£1mn prize opens for AI innovations in energy, environment & infrastructure
Melanie May | 18 December 2023 | News
The new £1 million Manchester Prize has opened and is seeking ideas for tackling some of society’s biggest challenges, using AI.
The Manchester Prize is an initiative of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on behalf of HM Government. Delivered by Challenge Works, it marks the beginning of a decade-long commitment from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. At this year’s Spring Budget it announced £3.5 billion to make the UK a science and technology ‘superpower’. This includes delivering a £2.5 billion Quantum Strategy to bring investment, businesses and jobs to the UK, and £1 billion to create the next generation of supercomputing and AI research.
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Viscount Camrose, Minister for AI and Intellectual Property commented:
“Our decade-long funding commitment for the Manchester Prize will allow the UK to continue harnessing the transformative opportunities of AI for public good. AI is already helping us to slash carbon emissions, unlocking incredible advances in healthcare and even improving our productivity in the workplace. The focus of this prize in helping tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges serves as a real call to arms for people and organisations from all walks of life to bring forward ingenious solutions.”
For the first two years, the prize will focus on solutions to the challenges surrounding energy, environment and infrastructure. This could include using AI technology to support the transition to electric vehicles by optimising charging methods; reduce household energy consumption by using AI to identify targeted interventions like adding insulation; or help lower costs for consumers by automating energy-intensive processes in manufacturing.
Prize details
The first Manchester Prize will run to March 2025. Entries are encouraged from UK-based companies, nonprofits, and universities, with a deadline of 1 February 2024. In April, up to 10 entries will be chosen to move forward, and each of these finalists will win a prize of £100,000 to develop their ideas into a working prototype. One of these teams will go on to win the £1 million grand prize.
The finalists and ultimate winner of the grand prize will be chosen based on five judging criteria: how innovative their solution is compared to current state of the art technology, the impact of the solution, long-term viability, feasibility of delivering a working prototype, and evidence of safe and ethical AI development.
Manchester Prize finalists will also receive non-financial support, including a package of free compute power to deliver their solutions. They will interact too with key stakeholders, potential investors in and adopters of their technology in the public and private sectors, to share knowledge and encourage collaboration.
Individuals and organisations can enter the Manchester Prize at any time between now and 12:00 GMT on 1 February 2024 by filling in the entry form.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.