Development site for the EIT FOAI CDT
Modern AI research is fast-paced and ever-changing. This means that traditional methods of teaching such as through lecture courses or the use of textbooks are rarely applicable. The aim of the group projects is to enable learning through supported research and practice.
In small teams, you will tackle a designated problem. Prior familiarity with the problem is not necessary and we encourage you to be part of a team which is looking at something that you have not encountered before - this is about learning.
Group projects will run throughout the year with varying levels of time commitment. You will be supported by the CDT Directors and project-specific mentors including from EIT.
In Michaelmas term, you will focus on background reading and preparation. You will engage with project mentors to understand the broader context of your problem and the specific literature and background theory to review. Much of this will be done via private study as you will be doing this alongside the core modules. However, there will allocated time for regular touch points with mentors. By the end of the term, the aim is to have a solid knowledge base for the next stage of work and a plan for how the team will progress in the new year.
In Hilary term, the group projects will be your full-time occupation. During this period, you will solidify your knowledge base. You would normally be expected to undertake some work to reproduce existing research and examining their properties (both empirically and theoretically). At an appropriate time, you may also begin to build prototypes based on your own ideas to evaluate against existing benchmarks. The details will be specific to your team’s plans and advice from mentors.
During the summer months, you will switch focus to your individual rotation projects, but we will ask your individual project supervisors to ensure you have a little time each week to maintain some group project activity.
Assessment will be through regular, light touch activities. This could be a combination of quick briefings and updates, lightning “chalkboard” talks, and some written material (e.g. blogs). The intention is to use these activities to support your individual learning by giving you a reason to think clearly and explain what you are doing and what you have learnt.
There will be a more formal end of project team presentation in September where you will present an audience consisting of CDT-affiliated academics, EIT and others from the university.
The following group projects are available for 2025/26:
Approximate timings to be finalised by September 2025.
| Term | Week | Task | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michaelmas | -1 | Project Selection | Form teams. Meet supervisors. |
| Michaelams | 0-2 | Background Reading | Preparatory reading. Private study in Teams. |
| Michaelmas | 3 | Project Planning | Teams formulate a plan for the reminder of the project. Define objectives. |
| Michaelams | 4-7 | Background Reading | Further preparatory reading. Private study in Teams. |
| Michaelams | 8-9 | Hack Weeks | Intense project deep dive. |
| Michaelams | 9 | Milestone 1 Review | First assessment exercise. |
| Hilary | 0-4 | Project Work | Full-time Project Work. |
| Hilary | 4 | Milestone 2 Review | Second assessment exercise. |
| Hilary | 5-9 | Project Work | Full-time Project Work. |
| Hilary | 9 | Milestone 3 Review | Third assessment exercise. |
| Summer | - | Project Work | 0.5-1 day a week spent on group projects alongside individual rotations. |
| September | - | Milestone 4 Review | Final team presentations. |
We hope that these group projects will be continued by future cohorts so they will learn from materials created by previous students.