AI for University Operations Funding Call

The AI for Operations programme enables professional services teams to deploy AI in specific projects or workflows that improves the efficiency of University operational processes, and develops a network where successful practices can be shared.

Professional services staff teams employed by the University of Cambridge are eligible to apply for this funding. Academic and academic-related staff are also eligible to apply, however, we expect all teams to include professional services staff.

The application form will ask you to provide the following information:

• Names, CRSID, department and job title of all team members
• Project summary and description of how this project will improve University operational and business needs
• Cross-departmental potential
• Leadership support
• Project support needs
• Approach to risk management and ethical considerations
• Budget summary
• Timeline to complete project within the time frame allocated
• Line manager details
• Agreement to collaborate with ai@cam on communications activities related to the project

The project proposal will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Business need
• Impact on operational processes
• Achievable delivery within the allocated time frame
• Approach to risk management and ethical considerations

Small grants of up to £10,000 will be available, depending on scope and potential impact of each project. These grants are intended to cover implementation costs, such as potential software subscriptions or resources for data collection. They are not intended to cover staff time.

Funding: Grants of up to £10,000 each will be awarded to project teams to cover implementation costs such as software subscriptions and resources for data collection (not staff time).

Technical support: Monthly drop-in AI clinic sessions will be arranged with Accelerate Science Machine Learning Engineers who will provide hands-on guidance throughout your project.

Community: Opportunities to collaborate with other project teams through peer learning roundtables will be organised. An AI Community of Practice will act as a digital hub for documentation on existing case studies. 

Showcase: Project teams will present their successful implementations to the wider University community and contribute to building institutional knowledge.

We will notify candidates in the week commencing 6 October if their project has been selected for funding.

Yes. If you are awarded funding we expect your line manager to give their support for you to undertake the project proposed.

No prior AI expertise is necessary, but a willingness to be proactive in learning how to implement these technologies is vital. The programme will provide technical support through Accelerate Science’s AI Clinic. The ideal applicant has a clear administrative challenge and willingness to learn, rather than existing technical skills.

This depends on your project’s scope and team size. Project members are expected to attend our launch workshop on 7 October 2025 and a showcase event at the project’s conclusion. All projects will need to be completed within 6 months of the project start date.

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 staff from different departments. We recommend that teams have no more than 10 members of staff.

Projects can cover any professional services function that could benefit from AI augmentation. Our  previous expressions of interest in this area have already flagged potential applications of AI in the following areas:

• Processing information from forms and databases;
• Content preparation;
• Timetabling and room booking;
• Recruitment process optimisation;
• Coding assistance and programming for data analysis;
• Managing postgraduate admissions correspondence;
• Streamlining document processing;
• Routine administration e.g. note-taking.

We will ask successful projects to share their implementations in a showcase event and document their processes and findings to be shared to the wider community.

Each project must consider risks and ethical implications, particularly when handling sensitive data. We’re committed to embedding responsible AI principles throughout the University, and the programme will encourage ongoing critical reflection as projects develop. Current university guidance on AI in relation to information compliance, communications, and education can be found here:

• https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk
• https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/guidance/ai-guidance
• https://www.communications.cam.ac.uk/generative-ai-tool-guidelines
• https://blendedlearning.cam.ac.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-education

Please fill in the application form above by 12:00 Friday 29 August 2025. You will need to be logged in to your @cam.ac.uk account to access the form.

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