UTS & Leonardo.Ai launch AI-focused PhD scholarships

The University of Technology Sydney and Leonardo.Ai are collaborating on a new PhD programme to further artificial intelligence research in Australia.

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has joined forces with Leonardo.Ai to create an industry-focused PhD programme designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry in the field of artificial intelligence. This collaborative effort involves scholarships specifically aimed at addressing key industry challenges.

The initiative, offering four fully-funded scholarships, targets both local and international candidates. The scholarships are centred on providing researchers with crucial industry experience, guidance, training, and access to advanced computing resources necessary for significant developments in AI research.

This programme is structured to aid Australia in remaining competitive within the global AI market. By combining resources, UTS and Leonardo.Ai aim to enhance AI education through quality and speed, thus nurturing a new generation of experts.

Leonardo.Ai, acquired by Canva in the previous year, offers substantial support towards advancing AI research and development, helping to bolster innovation within both companies.

According to industry projections, the global AI market is expected to reach USD $184 billion in 2024 and USD $826.70 billion by 2030. This underscores the importance of research that can contribute significantly to future economic growth and advancements across varied sectors.

In this context, UTS is actively engaging with leading industry players like Leonardo.Ai to reformulate AI education, aligning academic progress with industry achievements to ensure that educational outputs contribute effectively to the global AI landscape.

Martin Bell, AI Research Team Lead at Leonardo.Ai, stated, "This program will not only drive the AI industry forward with cutting-edge research but provide some of Australia's leading student researchers with an invaluable opportunity. Breaking into the competitive genAI field has been difficult, specifically for Australian researchers who have faced challenges ranging from unclear career pathways, high costs and restricted education access. Our goal with UTS is to provide the next generation of talent with the funding, technology and industry expertise required to succeed whilst keeping Australia at the forefront of innovation and creativity with world-class AI research."

Fang Chen, Distinguished Professor and Executive Director at UTS Data Science Institute, commented, "UTS is renowned for its leading AI research, which drives impactful AI solutions with industry and government, advancing exceptional foundational research and innovation. The true value of the research is realised through meaningful partnerships with industry leaders like Leonardo.Ai, whose support helps push the boundaries of research while cultivating the next generation of GenAI talent."

Chen further emphasised the importance of the collaboration, "The UTS Data Science Institute and Leonardo.Ai share a deep commitment to principles of excellence in technology: maximising impact, embracing agility, pursuing ambitious goals, and achieving success collaboratively. These values are unified by a shared mission to act responsibly and contribute meaningfully to societal advancement. This new PhD program exemplifies these principles in action, bringing together the strengths of academia and industry in a powerful partnership."

The scholarships are divided among four research areas: Safety and Bias in Generative AI, Efficient Architectural Designs for Generative AI Models, Generative Models in the Fourier Domain, and Continual Learning and Deliberate Forgetting in Petascale Generative AI training. These focus areas aim to push AI research into new domains, ensuring that Australia remains at the forefront of AI advancements globally.