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AI-deas Sprint Programme Call

  • 10 October 2025

Cambridge researchers are developing AI innovations that could transform healthcare diagnosis, accelerate climate solutions, and revolutionise education. Too many potentially game-changing ideas never move beyond academic papers, when they could be benefitting people and society.

While Cambridge leads globally in AI research, the path from promising laboratory results to working prototypes that can attract partnerships and funding remains frustratingly difficult for most researchers. The AI-deas Sprint Programme is designed to narrow this gap between research and real-world application. In six months, we’ll help develop your most promising research into a working prototype that demonstrates real-world value, supported by technical advice and a path to implementation partners.

Building on the success of our AI-deas initiative, which has already connected 19 departments across all 6 schools in the University, ai@cam is launching a 6-month accelerator programme to transform promising research ideas into a minimum viable product. The AI-deas sprint programme is focused on supporting pioneering and innovative projects to develop breakthrough prototypes that will make a positive impact on society.

We’re looking for ambitious projects that can create working prototypes in these high-impact domains:

  • AI for mental health and brain research: Turn diagnostic algorithms into tools clinicians can actually use, or transform research insights into interventions that reach patients.
  • AI for climate and nature: Convert environmental monitoring research into decision-support systems that help organisations take climate action now.
  • Women’s health and fertility: Transform research breakthroughs into accessible diagnostic tools or treatment platforms that address the gender health gap.
  • AI for cultural heritage: Turn digitisation and analysis research into public-facing tools that make cultural collections more accessible and engaging.
  • AI in education and assessment: Convert education research into practical tools that can be tested in real educational settings.
  • Language equity and inclusion: Transform communication research into assistive technologies that support people with language barriers.
  • AI for connected cities: Turn urban research insights into decision-support tools that local authorities can pilot and implement.

The AI-deas sprint programme will provide teams with up to £25,000 of funding to rapidly transform their innovative project ideas into a prototype in 6 months. Teams will be given access to technical support from machine learning engineers, in addition to follow-on opportunities to engage and develop external partnerships and validate their prototypes with end-user communities.

Each sprint team will follow a 6-month programme from November 2025 to April 2026:

  • Challenge definition and team formation (month 1): Interdisciplinary teams form around concrete deliverables and begin rapid development
  • Mid-sprint check in (month 3): Teams to provide a project update in a networking event with potential partners.
  • Demonstration (month 6): Demo Day showcasing prototypes to potential funders and implementation partners.

How to get started

  1. Join us for our information session from 14:30 - 15:30, Friday 3 October to find out more about the programme sprint. Make sure to register for the info session here.
  2. Apply to the AI-deas sprint programme call here. The deadline for applications is 17.00, Friday 10 October.
  3. We’ll be evaluating project teams at a pitch presentation session on Wednesday 29 October. Please register to confirm you can join the pitch presentation session in the programme call application form.

If you have any questions about the call please email Annabelle Scott as599@cam.ac.uk

Apply here

F.A.Q.

The AI-deas sprint programme aims to:

  • Accelerate real-world implementation of promising research ideas;
  • Create stronger connections to external partners and stakeholders; and
  • Enhance the impact of the AI-deas portfolio.

This call is open to research staff at the University of Cambridge, working in any discipline, including natural, physical, biological, social, medical, and computer sciences, arts, humanities, and engineering, and the University’s collections community. We’re looking for projects that build on our existing portfolio, and for applications to think about how they have engaged with our existing programmes or how they might enhance them.

  • Names, CRSID, department and job title of all team members
  • A 2-page proposal on your project idea that sets out:
  1. the problem you hope to address; the proposed solution;
  2. the deliverables that would need to be met over six months to deliver a minimum viable project
  3. how you have linked with existing ai@cam programmes or how their work will enhance those programmes.
  • Budget summary
  • Agreement to collaborate with ai@cam on communications activities related to the project

Applications will be evaluated based on innovation, real-world impact potential, and achievable delivery within the allocated time frame. All project teams will be invited to deliver an in-person 10 min pitch presentation on their project idea in front of a panel of entrepreneurs, academics and industry experts on Wednesday 29 October 2025 from 13:00 - 17:00. Please register to confirm you can join the pitch presentation session in the application form.

If you or a member of your team aren’t able to be present at the pitch session in person on Wednesday 29 October, please get in touch with Annabelle Scott (as599@cam.ac.uk).

Up to £25,000 is available for a duration of 6 months. The funding can cover research related and staff costs.

AI-deas sprint projects will receive access to technical support from machine learning engineers and opportunities to engage and develop external partnerships.

Teams that have been selected for funding will be announced at the end of October.

Yes, please provide a brief summary in the application form of what you would like to use the funding for. Projects need to be completed within a 6-month time period.

We encourage you to create cross-disciplinary teams, they can be made up of researchers from different departments. We recommend that teams are made up of no more than 6 researchers.

AI-deas sprint projects need to fall under one of the seven current AI-deas challenge areas in:

  1. AI for mental health and brain research
  2. AI for climate and nature
  3. Women’s health and fertility
  4. AI for cultural heritage
  5. AI in education and assessment
  6. Language equity and inclusion
  7. AI for connected cities

Successful AI-deas sprints will be given opportunities to work with external stakeholders to further develop their prototypes, creating pathways to follow-on funding and demonstrable societal benefits.

Please fill in the application form here by 17:00, Friday 10 October 2025. You will need to be logged in to your @cam.ac.uk account to access the form.

For further questions please contact Annabelle Scott, ai@cam Programme Manager (as599@cam.ac.uk).