Welcome to the UK Open Multimodal AI Network (UKOMAIN)
About Us
The UK Open Multimodal AI Network (UKOMAIN) is a national initiative funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with a total grant of £1.8 million. Our mission is to advance multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) by integrating diverse data types—such as text, images, and sound—to tackle scientific and engineering challenges and create a sustainable future.
From health and wellbeing to transportation systems, materials discovery, and space exploration, UKOMAIN connects researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to foster collaboration, innovation, and real-world impact.
Key Activities
Our network supports a wide range of activities to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and open research, including:
- Funding: Supporting small-scale, high-impact feasibility studies through competitive funding calls.
- Knowledge Exchange: Hosting workshops, hackathons, and training sessions to empower early career researchers and promote skill development.
- Community Building: Establishing a vibrant ecosystem with stakeholders from academia, industry, and policy sectors.
- Open Research: Sharing data, software, and models under open science principles to maximise accessibility and impact.
- Industry and Policy Engagement: Collaborating with industry and policymakers to ensure our research aligns with real-world needs and informs policy development.
Stay Connected
Join our growing community and stay updated on the latest developments, opportunities, and events in multimodal AI!
- Follow us on LinkedIn: UK Open Multimodal AI Network
- Follow us on Twitter/X: @MultimodalAI_UK
Get Involved
Explore how you can be part of UKOMAIN:
- Collaborate with leading researchers, industry partners, and policymakers.
- Attend our workshops, seminars, and training sessions.
- Access cutting-edge open research resources, including data, software, and tools.
- Apply for funding opportunities to support impactful research projects.
Let’s shape the future of multimodal AI together!
UKOMAIN Team
Haiping Lu
Director of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network, Professor of Machine Learning & Head of AI Research Engineering
Nicola Morley
Deputy Director of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Professor of Materials Physics
Peter Charlton
Executive Board Member of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & British Heart Foundation Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
Nataliya Tkachenko
Executive Board Member of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Generative AI Ethics & Assurance Lead, Lloyds Banking Group
Yao Zhang
Executive Board Member of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Lecturer in Marine/Maritime Digitalisation and Automation, UCL
Dezong Zhao
Executive Board Member of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Reader in Autonomous Systems, The University of Glasgow
Aayush Chiniwalla
Network Coordinator of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you! For any enquiries or collaboration opportunities, please contact us at:ukomain.contact [at] gmail [dot] com