London, Nov 14 (PTI) The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) India were on Thursday named among worldwide institutions chosen for a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Science Global Fellowship Programme by Imperial College London.

The two-year fellowship programme will include one year spent at Imperial and a subsequent year at the researchers' home institutions, with the aim of them enhancing their science with cutting-edge AI. Supported by new funding from philanthropic organisation Schmidt Sciences, Imperial's I-X Centre for AI in Science will assist talented researchers from countries of the Global South to use AI to enhance their scientific research while also building sustained local capacity.

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“The I-X Centre for AI in Science Global Fellowship programme, supported by Schmidt Sciences, provides a unique opportunity to train leading researchers in AI, which has transformative power and will foster innovation faster than ever before,” said Professor Abhishek Kumar Singh, Chair of the Office of International Relations at IISc.

Professor L S Shashidhara, Director of NCBS India, said the institution was excited with this opportunity to expand its capability to use AI for deeper understanding of biological systems.

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“Researchers at NCBS study living systems across scales adopting a variety of methods, including mathematical and computational methods. Developing in-house capacity to apply AI methods will enhance our ability to generate new knowledge. We look forward to working closely with Imperial and all its partners,” he said.

During the fellowship, the awardees will benefit from AI skills and career training. The other institutions chosen include African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Ghana, University of Sao Paulo and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. All the partner institutions, including both Bengaluru-based Indian institutions, have existing links with Imperial through research projects, seed-funding, and PhD student exchanges and are all research-intensive institutions with aspirations to be leaders in AI applications.

The new programme aims to support the partners in realising their strategic ambition and fostering long-term research networks, as well as increasing opportunities for talented Global South researchers to work on AI in Science.

“Global challenges demand global collaboration, which is why Imperial has been selected by Schmidt Sciences to connect talented researchers from institutions across Africa, India, Brazil and Malaysia with our cutting-edge AI centre in the UK,” said Imperial's President Professor Hugh Brady.

“Thanks to the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI for Science Programme's generous funding, this cross-continent initiative will support three cohorts of fellows on a two-year programme, coordinated from Imperial's I-X Centre for AI in Science, to advance their own research and collaborate on interdisciplinary research projects, and to build research capacity in their home institutions. This powerful new fellowship programme strengthens our collaborations with universities in the Global South and reaffirms our commitment to expanding international research and innovation partnerships to address global challenges,” he said.

The funding, claimed to be equivalent to 48 years of research time, will complement USD 148 million previously awarded to partners including the I-X Centre for AI in Science as part of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship programme, which supports postdoctoral fellows in accelerating artificial intelligence research in Engineering, Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

The Global Fellows will benefit from working in a collaborative environment and will have an opportunity to contribute to interdisciplinary research conducted by the I-X community.

Professor Nick Jones, Director of the I-X Centre for AI in Science at Imperial, added: “It is great that Schmidt Sciences has chosen this direction for the programme as it aligns with a clear need: to develop AI for Science problems relevant to the Global South.

“Beyond offering opportunities to faculty members at our Global South partners this new intake will enrich the skills and perspectives of our current fellows linking them across three continents.”

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