Sponsor an NHS Applicant
The NHS Fellowship in Clinical AI is an established NHS programme that trains clinicians to deploy and evaluate AI safely, through real-world NHS AI projects under expert supervision and masterclass workshops aligned to the clinical AI curriculum. It is recognised in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) as a flagship programme for clinical AI.
| Who benefits | What sponsorship delivers |
|---|---|
| The fellow | A prestigious skillset at the intersection of medicine and AI, with a placement in a national centre of excellence and lifelong membership of an active alumni network. |
| The workforce | Retention of top clinical talent, and in-house clinical AI experts who lead delivery teams, teach peers and publish, positioning your organisation as early adopters and key opinion leaders in clinical AI. |
| The healthcare system | Capacity to realise AI’s benefits for efficiency, personalised care and population health, and a workforce future-proofed against the system shock anticipated from AI transformation. |
Prospective sponsors should contact the faculty directly. Bespoke arrangements can be made in addition to the documentation below.
Information for NHS sponsors
Sponsorship models
We accept sponsorship for clinicians providing NHS services from any organisation. There are four models of sponsorship, depending on who is being sponsored and how their AI project placement is found.
| Sponsor specifies the number of posts and eligibility criteria for competitive recruitment Deadline 21 Sep 2026 |
Sponsor nominates an individual for non-competitive recruitment Deadline 11 Dec 2026 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Fellow is matched competitively to a vetted AI project from our pool | Model 1 Typical for organisations with a demarcated educational jurisdiction or membership. E.g. regional deaneries specify eligibility by geography and training stage; professional societies specify eligibility by society membership. |
Model 2 Sponsor targets the career development of an individual, usually to fill a specific skill gap in the organisation. E.g. training a future Clinical Information Officer or Clinical Safety Officer. |
| Fellow is matched directly to a pre-allocated, vetted AI project submitted by the sponsor | Model 3 Most suitable for sponsors with known AI projects, and no specific person to attach to them. E.g. a grant-funded clinical AI project with underspend for the financial year; industry deployments into the NHS. |
Model 4 Both fellow and project are pre-allocated. The fellowship adds value to existing work through its educational components and access to a national community of expertise. E.g. a PhD candidate with a clinical AI project underway. |
Key deadlines
- 21 Sep 2026: Expression of interest deadline for sponsoring competitive applicant posts
- 11 Dec 2026: Expression of interest deadline for sponsors nominated applicant (non-competitive) posts
- 11 Aug 2027: Fellowship Cohort 6 begins
Sponsor webinar
The recording below introduces sponsorship of posts on the NHS Fellowship in Clinical AI.
Frequently asked questions
If your question is not answered below, please contact the faculty.
Costs
What do the costs cover?
Sponsoring a post has three cost components, all covered by the sponsor:
- Programme fee: £8,000 per fellow. This covers the educational programme, including the masterclass workshops, e-learning, and project placement and supervision arrangements.
- Released time: reimbursement of 0.4 FTE of the fellow’s time to their employer for the 12 months of the fellowship, including employer on-costs. This releases the fellow from their usual duties so they can undertake the fellowship.
- Travel stipend: travel for the fellow to attend 5 in-person educational events in the UK during the fellowship year.
Does the fellowship pay the fellow’s salary directly?
No. The fellowship is not the fellow’s employer. The fellow remains employed by their existing employer throughout the fellowship year.
Projects
Do we need to have a project ready?
No. Under Models 1 and 2, we match your fellow to a quality-assured AI project from our pool. These projects are proposed by AI supervisors in NHS host teams and vetted by the faculty before they are offered to fellows. Fellows rank the projects they are eligible for, and are matched according to their interview score and ranked preferences.
Under Models 3 and 4, the fellow works on a project that you supply. The project is vetted against the fellowship curriculum before it is offered, to make sure it can deliver the learning objectives of the programme. A project proposal with a named supervisor is required, and should be sent to the faculty when you express interest.
Does the fellow need to already work at the organisation hosting the project?
No. Where necessary, fellows hold an honorary contract or Letter of Access with the host NHS organisation for the duration of their fellowship in order to work on the project.
Eligibility and nomination
Who is eligible to be sponsored?
Clinicians providing NHS services, from any organisation. The fellow must have approval in principle from their employer (or training programme, where relevant) for less than full time working, so that 0.4 FTE can be released for the fellowship alongside their clinical work or training. See the Approval In Principle guidance for applicants.
Under Models 1 and 3, you can also specify further eligibility criteria for the posts you fund, such as geography, training stage, or membership of your organisation. Applicants must still meet the Essential criteria of the Person Specification at interview.
Can we nominate a specific individual?
Yes. Models 2 and 4 are non-competitive routes that ringfence a post for a named individual. These are usually used to target a specific skill gap in your organisation, such as training a future Clinical Information Officer or Clinical Safety Officer.
For these models, express your interest by 11 December 2026, rather than the 21 September deadline that applies to competitive posts. The nominated individual still applies through the normal application form as a nominated applicant, and must meet the Essential criteria of the Person Specification at interview.
Time commitment
How much time does a fellow give up?
Two days a week (0.4 FTE, 15 hours) for 12 months. This time covers AI project work, the compulsory monthly masterclass workshops, and e-learning. Fellowship time is not allocated to activity outside the scope of the fellowship.
A lower time commitment is not compatible with the learning objectives of the programme, because the educational activities and project placements are structured around a 0.4 FTE working pattern. Any exception needs approval from the faculty before the fellowship start date.
Can the fellowship be done on top of the fellow’s normal working hours?
No. Due to the time commitments of this programme, a fellow must not have a total working pattern of more than 1.0 FTE.
Intellectual property
Who owns the intellectual property?
Each party keeps the intellectual property (IP) it already owned before the fellowship. The faculty claims no ownership of a fellow’s work.
IP arising from a project placement is a matter for the fellow, their employer, and the host site. We recommend these parties agree IP arrangements before the fellowship begins, particularly for Models 3 and 4 where the sponsor supplies the project.
