GovAI Summer and Winter Fellowships┋Applied Track

Seasonal Fellowships are three-month opportunities designed to launch or accelerate impactful careers in AI governance and policy. Participants in the “Applied Track” execute projects of their choice in areas other than traditional research. 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 researchers and practitioners.

We welcome a wide range of applicants, including those with experience in communications, policy, issue advocacy, events, research management, program management, operations, and fundraising – as well as researchers hoping to pivot. We think this track will often be an especially good fit for candidates interested in contributing to AI governance in roles in which research is not the main duty. Some of the most in-demand roles in the field currently are operations and communications staff, research and program managers, and policy engagement professionals. 

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 Applied Track join GovAI to work on project(s) of their choice in areas other than traditional research. Past applied projects have included organising a high-impact event, working as a project manager for policy engagement work, developing the communications strategy for a new AI safety org, and writing a series of policy memos to inform live policy development. We are potentially open to a broad array of projects, as long as the applicant can make a case for how the project would help to set them up for an impactful non-research career in AI governance. 

Each fellow is paired with a mentor from the GovAI team or network. They spend the first two weeks of the fellowship exploring what project(s) would be most valuable for them to work on, with input from their mentor, the Fellowship Team, and the broader GovAI community; and the following ten weeks executing on them.  

Alongside their projects, fellows will also invest time in upskilling on AI governance and widening their professional network. GovAI will organize a series of Q&A sessions with AI governance experts, weekly seminars aimed at developing subject-matter knowledge, workshops for building relevant skills,  work-in-progress meetings that facilitate peer-to-peer feedback, and 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, in roles in which research is not the main duty. Some of the most in-demand roles in the field currently are operations and communications staff, research and program managers, and policy engagement professionals.

We are interested in candidates from a broad set of professional backgrounds, including those with experience in government, academia, industry, startups, media, or civil society. There are no specific requirements for the role, although we expect that the most promising candidates will typically have relevant professional experience in roles involving, for example, communications, policy, issue advocacy, events, research management, program management, operations, fundraising, or research. 

When assessing applications, we will be looking for candidates who have the following strengths or show positive signs of being able to develop them:

• Relevant expertise: Skills or knowledge that are likely to be useful for non-research roles in AI governance. As mentioned above, we think that relevant expertise can take many different forms. 
• Quality of work: The ability to perform at the highest level in their area of expertise. We are looking for signals of excellence.
• Judgement: The ability to prioritise between different projects, and good intuitions about the feasibility of different projects.
• ‍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.