Image of two black students (one girl and one boy) happily constructing a robotic arm

Scholarship

Summer Scholarships for Black Students 2024

Applications now closed until 2025

Join our growing group of young Black scholars in computing.

Since 2020, we have provided financial support to Black scholars to enable them to experiment in a cutting-edge field, that can help to change the world. Hot technology topics previously covered include: Misinformation, Robotics, Human Computer Interaction, Blockchain and Knowledge Graphs.

Check out the previous topics from our 2024 cohort below.

As a KMi Scholar, you will receive a non-repayable bursary, mentoring, and support from the researchers, students and technicians who work in our project spaces. The bursary can be used to cover living costs or make up for your loss of earnings during the summer while you carry out a project lasting 8 weeks.

The project will start in July 2025 and may be conducted online, at the Open University campus, or both. The award to each scholar will be £2,700. For 2024 three scholarships were awarded.

The benefits

As KMi Scholars, you will create a story for future generations. The KMi team aim to make Black students feel at home in a computer science research environment and demonstrate what computing careers can offer. A scholarship could be a step forward in your career development. It can provide skills and evidence which can be included in applications to study at university or for employment. You will have a chance to explore and develop technologies in a playful way and contribute your ideas to the project.

Application process

The call for applicants to participate in summer 2025 will open in the Spring of 2025. These were the three challenges offered in the 2024 call. The 2024 award winners have completed their projects, and their results can be seen below.

Three bursaries were awarded this year. Read all about the scholars' projects here.

Challenge 1 - From 'Huh?' to Aha! Cracking the code of research papers

Challenge 1: From "Huh?" to Aha! Cracking the code of research papers

Subject Area: Artificial Intelligence

Supervisory Team: Audrey Ekuban and Venetia Brown

Scholar: Oke Onyebuchukwu

How can we make studying more engaging and interactive?

Meet Oke, whose research transforms research papers into interactive learning experiences.

Photo of Scholar Oke Onyebuchukwu

Oke came to KMi during the summer while studying Mathematics and Computer Science at university. His project focused on ways to transform student engagement with research papers by developing the Research Companion app. Oke used Retreval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology and prompt engineering to simplify access to academic literature by using functionalities such as summarisation, visual aids generation, quizzes and a chatbot. His evaluation of the chatbot's performance across different temperature settings reveals that higher temperatures yield more consistent and reliable outputs. However, the quality of responses is dependent on the retrieval process.

Empowering students with generative AI to support academic reading. Oke's research is important in providing more inclusive educational tools that leverage AI to support the diverse learning needs of students. Using the Research Companion App makes research more interactive and accessible and might help those struggling with reading activities engage more easily with complex materials.

Check out Oke talking about his experiences on the scholarship, and watch the demo of his app. His report can be read here.

Concept Overview

Interview

Oke designed an app to assist students in understanding research papers through interactive features. He adapted very well to what was new content for him. He proved to be analytical, suggesting new approaches to improve the chatbot's performance and robustness.
- Audrey Ekuban, Supervisor

Don't worry about not having advanced programming experience. The team provides a lot of helpful resources to get you started. You can have a flexible work schedule. I would recommend it.
- Oke Onyebuchukwu, 19 years old. 2024 award winner and scholar

Challenge 2 - Building Trust with AI: Can CORE-GPT Be Our Truthful Friend?

Challenge 2: Building Trust with AI: Can CORE-GPT Be Our Truthful Friend?

Subject Area: Open Access to Research Papers

Supervisory Team: Matteo Cancellieri, Suchetha Nambanoor-Kunnath and David Pride

Scholar: Ian Obiogbolu

Will academic research be revolutionised by AI by improving access to factual answers and open access to knowledge?

Meet Ian, who explores how CORE-GPT and different LLMs handle research questions in various disciplines.

Photo of Scholar Ian Obiogbolu

Ian studied on an Access to HE course before joining the summer scholarship. His project investigated how various Large Language Models (LLMs) interact with CORE-GPT, a specialised question-answering platform that provides answers from credible scientific literature. Ian used three metrics to evaluate different models, testing their comprehensiveness, trust and utility and comparing the responses.

Enhancing accessibility and impactful research. Ian's project empowers research students to rely on accurate and trustworthy information for their studies and projects while establishing the most compatible and cost-effective solution for future CORE-GPT applications. Check out Ian demonstrating the platform and his interview, talking about his experience on the scholarship here. His report can be read here.

Concept Overview

Interview

Ian did his scholarship with the CORE team, and he helped us look into how various large language models (LLMs) interact with CORE-GPT. Working with LLMs poses challenges in terms of the accuracy of the answers, costs, and load on the system. Ian's work helped us understand what are the most promising models we can use to integrate the new generation of CORE-GPT.

He proved to be dedicated and with great attention to detail; it was a pleasure working with him, and we are planning to use his report for a CORE blog post and kick-start future work on our new version of CORE-GPT.
- Matteo Cancellieri, Project Supervisor

Applying for the scholarship gives you a chance to work with experienced developers and researchers, work with real-world technologies and impact the world of education.
- Ian, 19 years old, 2024 award winner and scholar.

Challenge 3 - Generative AI and Controversial Topics

Challenge 3: Generative AI and Controversial Topics

Subject Area: Artificial Intelligence

Supervisory Team: Aisling Third, Tracie Farrell and Matteo Cancellieri

Scholar: Prince Akah

How do AIs deal with disagreement?

Meet Prince, who generated AI "participants" with polarising viewpoints on controversial topics and assessed the quality of arguments.

Photo of Scholar Prince Akah

Prince joined the scholarship after studying on an Access to HE (Computing) course. His research assessed how different large language models (LLMs) generate content about controversial topics. Those who have engaged with LLMs know that producing a definitive point of view about polarising topics is challenging. Prince was interested in studying the realism and quality of the arguments LLMs present when they are tasked with defending a particular point of view. Prince attempted to generate a selection of debates in different formats, including two AI "participants" designed to have polarising viewpoints on controversial themes. He experimented with different prompts around the personas given to the LLMs, including various details about their supposed experience or identities, to see how the LLM would bring this experience to the debate and how this impacted human judgements about realism and quality.

Navigating controversy and promoting critical thinking. Prince's project helps to understand and identify features humans use to judge whether or not a piece of content has been generated by AI, the quality of AI-generated arguments, and the extent to which those arguments are convincing. By exploring how AI models handle disagreements, students could learn to critically evaluate different perspectives and develop informed opinions.

Check out Prince's interview about his experience on the scholarship and a demo of his work below.

Concept Overview

Interview

Working with Prince was a pleasure. He chose a very interesting area of research that we suspect will only increase in relevancy in the coming years and showed that he can spot a good juicy problem. We also found him to be creative and curious, which are all excellent qualities in a researcher, and we hope that he continues to develop his skills in computing.
- Tracie Farrell, Project Supervisor

This scholarship offers an incredible opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects and gain hands-on experience with AI technologies. It's a chance to challenge yourself, explore new ideas, and contribute to meaningful research. Don't hesitate to apply if you're passionate about technology and want to make a real impact.
- Prince Akah, 19 years old, 2024 award winner and scholar.

Key Dates for 2024

  • The scholarship projects will start on 1st July and run for 9 weeks until 30th August 2024.
  • The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 26th April 2024.

How to Apply

In order to qualify for a scholarship, you must meet all the following criteria:

  • Identify as being from a Black background (see Appendix 1 for full details).
  • Aged between 16 and 20 years on 31 May 2024.
  • Have an interest in technology and sufficient time available during the summer.
  • Be ordinarily resident in the UK.
  • Be able to provide details of two referees whom we can contact if you are selected for a scholarship (at least one is required from your educational institute, the other can be from a personal referee).
  • Be available to carry out a project which will start on 1st July 2024 and run for 9 weeks until 30th August 2024

We will be awarding three scholarships and have created a simple application process.

We will ask you to complete an application form.

  1. A description of any interest you have in technology, and what relevant skills or experience you have, if any.
  2. Give an example of when you have worked well in a pair or team or an example of when you have managed your time.
  3. Which of the three challenges appeal to you and why?
  4. What time commitment do you think will be needed to carry out a project, and how will you fit this around other commitments during the 6 to 8 weeks?

Prior knowledge of programming is not essential. We value and promote theoretical diversity in computing.

PDF Icon Click here to download the application form

PDF Icon Click here to read the full terms and conditions

Taking part in a scholarship project will enhance employability, develop computer science skills and/or provide a social benefit.

The award will be made by a panel of OU staff and students. The panel will assess applicants' personal statements. Funds are limited, and no guarantee of an award can be made.

What happens at the end of the project?

The results will be shared with KMi, for example, by uploading a report in the OU's Open Research Online repository (ORO), by depositing data or code in the Open Research Data Online repository (ORDO) or by making a short video to show your findings.

About KMi

KMi is a Computer Science Research & Development Lab. We are a diverse, multi-national bunch passionate about what we do. We treat everyone as a valued team member, be they professors, researchers, post-grad students or other non-academic staff. We believe in research that impacts the real world with real users.

A Photo of all KMi staff

Aims of the Scholarship

There has been an underrepresentation of Black people among the visitors who come to KMi every summer. Black people are also underrepresented among computer science postgraduate students. This annual scholarship aims to improve representation and create greater awareness of computer science research.

Chapter 2 of The Equality Act 2010 allows service providers to take action that may involve treating one group more favourably where this is a proportionate way to help members of that group overcome a disadvantage or participate more fully, or in order to meet needs they have that are different from the population as a whole. This is called 'positive action'.

The call for applicants to participate in summer 2025 will open in the Spring of 2025.

Email: STEM-KMi-Scholarship@open.ac.uk to express an interest and receive notice when the call opens

Previously supported scholars

2023

Scholarship - Photo of Rachel Appiah-Kubi

Rachel Appiah-Kubi

Project: Exploring the biases of AI-generated music artist images

Supervisors: John Domingue and Aisling Third

View Project

Scholarship - Photo of Henok Mekuria

Henok Mekuria

Project: Evaluating prompts for Image Generative AI and sensory explorations

Supervisor: Shuang Ao and Advaith Siddharthan

View Project

Scholarship - Photo of Meron Mana

Meron Mana

Project: Designing, developing and deploying a social robot

Supervisors: Matteo Cancellieri and David Pride

View Project

2022

Scholarship - Photo of Samuel Kwaku Antwi

Samuel Kwaku Antwi

Project: Identifying influential misinformation about vaccines

Supervisors:Retno Larasati and Tracie Farrell

View Project

Scholarship - Photo of Esther Adetunji

Esther Adetunji

Project: Building musical knowledge graphs

Supervisor: Enrico Daga and Paul Mulholland

View Project

Scholarship - Photo of Peter Isagba

Peter Isagba

Project: Turning TikTok Content into NFTs

Supervisors: John Domingue, Aisling Third and Michelle Bachler

View Project

2021

Scholarship - Photo of Azizah Blackwood

Azizah Blackwood

Project: Misinfo.Me Bot

Supervisors: Tracie Farrell and Lara Piccolo

Scholarship - Photo of Reece Davis

Reece Davis

Project: Benchmarking Environmental Sensors

Supervisor: Lara Piccolo

Scholarship - Photo of Kaushal Kumar

Kaushal Kumar

Project: Robot Assistants in the Wild

Supervisors: Agnese Chiatti and Gianluca Bardaro

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Electronic Literature: The challenges of born-digital fiction

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