đź”” Upcoming UKOMAIN Events
Third Workshop on Multimodal AI — 16–17 September 2025, London, UK (Details)
Welcome to the UK Open Multimodal AI Network
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.
UKOMAIN connects researchers, industry partners, and policymakers across eight Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges (TERCs)—ranging from health and wellbeing, transportation systems, and robotics to materials discovery, space research, nature-based engineering, global engineering solutions, and responsible engineering—to foster collaboration, innovation, and real-world impact. Follow our UKOMAIN LinkedIn page for the latest updates and opportunities or subscribe to our Multimodal AI Community mailing list.
đź”— Further reading:
đź”” Key Events & Opportunities
7 September 2025 (11 PM) — Registration Deadline for MultimodalAI’25 (Registration closed)
16 September 2025 — Submission Deadline for the MultimodalAI’25 Photo Competition → Details
15 September 2025 — Mini-Hackathon Preceding the MultimodalAI’25 Workshop → Details
16–17 September 2025 — MultimodalAI’25 Workshop → Details
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
- Subscribe to our mailing list: Multimodal AI Community
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: UKOMAIN YouTube
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, University of Sheffield
Nicola Morley
Deputy Director of the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Professor of Materials Physics
Peter Charlton
Lead for Early Career Researchers at the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Senior Research Scientist, Nokia Bell Labs
Nataliya Tkachenko
Lead for Industry & Public Engagement at the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Generative AI Ethics & Assurance Lead, Lloyds Banking Group
Yao Zhang
Lead for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at the UK Open Multimodal AI Network & Lecturer in Marine/Maritime Digitalisation and Automation, UCL
Dezong Zhao
Lead for UKRI and Government at 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