Empowering the future of AI talent through the Research Ready Programme.
Programme participants at a visit to Bletchley Park, the birthplace of modern computing.
Queen Mary University of London proudly celebrated the culmination of its six-week summer AI research placement, the Research Ready Programme, at Google DeepMind's headquarters on September 16th. The event highlighted the remarkable achievements of the programme's participants—undergraduate students selected from underrepresented groups—who presented their original research projects to industry experts and academics.
Supported by the Google DeepMind Research Ready funding stream, this initiative seeks to increase diversity in the field of AI by fostering the growth of female, Black, Asian, and ethnic minority students, as well as those from low-income backgrounds. By providing students with hands-on experience with real-world AI challenges, the programme helps break down barriers to further study and fosters a more inclusive AI research community.
Professor Steve Uhlig, Head of the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science emphasised the programme's significance: “AI holds immense potential to shape our future. However, it is crucial that we integrate diverse perspectives into its development. Through our work with Google DeepMind, we have created a space where young talents can explore, contribute, and inspire the AI innovations of tomorrow.”
Undergraduate students worked closely with academics and PhD mentors in Artificial Intelligence throughout the six-week programme, receiving daily guidance to develop their projects. These innovative projects highlighted the diverse applications of AI, including music and story generation, face recognition technology, environmental forecasting and game-playing agents.
Speaking of her experience, programme participant Saloni Desai said: “Working on a research project and working towards writing an actual paper is really exciting! I feel more confident in my choice of pursuing at least a master’s degree in the field of AI, and hearing the PhD students’ experiences has really helped as it made PhDs sound doable and accessible.”
Saloni’s research explored ways to enhance decision-making in AI, while Ogulcan Gurelli worked on improving speech clarity in multi-speaker environments by combining visual and audio cues with face recognition technology. Ogulcan reflected that: “the programme gives you all the building blocks you need to build a career in Artificial Intelligence. You get to build a great network and create a research project in your chosen field, something most people your age are not doing. Plus, you get to present your project at Google DeepMind!”
Professor Simon Colton, a Professor of AI and academic lead for the programme at Queen Mary added: “This year's cohort has been exceptional, with all students delivering projects on the cutting edge of AI research, leading to results that the teams are writing up into research papers.”
Google DeepMind has been a strong advocate for Queen Mary University students, providing support through Masters and PhD scholarships in AI since 2019, helping to establish Queen Mary University as a leading destination for students eager to explore the field of AI.
With intentions for a Research Ready Programme in 2025, Queen Mary University hopes that it will once again offer valuable opportunities for undergraduate students in AI. Queen Mary University remains committed to fostering a more diverse, equitable AI community, giving students the tools they need to become the next generation of leaders in the field.
Find out more about the Research Ready Programme at Queen Mary.