ERA Fellowship 2025-26: AI Safety & Governance Research Fellowship at Cambridge

The ERA Fellowship is an 8-week, fully funded programme based at the University of Cambridge. It brings together researchers and entrepreneurs globally who are working on mitigating risks from frontier AI — both in technical domains and governance. The fellowship covers stipend, accommodation, visas, meals, transport, and more. (ERA Fellowship)

Its goal is to support early career researchers with mentorship, research management support, and a community in AI safety & policy. During the programme, fellows undertake a research project and participate in 30+ events (seminars, workshops) across the eight weeks. (ERA Fellowship)

Key Dates & Location

• Duration: 8 weeks
• Dates: February 2 – March 27, 2026 (ERA Fellowship)
• Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom (ERA Fellowship)
• Deadline to Apply: October 27, 2025 (ERA Fellowship)

Who Should Apply / Eligibility

The programme welcomes talented individuals from around the world at any career stage, particularly those motivated to contribute to AI safety and governance research. You do not need to be in the UK currently. (ERA Fellowship)

Projects that blend technical and policy research are especially encouraged, though purely technical or purely governance-oriented proposals are also acceptable. (ERA Fellowship)

What’s Covered / Benefits

• A competitive stipend for the duration of the fellowship (ERA Fellowship)
• Covered meals during working hours, lodging, visas, and transport to Cambridge for the duration (ERA Fellowship)
• Mentorship from expert researchers; weekly support; research management help; access to compute resources (ERA Fellowship)
• A community network: fellows get to meet peers, alumni, and leaders in the AI safety & governance field. (ERA Fellowship)

Why It Matters

• Frontier AI poses growing risks — technical failures, misuse, alignment issues, governance gaps. The ERA Fellowship aims to build capacity in both technical and governance realms to address these. (ERA Fellowship)
• The experience helps build your research profile, expand networks, and gain visibility in AI-safety circles. (ERA Fellowship)
• For entrepreneurs or researchers in policy, it’s a chance to propose projects that could influence real policy or practice.

Application Tips

• Propose a project that clearly connects a research question with how it helps mitigate AI risk, whether via technical safeguards, governance design, policy, etc.
• Demonstrate how your background (research, work, or entrepreneurial) makes you a good fit; especially show prior work or potential in AI safety or governance.
• Highlight what you need the fellowship for: mentorship, resources, or community.
• If applying from outside the UK, plan proactively for visa and relocation logistics.