APPLICATIONS DUE BY APRIL 22, 2025

UMass Faculty interested in Responsible Artificial Intelligence, apply to be a 2025-2026 PIT Faculty Fellow!

The Public Interest Technology Initiative at UMass (PIT@UMass) is pleased to announce that applications are open for the fourth round of PIT Faculty Fellowships for the 2025-2026 academic year. The theme for this year’s PIT Faculty Fellowship is Responsible AI – how we create, use, and manage AI responsibly to promote the public interest.

We invite applications from faculty or faculty teams from every college and school at UMass Amherst, and will consider projects:

• Engaging in scholarship around responsible AI, AI literacy, and AI pedagogy for the public interest with a plan to publish results in the literature
• Conducting AI-focused or AI-enabled research with a focus on submitting a proposal to an external funder
• Developing a new capstone or experiential learning course eligible to be included in the PIT Undergraduate Certificate or Grad Certificate (starting in the fall of 2025)
• Adding content on the public interest and responsible AI to an existing course, especially in elective courses eligible for the PIT Undergraduate Certificate or Grad Certificate

Fellow’s research, writing, or course development and content should promote Public Interest Technology and responsible AI by:

• Addressing complex “real-world” problems with public interest impacts (privacy, safety, security, equity, sustainability, ethical behavior, etc.)
• Involving the responsible use of information technologies
• Reducing cultural, economic, societal and other disparities

Why apply to the PIT Fellows Program?

The PIT Fellowship program provides both community and support for public interest-focused, interdisciplinary, tech-enabled UMass pedagogy and research. It provides opportunity and resources for faculty to come together and work as a community.  PIT Fellowship cohorts from across campus get to know one another and support one another’s research and teaching, creating a fertile, creative, interdisciplinary environment in which to expand their work both in depth and breadth.

What will PIT Fellows do in 2025-2026?

The upcoming Fellows cohort will all be involved in some aspect of responsible AI that enhances both their own work and programs within the PIT@UMass Initiative.  Fellows will convene monthly to share their work in progress. Funding will be available for groups of Fellows to invite visiting speakers for a series of 2-3 public events on Responsible AI.  Fellows will engage substantively with these scholars and their work and involve their Colleges, Schools and departments with the visits to ensure there is broad engagement and impact.

2025-2026 PIT Fellows are expected to:

• Meet as a cohort monthly where they can share and discuss their work
• Give a presentation on their work in progress as part of the PIT Fellows monthly meetings
• Attend all presentations and lunches
• Participate in groups to plan and host meetings for Visiting Speakers
• Provide a brief final report to be summarized for the PIT@UMass website describing their work as a Fellow

Who is eligible?

• Full-time tenure track faculty from any UMass Amherst school or college
• Full-time non-tenure track faculty who are on continuing appointments from any UMass Amherst school or college
• (For faculty who are developing curriculum) Ability to teach your course within the UMass Amherst curriculum

Award

Faculty may apply as individuals or as a team of 2-3 who are working on the same Responsible AI project. Selected faculty / teams will be provided awards of up to $5,000  (per individual applicant or team) for demonstrated budgetary needs in course development, publication, or research (including student stipends).

• Applicants will submit a budget describing how and when the requested funds will be spent and making sure that expenses are aligned with project activities. 
• Proposers are welcome to use the PIT Fellowship as complementary funding to investments from UMass departments and schools or colleges to incorporate public interest considerations into their work.  
• Funding may be used for student stipends or other legitimate uses that will support scholarship, course development, research, or publication. 
• Awards may be spent between June 1, 2025, and May 30, 2026

Selection criteria

• Quality of proposal and project objectives
• Alignment of project with Responsible AI and Public Interest Technology
• Appropriateness of budget

How do I apply?

• To apply, complete this application form by April 22, 2025.
  • The form will prompt you to describe your project or course, its alignment with Responsible AI and Public Interest Technology, your expected outcomes, and budget.
  • The form will prompt you to upload your CV or Resume.
  • Download the PIT Fellows budget template. Fill out the budget template, rename it with your last name at the start of the title. Upload the budget file when you are prompted by the application form.

Application Deadline, April 22, 2025.

Questions? Please contact Donna Baron.

The Public Interest Technology Initiative at UMass (PIT@UMass) was established with the ambitious goal of promoting the common good and public interest through the responsible creation, use, and management of technology.  Our coordinated set of programs are characterized by innovative pedagogy, experiential learning, interdisciplinary research, and community engagement. PIT@UMass seeks to empower today’s and tomorrow’s workforce to navigate the challenges of a tech-driven world with ethics, empathy, and social responsibility. PIT serves as a critical foundation for 21^st century education, for people who create technologies, and for those who work with them, which is all of us.