What’s it like to be a CHAI ECR?
Join Our Thriving Community: Where CHAI's Early Career Researchers Lead the Future of Causal AI
What’s it like to be a CHAI ECR?
At CHAI, we see our Early Career Researchers (ECRs) as the core of our future. We are proud to have built a diverse and vibrant community designed to support your growth, amplify your voice, and celebrate your success in the cutting-edge field of Causal AI.
Here's how we empower our ECRs:
Dedicated Mentorship & Support - we provide a supportive structure essential for navigating the early stages of a research career.
Impactful Mentorship: Our program is a key part of this support, connecting emerging talent with established experts. With 12 mentees and 8 active mentors engaging in multiple focused sessions, ECRs receive personalised guidance, career advice, and constructive feedback—all of which has received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
ECR-led Governance - we ensure your perspective and feedback shapes how CHAI supports and works for you. We enable our ECRs to be both researchers and decision makers.
The ECR Board: This group meets regularly (every 2 months) to bring the community together, review processes, discuss successes, and determine what can be improved for the coming year. This ensures our support mechanisms are always relevant and effective.
ECR events: ECRs are encouraged to take the lead! A prime example is the in-person workshop, "Bridging Perspectives: Engaging with Causality Across Research Sectors," organised and led by our ECRs on December 5th, 2025, in Edinburgh.
Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration - Stay at the forefront of Causal AI research and connect with peers.
Research Meetings: a more formal setting to collaborate. ECRs presenting their research and receiving valuable feedback by peers.
Journal Club: ECRs appreciate this informal forum for discussion of recent and impactful publications, fostering critical thinking and intellectual exchange in a more relaxed environment amongst peers.
CHAI Seminar Series: Join our well-attended monthly seminars, offering a vital opportunity to hear from leading researchers, share insights, and broaden your expertise within the Causal AI field.
Recognition & Leadership Opportunities - we recognise excellence and provide a platform for ECRs to lead.
Formal Recognition: All our ECRs have been formally recognised as CHAI Scholars, with affiliated researchers eligible to apply. This seeks to acknowledge our ECRs important contribution to the Hub.
The CHAI Fellows Scheme: Exceptional, continuing contributions from CHAI Scholars to the CHAI Hub will be recognised with promotion to CHAI Fellow status.
Hear directly from our ECRs about the benefits of being a part of the CHAI Hub:
“CHAI is an open and welcoming community. Being part of CHAI has enabled me to access insights and new developments that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It eases networking and collaboration within and beyond the Hub.”
“Being part of CHAI has helped me connect with researchers from diverse fields and form exciting new collaborations. The community and events have supported my technical and professional development.”