Your day will typically begin at our co-working space located in Harvard Square, where you'll collaborate and brainstorm with fellow participants. Around lunchtime, you'll attend our brown bag lunch events—virtual sessions featuring guest speakers, held during the lunch hour. Afternoons usually involve dedicated deep-work sessions focused on your individual research projects. In the evenings, fellows frequently gather for dinner, followed by various group activities. Additionally, we'll provide all participants with a one-page guide highlighting local social events and activities.

Throughout the week, you'll also have scheduled one-on-one check-ins with your research manager, members of the CBAI team, or fellow participants, as well as numerous opportunities to engage with other fellowship events.

Fellows are expected to produce written outputs suitable for sharing publicly, such as blog posts, interactive demos, or pre-prints.

While there are no rigid guidelines concerning the format or scope of these outputs, we will actively support fellows by identifying relevant conference opportunities, such as NeurIPS, and assisting them in showcasing their research to broader AI safety and academic communities.

We anticipate this fellowship will lead to ongoing mentorship relationships and foster new collaborations among fellows, providing a foundation for continued engagement and future joint projects.

We will organize a range of engaging activities including speaker events, networking opportunities, research workshops, and wargames.

Additionally, you'll have opportunities to interact regularly with junior AI safety researchers from institutions such as Harvard and MIT, as we will use the AI Safety Student Team at Harvard’s office space in Harvard Square.

While CBAI operates the AI Safety Student Team at Harvard and MIT AI Alignment, please note that we are not officially affiliated with either institution. Therefore, fellows will not receive student identification cards.

However, fellows participating in the CBAI-BKC and CBAI-FutureTech tracks may potentially have access to Harvard and MIT facilities; we will confirm these details shortly.

Note: If you are a student at a university affiliated with BorrowDirect, you may be eligible for a library card granting access to the libraries at Harvard and MIT.

We’re actively trying to arrange a housing option for fellows. If we’re unable to secure an option, we will help you find a sublease or monthly Airbnb option.

We are able to provide up to $2500 housing stipend per month for two months in addition to the $8000 stipend every fellow will receive.

Note: If you’re a student at Harvard or MIT and your summer housing is not covered by your scholarship, please indicate that in the application form.

Unfortunately, we can only accept applicants who have been selected by at least one mentor.

Mentor matching is a key component of our programme, ensuring each fellow receives dedicated support and guidance. Therefore, if no mentor selects you during the matching process, we will not be able to offer you a place in the CBAI Summer Research Fellowship.

Our default expectation is that all fellows participate in person for the full duration of the fellowship. However, we understand there may be special circumstances, and we are open to evaluating these on a case-by-case basis. Please indicate clearly in your application if you anticipate needing to attend only part of the program in person.

Successful applicants typically demonstrate clear alignment with the goals and values of our program, a well-articulated interest in AI safety, and strong motivation for pursuing research in this area. To strengthen your application, clearly outline your relevant background, skills, and past experiences, explain specifically why you're interested in this fellowship, and highlight the impact you hope to achieve through your participation. Additionally, indicating specific mentors or research topics of interest can also help your application stand out.

Your research manager will provide ongoing support in project management, helps track your research progress, and may also offer research-specific guidance depending on their expertise.

In contrast, your mentor is an external expert specifically matched to your research area, providing specialized domain knowledge and targeted advice.