The University of Southampton is set to establish a new £15 million training centre, primarily funded by an £8 million grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
This centre, designated the AI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Sustainability (SustAI), is poised to become a cradle for British tech prowess, focusing on AI applications aimed at confronting climate change challenges.
The investment in SustAI underscores the UK’s commitment to fostering an ecosystem conducive to nurturing at least 70 PhD students specialising in sustainable AI. The centre’s mission extends to propelling advancements in technology to bolster renewable energy efforts and facilitate carbon emission reductions.
Professor Enrico Gerding of the University of Southampton, who holds the reins as the director of SustAI, remarks on the critical role of AI in meeting environmental sustainability goals. He articulates a vision for the centre as a breeding ground for future researchers, engineers, and technologists, all unified by a common goal to engineer a sustainable future through AI.
The announcement of the SustAI centre is not isolated. It follows a recent award of £31 million to Southampton, also from UKRI, aimed at establishing the Responsible AI UK consortium. This initiative focuses on the cultivation of trustworthy AI systems.
Dr Lindsay-Marie Armstrong, an associate professor and member of the SustAI team, accentuates sustainability as the nucleus of the centre’s research and ethos. She envisages a future where the centre’s graduates are not only adept in academic research but also instrumental in engendering substantial impacts on businesses and society.
In conjunction with the establishment of SustAI, over ten other training centres across the UK have been announced as part of a comprehensive £117 million investment by UKRI, all dedicated to the advancement of AI.
Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, UKRI’s Chief Executive, expresses confidence in the UK’s strategic position to leverage AI in revolutionising numerous facets of our daily lives. She emphasises the importance of cultivating talented individuals and teams to deploy AI across a spectrum of endeavours, including healthy ageing and sustainable agriculture, whilst ensuring its responsible and ethical integration.
Applications for students to enrol onto the University of Southampton centre will open soon – ready for the start of the 2024 academic year.
