UK Open Multimodal AI Network (UKOMAIN)
The UK Open Multimodal AI Network (UKOMAIN) is pleased to announce the first funding call under the Open Multimodal AI Benchmark (OMAIB), a key mechanism for delivering UKOMAIN’s mission through open, interdisciplinary, and community-driven benchmarking to address Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges (TERCs). We define Multimodal AI broadly as the integration of any two or more types of data, not limited to texts and images.
OMAIB (pronounced “Oh-Maybe”) aims to support the development of multimodal benchmark datasets, tasks, evaluation protocols, and baseline models that reflect real-world complexity and encourage inclusive, interdisciplinary collaboration. We expect this first round to fund 4–8 well-scoped, cost-effective research projects, forming the foundation of a community-led benchmarking ecosystem.
Who Can Apply
UK-based academic researchers eligible for EPSRC funding may apply. Fixed-term researchers (e.g. PDRAs) are also eligible under certain conditions. We strongly encourage applications from:
- Interdisciplinary and cross-institutional teams
- Projects involving industry or policy partners
- Early-career and underrepresented researchers
- Collaborators aligned with UKRI’s Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges
- Expression of Interest deadline: 16:00, 24 September 2025
- Full proposal deadline: 16:00, 17 November 2025
- Funding decisions announced: 19 December 2025
- Project start window: By 1 April 2026
Full details: https://multimodalai.github.io/omaib/