Summer Fellowship 2026, Research Track
Seasonal Fellowships are three-month opportunities designed to launch or accelerate impactful careers in AI governance and policy. Participants in the “Research Track” conduct a research project of their choice. They also participate in an expert Q&A and seminar series aimed at developing a broad understanding of the field, and spend time forging connections with other researchers and practitioners.
We welcome a wide range of applicants, from early-career individuals to experienced researchers or policy professionals with established track records in adjacent fields. We think this track would be an especially good fit for candidates interested in contributing to AI governance in roles in which producing or consuming research and policy analysis is one of the main duties.
Applications for the Summer Fellowship are now open. The deadline for applications is 23:59 GMT Sunday 4 January, 2026.
About the Team
GovAI was founded to help decision-makers navigate the transition to a world with advanced AI, by producing rigorous research and fostering talent. Our researchers have published in top venues, including Science and Nature, and work closely with decision-makers across government, industry, and civil society. Our alumni have gone on to influential roles in government (US, UK, EU), leading AI companies (e.g. DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic), top think tanks (e.g. CSET, RAND), and leading universities (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge).
Our team and affiliate community possess expertise across risk management, threat modelling, frontier AI regulation, technical governance, agent governance, AI economics, international cooperation, US-China relations, and AI forecasting. Since publishing our first research agenda in 2018, we have helped define and shape the field of AI governance.
About the Fellowship
Seasonal Fellows in the Research Track join GovAI to conduct independent research on a topic of their choice, with mentorship from leading experts in the field. Each fellow is paired with a supervisor from the GovAI team or network. They spend the first two weeks of the fellowship exploring the AI governance landscape, before settling on a research proposal with input from their supervisors. Their research could result in a report, white paper, journal article, op-ed, or blog post targeted at an audience relevant to AI governance. The Research Managers and our broader team will offer additional support in deciding what project and output would be most valuable for the fellow to work toward. You can read about the topics our previous cohorts of Summer and Winter Fellows worked on here and here.
Alongside their research and weekly meetings with their supervisors, fellows will also have the opportunity to widen their professional network and upskill on AI governance. GovAI will organize a series of Q&A sessions with AI governance experts, seminars and workshops aimed at developing subject-matter knowledge and building relevant skills, and work-in-progress meetings that facilitate peer-to-peer feedback, as well as social events. Fellows will also be encouraged to discuss follow-on career opportunities with our team and network.
Qualifications and Selection Criteria
We strongly encourage you to apply if you are interested in using your career to help decision-makers navigate the transition to a world with advanced AI.
We are interested in candidates from a broad set of professional backgrounds, including those with experience in government, academia, industry, or civil society. There are no specific requirements for the role, although we expect that the most promising candidates will typically have relevant graduate study, research experience, or professional experience in policy or related areas. Relevant areas of expertise include – but are by no means limited to – public policy, political science, computer science, economics, biosecurity, cybersecurity, China studies, and risk management (e.g. assurance and auditing).
When assessing applications, we will be looking for candidates who have the following strengths or show positive signs of being able to develop them:
- Quality of work: The ability to produce clearly written, insightful, and even-handed research. We are particularly excited about strong reasoning ability, and clear and concise writing.
- Relevant expertise: Skills or knowledge that are likely to be helpful for work on AI governance. We think that relevant expertise can take many different forms. Note that we also do not have any strict degree requirements.
- Judgement: The ability to prioritise between different research directions, and good intuitions about the feasibility of different research directions.
- Team fit: Openness to feedback, commitment to intellectual honesty and rigour, comfort in expressing uncertainty, and a serious interest in using your career to contribute to AI governance.
Salary, Duration, and Location
Summer Fellows will join for three months, between 8 June and 28 August, in our office in London, UK. Fellows will receive a stipend of £12,000, plus support for travelling to London. While in London, we provide our Fellows with lunch on weekdays and a desk in our London office. This is intended to be a full-time and in-person role. We are able to sponsor 3-month temporary work visas. For successful applicants who require a visa, note that you will need to remain in your country of visa application for some time while the visa application is underway.
Senior Candidates
We realise that for senior professionals or academics, some of the above may present obstacles to your participation in the fellowship. For candidates with exceptional profiles, we are sometimes able to make accommodations. If you would like to discuss this option, please email recruitment@governance.ai with the subject line containing the words “senior candidate summer fellowship 2026,” a copy of your CV, and a brief explanation of the adjustments you would require to make your participation possible.
How to Apply and What to Expect
The application process consists of a written submission in the first round. Selected candidates will then complete an approximately 20-minute automated assessment that serves as a pathway to the second round, which includes a paid remote work test. In the final round, we will invite candidates to a remote interview.
We expect to reach out to Summer Fellowship candidates for the automated assessment shortly after submission, for paid work tests in January, offer interviews in February, and communicate final decisions to candidates in March. Please feel free to reach out to recruitment@governance.ai if you would need a decision communicated earlier than the standard timeline (this may or may not be possible), or have questions about the application process.
Addressing complex AI governance challenges requires many different skillsets and perspectives. We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds. If our mission excites you, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification listed. Your unique combination of experience and motivation might be exactly what we're looking for.