A joint project from Aston University and the University of Leeds to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) tools research network has won £3.4m from the Research England Development Fund.
The four-year funding will go towards developing a network to assess AI tools available for PhD research and promote responsible AI uptake and innovation by researchers.
The Artificial Intelligence Researcher Development Network Plus (AI.RDN+) is being led by Aston University’s Professor Phil Mizen, professor of sociology and policy at Aston University, and University of Leeds’ Dr Hosam Al-Samarraie, associate professor in digital innovation design, and Professor Arunangsu Chatterjee, dean of digital transformation. The network will also include the eight Midlands Innovation research universities and the 12 members of the Yorkshire Universities consortium.
AI.RDN+ will carry out an extensive consultation with PhD researchers, supervisors, examiners and research-enabling staff, such as professional services staff and technicians, to understand how publicly available AI tools are used and how its challenges are identified and negotiated. Using this information, AI.RDN+ will create a resource base with guidance on what AI tools are available, how they can be used, and identify case studies of best practice.
The network will also create training resources for all stakeholders, co-creating and testing guidance, training, and professional and career development resources with the 20 universities in the Midlands Innovation and Yorkshire Universities consortia.
Professor Mizen said: “The Artificial Intelligence Researcher Development Network Plus will provide detailed knowledge of the uptake and impact of publicly available AI tools across the doctoral ecosystem and use this to co-create much-needed information, resources and professional and skills training opportunities. Our project is a unique opportunity to build knowledge and capture innovation, and to use this to build the resources needed for the ethical and responsible use of AI in doctoral research.”
Professor Chatterjee added: “This award reflects the importance of collaboration across universities to understand and shape the role of AI in research. By working alongside Aston and partners across the Midlands and Yorkshire, we can bring together complementary expertise and perspectives.
“I am particularly pleased to see Dr Hosam Al-Samarraie leading this work for Leeds, bringing both expertise and vision to the partnership. Together, through this network, we can build shared resources and approaches that ensure AI adoption in doctoral research is innovative, ethical and delivers real benefit for researchers and society.”
The eight Midlands Innovation universities are: Aston University, Cranfield University, University of Birmingham, University of Keele, Loughborough University, University of Leicester, University of Nottingham, and University of Warwick.
The 12 Yorkshire Universities are: University of Bradford, University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds Conservatoire, Leeds Arts University, University of Hull, University of Huddersfield, University of Sheffield, University of York.
AI.RDN+ also has the active support of a range of expert organisations, including Jisc, UK Council for Graduate Education, Vitae, and the National Centre for Universities and Business. It is also supported by two other Research England-funded projects – the Next Generation Research SuperVision Project, on the future of doctoral supervision, and Prosper, researching the professional and career development of post-doctoral researchers.
UKRI Research England shapes research and knowledge exchange in English universities and distributes over £2bn to universities in England every year.
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