Cambridge ERA: AI Fellowship 2027 in UK is a 10-week research fellowship for talented researchers, professionals and other individuals interested in technical AI safety, AI governance and technical AI governance. The Winter 2027 programme will run from 18 January to 26 March 2027 in Cambridge, UK, with applications open until 13 September 2026. Fellows receive funding, accommodation, meals during working hours, visa support, travel coverage, expert mentorship and dedicated research support.
Background & Fellowship Description
The Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship is an intensive research programme focused on understanding and mitigating risks associated with increasingly capable frontier artificial intelligence systems.
ERA describes its mission as advancing research, talent and organisations working on risks from frontier AI. The fellowship brings together researchers and professionals from technical and policy backgrounds and gives participants the opportunity to spend 10 weeks developing a substantive research project with expert mentorship and research-management support.
The Winter 2027 fellowship is scheduled to take place in Cambridge, United Kingdom, from 18 January to 26 March 2027, and applications are currently open until 13 September 2026.
The programme is particularly relevant to people interested in AI safety, AI governance, technology policy and interdisciplinary research.
What the Fellowship Provides
The ERA fellowship is fully funded in terms of the principal programme-related costs.
The official fellowship information states that fellows receive a salary equivalent to £34,125 per year, prorated to the duration of the fellowship. Fellows also receive complimentary accommodation, meals during working hours, visa support and coverage of travel expenses.
Participants additionally receive:
Expert mentorship from researchers matched to their research agenda.
Dedicated research management support to help scope and execute their projects.
A dedicated workspace in Cambridge.
Networking opportunities with researchers, professionals and the wider AI safety community.
Community activities and events throughout the fellowship.
ERA also states that its alumni have gone on to work at organisations including the UK AI Security Institute, RAND, Centre for the Governance of AI, Centre for AI Safety and Future of Life Institute.
Who Can Apply?
ERA describes the programme as talent-first and states that there are no formal eligibility restrictions beyond being 18 or older.
The fellowship may be especially valuable for:
PhD students seeking to move their research toward AI safety.
Early-career researchers wanting to develop technical or governance expertise.
Professionals from adjacent technical or policy fields seeking to transition into AI governance or safety.
Individuals with distinctive expertise or perspectives that could contribute to understanding AI risks.
ERA therefore does not restrict the programme to one academic discipline. Applicants can come from different backgrounds where their experience can contribute meaningfully to AI safety or governance research.
Research Areas
During the fellowship, participants develop and complete a research project addressing technical and/or governance measures for mitigating risks from frontier AI systems.
The programme has three main research areas.
Technical AI Safety
The technical track focuses on understanding how increasingly capable AI systems behave and how their risks can be managed.
Research areas include:
AI evaluations
Interpretability
Robustness
Alignment
Control
Projects can explore issues such as understanding model behaviour, developing safeguards, monitoring systems and improving human oversight.
AI Governance
The governance track examines how governments, institutions and companies can develop effective systems for governing increasingly capable AI.
Research can cover:
International cooperation
Regulatory design
Frontier AI safety frameworks
Corporate governance
Accountability
AI policy
The goal is to improve institutional capacity to respond to rapidly changing AI capabilities and risks.
Technical AI Governance
Technical AI governance connects technical capabilities with practical governance mechanisms.
Research areas can include:
Compute governance
AI auditing
System monitoring
Hardware-enabled verification
Technical standards
This work considers how technical systems can help policymakers and regulators measure capabilities, monitor deployments and verify whether governance requirements are being followed.
Research Experience During the Programme
Fellows spend the programme working on a substantive research project supported by a mentor and ERA’s research-management team.
The organisation says fellows also have access to research resources, a compute budget and opportunities to discuss their work with other fellows and members of the Cambridge community.
The programme is designed to encourage interdisciplinary work, meaning projects can sit between established technical and policy research areas.
The FAQ also states that fellows are expected to present their work at a Research Symposium and produce a written research output in a suitable format, such as a policy brief, working paper, technical report, replication or audit report, or other project output.
Cambridge Learning and Networking Environment
The fellowship is designed around an in-person community in Cambridge.
Participants work alongside other fellows, researchers and members of the wider AI safety community. ERA also runs workshops, talks and community activities during the fellowship, creating opportunities to exchange ideas and develop professional relationships.
ERA reports that its alumni have built careers across government, academia, research organisations and the technology sector. Its alumni network includes people working at organisations such as RAND, the UK AI Security Institute and other major AI safety and governance institutions.
Application Process
The application process begins with a written application consisting primarily of short essay questions. ERA says this stage should take applicants approximately two hours.
Applicants who progress through the process may be invited to:
Round 1 interview
Round 2 interview
Reference checks
Final selection follows the interview and reference process.
ERA says it values reasoning transparency and epistemic humility and wants to understand how candidates approach difficult problems, rather than focusing only on their conclusions.
Application Deadline
13 September 2026
The Winter 2027 fellowship begins on 18 January 2027 and ends on 26 March 2027.
Applicants should complete the application before the deadline and carefully follow the instructions provided by ERA.
Additional Information
The fellowship is based in Cambridge, UK, and applicants should expect an intensive programme involving research, mentorship, workshops and community activities.
Although the programme is international and welcomes people from different backgrounds, participation is primarily designed around an in-person Cambridge experience. ERA’s FAQ notes that remote participation is generally not the default and may only be considered in special circumstances.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should apply through the official Cambridge ERA:AI Fellowship application portal and complete the required written application.
Applicants should demonstrate a clear interest in AI safety, AI governance or related risk-reduction research and explain how their background can contribute to the fellowship’s research mission.
The application should reflect the applicant’s own reasoning, experience and research interests.
Final Thoughts
The Cambridge ERA: AI Fellowship 2027 in UK provides an intensive 10-week environment for researchers and professionals seeking to work on some of the most important questions surrounding frontier AI safety and governance.
The programme combines paid research, expert mentorship, research support, accommodation, meals during working hours, visa assistance and travel coverage. The fellowship also offers access to an international community working across technical AI safety, governance and technical AI governance.
The Winter 2027 cohort runs from 18 January to 26 March 2027, with applications closing on 13 September 2026. Candidates aged 18 or older from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds can apply, making the fellowship particularly interesting for people seeking to transition into or deepen their work in AI safety and governance.
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