Welcome to the August edition of the APRIL AI Hub’s Newsletter!

A new Call for Proposals, our Summer Showcase and Celebration, Seed Funding Webinar Series, and latest podcast episode… all that and more in this edition of the APRIL Newsletter!

Summer Showcase and Celebration

On 24 July we hosted our Summer Showcase and Celebration, and it was such a delight to see our interns present all their hard work. The Dragons were very impressed by the whole cohort’s presentations, and congratulated them all on their achievements during the 8-week intensive summer internship programme.

 

Congratulations to our Dragons’ Den Winners:

First Place - Dominic Stead, Analysing Electronic Properties of Point Defects using ML​

Second Place - Emma Deyell, Can Wording Change Proof Time in Hardware Formal Verification?​

Third Place - Reanna McEldowney, A Multi-Agent Tool for Verification Plan Generation and Coverage Analysis of Open Hardware Specifications

Latest Podcast Live on Spotify

Listen to some of our Summer interns, Thiara, Jenna, Emma, and Elsa talk about dealing with Post-Internship Blues.

Seed Funding Webinar Series

Interested in finding out more about our Seed Funding Grant Holders’ projects?
Check out our series of webinars on YouTube!

So far we have had fascinating talks from:

• Dr. Ankit Dixit & Prof. Bo Liu from University of Glasgow

• Dr. José Cano & Dr. Jude Haris from University of Glasgow

• Dr. Natale G. Pruiti & Dr. Naveen Kumar from University of Glasgow

• Dr. Shounak Chakraborty from Durham University

• Dr. Qiang Huang from University of Sunderland

• Dr. Nema Abdelazim from University of Southampton

• Prof. Phil King from University of St Andrews

Keep an eye out on our website’s event page for more upcoming webinars that will be confirmed this coming academic year.

Sandpit Competition

Call for Proposals Utilising APRIL Tools

APRIL is now calling for project proposals utilising APRIL tools, with selected proposals receiving awards up to £100k!

Expressions of interest close on 16 September, and submissions close on 2 October. Shortlisted proposals will be invited to the competition final at the Annual Summit on 27-28 October where they will pitch their project ideas, and the winners will be announced.

APRIL Annual Summit 2026

Join us on 27 & 28 October for the APRIL AI Hub Annual Summit 2026 at The Edge in Sheffield. We will showcase our latest tools, spotlight our Seed Funding Grant Holders’ projects, and provide the opportunity for our wider community to gather and network.

The Summit will also host the finals for the above Sandpit Competition, so make sure to not miss out!

UKAIRS 2026 - Register Now

 Join us for UKAIRS 2026, where the AI research and innovation community are gathering to share knowledge, network, and discover collaboration opportunities. Register now!

Register for UKAIRS Here

This symposium is the premier national gathering for the UK artificial intelligence research community, and is organised in collaboration with UKRI, RAI UK, the national AI Hubs, and CDT centres.

📅 24 and 25 November 2026
📍 John McIntyre Conference Centre, The University of Edinburgh
🌐 You can learn more about the Symposium here.