Community

Community 

The CMI aims to grow a vibrant and connected community focussed on and around AI. 

We  believe that an active, diverse and inclusive community can help by:

• Connecting researchers, bringing people together around key themes
• Keeping members up to date with developments in a rapidly changing world
• Concentrating knowledge and inspiration
• Facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations
• Sparking positive change 

Visit our community people page for a searchable list of AI researchers and their expertise.

What we do

We run regular community events - including bi-annual town hall meetings and public lectures.  

We support a number of interdisciplinary Interest Groups (IGs), which bring together University of Sheffield researchers and professional services staff around an AI related theme.  

We deliver a monthly AI Newsletter and run community mail lists, to keep our members up to date on opportunities and events at Sheffield and beyond.  We build our understanding of research expertise and initiatives, which can help us rapidly convene focused responses to key opportunities as they arise.  

We facilitate the sharing of software and other resources.  We build our understanding of research expertise and initiatives, which can help us rapidly convene focussed responses to key opportunities as they arise.

We extend a warm welcome to all across the University to join us - you do not need to be using AI to get involved!  

Join and sign up to mail lists

Building the AI community at Sheffield – a little history

With initial support from the Turing Network Development Award (TNDA) led by Prof Haiping Lu in 2022, there was a period of exciting community development around AI at the University.   Regular community meetings and activities took place and the community brand “Shef.AI” was established.  Shef.AI was strengthened by a dedicated community newsletter and the Shef.AI community website, including a searchable database of membership and their expertise.  

New links were built between Sheffield and the Alan Turing Institute and the wider Turing University Network.  21 interest groups (IGs) were set up to lead on more focussed activities, to bring people together across different interdisciplinary themes. An annual series of national workshops on Multimodal AI was established.

Since Spring 2023, the CMI has developed and continues to support initiatives to grow the AI community at Sheffield, taking forward the work of Prof Haiping Lu and the TNDA team.  Today the CMI, under the Directorship of Prof. James Marshall convenes large, University-wide meets in our bi-annual Town Halls and runs public lectures on AI.  We support (and have recently refreshed) Sheffield’s AI Interest Groups.  We continue to manage the AI community mail lists and the community newsletter continues as Sheffield AI News.  

With support from new CMI theme leads Dr Susan Oman and Dr Denis Newman-Griffis we now reach out further to all parts of the University and have seen a significant increase in engagement from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health.  We value the views of our members and reach out on key issues via surveys.   

We are listening and responding to your feedback  - particularly on skills and training and on interest groups and how they work for you.   We look forward to the next chapter for the community, together!

Shef.AI Interest Groups

The CMI supports a number of interest groups (IGs) which bring together Sheffield researchers and professional services staff from across the disciplines, around an AI related theme. To date, more than 300 researchers have signed up from across five faculties, professional services, the Library and the AMRC. 

Why interest groups?

Community interest groups help to create a vibrant, interdisciplinary environment for our researchers.   Each group has lead organisers, a dedicated web page and a Google group/mail list for members to connect.

The CMI provides support for interest groups and members to organise community engagement events.  Members can meet up in person at interest group meetings and other  CMI events, such as our Town Hall meetings.

See the full list of Interest groups

 Interest groups aim to:

• facilitate communication and resource sharing and help to spark collaboration and new projects
• complement (not duplicate) existing research group structures at the University
• be interdisciplinary and bring together expertise that would otherwise be dispersed
• provide an organisational structure for the CMI to connect to researchers, to share opportunities and to support AI research initiatives
• provide a foundation for future interdisciplinary funding opportunities
• facilitate links between Sheffield research and other AI networks

Sheffield Robotics

Sheffield Robotics is a cross-university, cross-disciplinary organisation that seeks to bring together industry and researchers from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University to make Sheffield a leading hub for robotics research.
 

By breaking down traditional academic barriers and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in robotics applications, Sheffield Robotics aims to accelerate progress in manufacturing, healthcare, infrastructure and our understanding of humanity through responsible, ethical research. Sheffield Robotics' research involves investigators in all faculties at the University of Sheffield and also at Sheffield Hallam University. Sheffield Robotics have facilities and equipment for hire.

Find out more about Sheffield Robotics - management, facilities, handbook and how to join: Visit Sheffield Robotics