UKRI Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering 2026

UKRI Enabling AI adoption across science and engineering is an open grant from UK Research and Innovation. It funds exploratory projects that bring AI expertise together with a science or engineering domain. The full economic cost of a project can be up to £250,000. UKRI funds 80 percent of that cost. The total fund is £5,000,000. Projects last up to 12 months and must start by 26 April 2027. The page lists the opportunity status as open.

The call was published on 17 September 2026. It opened on 29 September 2026 at 9:00am UK time. Applications close on 1 December 2026 at 4:00pm UK time. The call is part of the UKRI IS8 AI Programme. Funding is subject to Full Business Case approval.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding. Each project needs an AI expert and an expert from a field other than AI. The research challenge must sit in one priority area: engineering biology, advanced materials, quantum technologies, medical research, or fusion energy. Projects that mainly advance AI methods, without a clear link to a research domain, are out of scope. Joint leadership is allowed, but one administrative project lead submits the form. International researchers can take part only through the UKRI RCN Money Follows Cooperation agreement or the UKRI IIASA agreement.

UKRI will fund salary costs, research and technical staff, project management, consumables including compute, travel, data sharing, and estates and indirect costs. It will not fund PhD studentship costs or equipment over £25,000 per item.

Apply on the UKRI Funding Service from the opportunity page. You cannot use the older Je-S system. Only the lead research organisation submits. The project lead completes the form and sends it to their research office, which submits it to UKRI. After 4:00pm UK time on 1 December 2026 you will not be able to apply.

Quick answers

How much does it pay?

Up to £250,000 full economic cost. It is a grant and takes no equity.

When is the deadline?

The deadline is 1 December 2026.

Who can apply?

Project leads based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding. Each project needs an AI expert and an expert from a field other than AI. It is limited to applicants in United Kingdom.

How do I apply?

Through the official page at ukri.org. The link is at the top of this page.

Which costs are left out?

UKRI will not fund PhD studentship costs, or equipment worth more than £25,000 per item. Smaller items of equipment go under other direct costs.

Is extra matched funding required?

No. There is no matched funding requirement beyond the standard 20 percent of full economic cost. Reviewers must not treat extra institutional matched funding as a reason to recommend an award.

How many projects can one person join?

A person can be involved in only two projects. At least two team members, including the project lead, must take part in distributed peer review.