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Visiting

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Prospective Visitors

We welcome applications from scholars and students who wish to spend time at the centre. We're currently accepting visitor applications commencing from January 2025. We have a limited number of places for each term so please forward completed applications to enquiries@lcfi.cam.ac.uk before October 2025 so they can be considered at our next Strategy Group Committee meeting. Approval will be given to outstanding applicants, whose proposed research is clearly relevant to LCFI’s goals. We particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in AI research, and which show evidence not only of academic excellence but engagement with other disciplines and stakeholders. Visitors are expected to be fluent in written and spoken English.

Visiting Scholar

Visiting Scholars are those who already have a PhD, are engaged in an academic career, and who are employed by a higher education institution. They may visit for anything from a month to a year. We assume that visitors will be in Cambridge to pursue independent research and so we do not provide academic supervision, although visitors may seek affiliation with one of LCFI’s projects.

Visting Student

Visiting Students are postgraduate students who have permission from their university to come to Cambridge for a period to enrich their studies. Visiting Student status is ordinarily given for up to one term – Michaelmas (October–December), Lent (January–March) or Easter (April–June). They should have a mentor within CFI (see below) but will not be formally supervised during their time here.

How to apply

Before you can submit your full application you need to have the name of a member of CFI who is willing to act as your sponsor or mentor. This should be the person you would most like to work with or a person whose interests have the greatest overlap with your own. Please see the People section of this website for further information on staff interests.

Only after you have a mentor, complete your full application by merging the following documents into a single PDF file and email it to us at enquiries@lcfi.cam.ac.uk. An interview (which can be by teleconference) may be required prior to any decision on visits to the Centre.

  • A brief curriculum vitae (2 pages max.)
  • A covering letter stating why and for how long (provide dates) you wish to come to Cambridge.
  • An outline of the research you propose to conduct while you are here (2 pages max.)
  • A letter of recommendation from your university supervisor or head of department stating the reasons why it would be helpful for you to spend some time in Cambridge. For Visiting Students this letter must confirm that the period in Cambridge contributes to the degree you are registered for at your home institution.

Visitor expectations

  • All visitors will be required to sign a Visitor's Letter and adhere to the University's standard Visitor T&Cs (please email enquiries@lcfi.cam.ac.uk if you would like to see a copy prior to application).

  • You will give a work-in-progress seminar (at CFI weekly seminars) or a more public talk as appropriate. 
  • You will be expected to attend the bi-weekly CFI team meeting and keep in regular touch with your mentor.
  • We charge visitors an administration fee of £200, plus a fee of £300 per month for the use of LCFI’s and the University’s facilities (VAT will be added to these fees as applicable); these privileges include being set up with an email account, use of the University library and an invitation to attend research seminars and lectures throughout the University. It is possible, in special circumstances, to apply for a reduction or waiver of this fee; those wishing to apply for this should give reasons in their covering letter. In general, LCFI does not have funding available to assist visiting students with living expenses, accommodation, travel, visa costs and so forth.

Accommodation and College Affiliation
We regret to say that we are unable to help with accommodation, but the University does have an Accommodation Service that might be able to assist. Visit their webpage www.accommodation.cam.ac.uk. Some Cambridge University colleges offer visiting student affiliation. This membership might include full use of College facilities but not necessarily any entitlement to College living accommodation.

Please contact the college directly to inquire about whether this is something they can offer; they will also advise on any associated costs.

Visa procedures
Visitors who are not UK nationals will be subject to immigration control. The UK Visas and Immigration provides advice on visa applications and timescales. It is the visiting student/scholar’s responsibility to apply for the correct visa. We are happy to provide a letter regarding your proposed visit to support any application and entry at UK border control. Please contact enquiries@lcfi.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions.