Interdisciplinary Research Incubator

Research. Learn. Network. Make AI Safe.

Take a step forward in your career and have a positive impact on the world.

Why the world needs your talent

AI is improving at an unprecedented pace and with it grows the potential for catastrophic risk. Yet it is estimated that only about 1% of AI researchers full-time work on making AI safe.

Therefore, we need you: if you have any background in computer science, maths, law, political science, psychology, economics or just a general interest in AI and its impact on the world, you are in a perfect position to do impactful work and change our future to the better.

Our Interdisciplinary Research Incubator equips you with the research skills, foundational AI safety and governance knowledge and the community needed to make that happen.

You will research with one of our mentors from CISPA, DFKI, Cambridge ERA, University of Amsterdam and other institutions on their project, join a weekly interactive foundations session and benefit from a close and supportive community. We provide you with personal support, career advice and future opportunities to ensure that this incubator is only the start of your path to impactful AI safety or governance work.

    • October 29th: Application Deadline

    • November 5th: Application Decisions send out

    • November 7th: Incubator Kick-Off

    • November 10th - February 6th: mentored research + weekly foundations session

    • April 2026: Present your work at the AI Safety Saarland Summit (tba)

    • You apply through our application form directly to as many mentors/projects as you want

    • Mentors will review your application and decide on their mentees

    • If you have been selected by a mentor, you automatically get a place in the incubator

    • Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Therefore, we highly encourage early submissions!

  • There are no hard prerequisites although some mentors have their own requirements. Please check out their profiles below to find out more!

    In general, we expect most mentees to be late undergraduate or master’s students, though we encourage you to apply even if you do not fit there.

    Note, that this program is primarily in-person (though mentorship might happen online). We therefore give preference to applicants based in Saarland, Germany. You do not have to be a student at Saarland University.

    We may run one small cohort entirely online though this depends on the number of places filled by applicants based in Saarland.

    Applications from non-CS backgrounds and underrepresented groups such as woman are highly encouraged!

  • The incubator is designed to accelerate your career. We therefore expect fellows to commit 8-10 hours per week:

    • 2 hours foundations session

    • 6 hours research, including a meeting with your mentor

    • optional (but highly encouraged) bi-weekly fellow lunch (sponsored) and other socials, career guidance and networking events

    You may miss a maximum of two foundations sessions over the 11-week period.

What we offer you:

  • We know that relevant researching experience is the #1 prerequisite to advanced AI safety and governance fellowships such as ERA, Pivotal, MATS and LASR or impactful jobs.
    Through our program you will:

    • work together with your mentor and up to three other fellows on an impactful research project (see project proposals below)

    • have a weekly meeting with your mentor to get guidance and learn directly from their experience

    • get the chance to present your work at our tentative AI Safety Saarland Summit in April 2026

    • get the opportunity that your work may result in a publication, long-term collaboration or could be inspiration for your thesis
      (Note, that we cannot guarantee any of these)

    • benefit from our partnership with Theomachia Labs to continue your research or join their research team

    • get ongoing support from AISS to unblock your progress, stay committed and set-up for success

  • Building your views on AI development and risks and figuring out where to contribute can feel overwhelming and daunting. We take a first-principles approach to get your foundational knowledge on track and make your progress sustainable:

    • In a weekly foundations session you will interactively learn and discuss AI progress, threats and solutions following the world-class AGI Strategy Curriculum from BlueDot Impact

    • you will develop your own views and get guidance on planning and executing your next steps after this course

    • no homework or assigned readings – come to the two hours session and learn in a focused and dedicated environment.

  • Our Research Incubator is not just another seminar. It is a place for you to grow and get the support you need to pursue an impactful career in AI safety or governance. To make this journey as frictionless as possible, we offer you:

    • Bi-weekly free lunch with all fellows to foster connections outside the class room (not available for remote fellows)

    • Exclusive online-community to help you solve problems in your research, discuss materials further and connect with other fellows

    • A Coffee Chat Program with other fellows to build meaningful connections, find future collaborators and make friends

    • Ongoing career support through 1-1s with our team and potentially external people we connect your to

Apply now!

Applications close on October 29th 11:59pm German Time, but are reviewed on a rolling basis. Early submissions are highly encouraged!

More questions? Check out our FAQ’s.

Mentors and Projects

FAQs

  • No, while beneficial, we do not expect you to have prior knowledge. Our foundations sessions will provide you with that. However, we expect you to have a genuine interest in making AI safe and beneficial for everyone.

  • No, although we work together with various mentors based at Saarland University or adjacent research institutions, we are an independent organisation aiming to provide a pipeline for people into impactful AI safety or governance work.

    However, you will get a certificate from our side upon successful completion of the program.

  • You fill out our application form, in which you can apply to multiple mentors at once. We will forward your application to the mentors you applied to and they will select their fellows. In some cases, AISS will select fellows for the projects if preferred by the mentor.

  • Yes, you can. In fact, applying to more than one mentor may increase your chance of being accepted into the incubator. You can indicate your preferred projects in the application form.

  • Not necessarily.

    Some mentors may require certain prior experience as indicated in their project profiles above.

    In general, the purpose of this incubator is to provide you with an opportunity to gain research experience by working with experienced mentors.

  • While both programs do not assume prior AI safety or governance experience, the research incubator is our more intense flagship program giving you access to a highly skilled research mentor, career advice and exclusive community support.

  • As we primarily aim to grow the AI Safety community in Saarland and we believe that most benefit comes from having a local community, preference is given to applicants based in Saarland.

    Depending on demand and preference of mentors, we may, however, offer one small online cohort for people outside of Saarland

  • Unfortunately, we are unable to fund participants in the incubator. However, we will cover any compute expenses etc. occurring in your research placement and sponsor your bi-weekly fellow lunch.

  • Send us an email at info@ais-saarland.org and we will get back to you as quick as possible!