It has joined forces with industry to launch a package aimed at driving up skills in the AI sector and enabling thousands of graduates to become qualified AI experts.

Announced by business secretary Greg Clark and digital secretary Jeremy Wright today, the investment sees the creation of a nationwide programme of industry-funded AI Masters courses coupled with work-based placements.

The new skills and talent package is supported by industry funding and up to £110m government investment, including:

• Up to 200 new AI Masters places at UK universities funded by companies such as Deepmind, QuantumBlack, Cisco and BAE Systems. The Masters programme marks the first nationwide effort to address the skills gap at this level, in collaboration with the Industry of Coding and British Computer Society.
• 1,000 students will have the opportunity to enhance their skills with new PhDs at 16 dedicated UK Research and Innovation AI Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), located across the country.
• Up to five AI research fellowships, created in collaboration with The Alan Turing Institute to both attract and retain the best research talent from around the world.

The schemes are aimed at people of different stages in higher education and available to researchers at a variety of levels.

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