Stuart Anderson MP is delighted that the University of Wolverhampton is one of 31 universities to have been awarded a share of £8.18 million further funding for student scholarships in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science courses. This will help up to 818 more students from diverse backgrounds progress into careers in these fields. In turn, it will help to address the current shortage of AI and data specialists in the UK - as well as to increase diversity in the sector across a range of priority groups.
Stuart welcomed the latest round of scholarships, which are worth £10,000 each. They enable students from under-represented groups pursue master’s level conversion courses in AI and data science. The Government is working with industry to co-fund these scholarships and has now invested £30 million to broaden the supply of talent in the UK AI labour market. For every one scholarship that industry funds, the Government will fund an additional three across the programme. This will deliver up to 3,000 scholarships for students from backgrounds under-represented in the sector, enabling them to learn the skills to secure employment in the UK’s cutting-edge AI and data science sectors. This will help to address digital skills gap in the workforce, since these groups are underrepresented in jobs that require these qualifications.
The scholarships are aimed increasing the diversity of students entering careers in this field, including women, Black, disabled students, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Stuart said that he is thrilled that the programme is helping to increase the diversity of the student cohort and successfully convert non-STEM students to enter the AI labour market. Emerging findings show that the programme is already successfully driving increased diversity. 76% of the scholarships so far awarded have been awarded to women - leading to a 32% increase of women on these courses.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “I am thrilled that the University of Wolverhampton is one of 31 universities to have been awarded a share of £8.18 million further funding for these scholarships in artificial intelligence and data science. They will help students from diverse backgrounds upskill and progress into careers in this great sector. This will help to address the digital skills gap and make the workforce more diverse, so we can better address issues facing society today. I would encourage UK students from the priority groups to sign up for these scholarships.”
Minister for AI, Viscount Camrose, said: "The UK already has an exceptional AI talent pool to call on, but an extra £8 million boost will encourage more people to pursue careers in this transformative technology. Given the rapid pace of development in AI, we need to make sure people across the country, whatever their background, have the skills they need to join the sector. Initiatives like this will create more opportunities for jobs, growth and will supercharge the economy.“
The Office for Students (OfS) has published guidance for prospective students about the courses and how to apply at www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/planning-to-study/study-artificial-intelligence-and-data-science-as-a-postgraduate/.