mentors, experts, and industry leaders.
This comes as millions of people are set to be upskilled with digital and AI skills in a bold national skills drive announced by the Prime Minister at London Tech Week.
The new Sparck AI scholarships and expanded Turing Pioneer Fellowship delivers on recommendations of the AI Opportunities Action Plan and helps grow our leading AI sector – a priority industry for our upcoming Digital and Tech Sector Plan under the Industrial Strategy.
