Summer of Open AI Research

Summer of Open AI Research

Work on an AI research project under the mentorship of experienced researchers.

Program Overview

The Summer of Open AI Research is a 5-week, fully online research program sponsored by EleutherAI.

We invite people with little research experience to contribute to open science under the mentorship of experienced researchers. We offer a selection of projects to apply to, listed below. Participants will be credited on their project, which may result in publication. Apply using the button to the right until June 8.

We also encourage researchers who are willing to mentor a small group for five weeks to propose projects. Funding will be provided. Proposals are closed for the summer 2026 cohort.

Who should apply?

- Experienced programmers interested in AI research

- BS/MS/PhD students in CS, math, physics, or related fields

- Self-taught researchers looking for structured mentorship

- Anyone wanting to contribute to open science!

FAQ

Q: Where is the event held?
A: The EleutherAI Discord. Questions about the program should be asked there.

Q: What topics/projects are offered?
A: Check the projects list below.

Q: Who is eligible to apply?
A: Anyone! If you display that you have the ability to contribute, you will be considered.

Q: Can I apply if I don’t have any research experience?
A: Yes! In fact, we encourage you to do so. Part of SOAR’s goal is to give the opportunity to people outside of academia to get their first research experience.

Q: How much time will I be expected to dedicate to SOAR?
A: It will differ by project. Time estimates for each project are shown in the projects list below.

Q: How competitive is it to become a mentee? What is the acceptance rate?
A: We expect it to be quite competitive, depending on how many mentees each mentor takes.

Q: Does “Open AI” have anything to do with the company behind ChatGPT?
A: No, it means AI research done openly/collaboratively. See this paper for our research ethos.

Apply here until June 8

Projects

Search Track

Who should propose projects?

- Experienced researchers with project ideas

- Those seeking help on current projects

We are primarily looking for projects around open source AI, interpretability, or AI safety, but we welcome other proposals that fit the general theme of open science.

Timeline

15 May 2026

Project proposal deadline
18 May 2026

Participant applications open
8 June 2026

Participant application deadline
5 July 2026

Application decisions released

Rolling decisions may arrive earlier.
6 July 2026

Project prep begins

Mentors may specify prep work to be done in advance of the main event.
13 July 2026

Main event begins
1 August 2026

Short talks

Each cohort will have the opportunity to share their progress with the other cohorts.
16 August 2026

Short talks, end of event

"Just after SOAR ended, I went on to be a MATS fellow in a very theory-heavy research stream. I think having participated in SOAR made the difference between me looking like 'aspiring AI/ML researcher with lots of math background' instead of 'physicist bandwagoning to AI'."

Charles R. W.
Improving Automated Interpretability Techniques, 2025
"As someone from industry, this was a great opportunity for me to connect with folks looking to contribute to the AI ecosystem as well as gain a better understanding of academia and ongoing research."

Abdul R.
AI for Science and ASI X-risk Reduction Proof-of-Concept for Literature Knowledge Extraction Tool, 2025
"SOAR was my first experience in an AI research program. Working remotely with experienced mentors pushed me to think like a researcher, from reading literature critically to designing experiments systematically to knowing when to ask the right questions. I'd recommend SOAR to any early-stage researcher who wants to bridge the gap between coursework and real research."

Eryawan P. Y.
An Engine for Taming LLMs - Prompt Optimisation for Verifiable Hallucination Reduction, 2025
"SOAR as a program helped me tremendously as an early career researcher. Not only did it help me with research and introduce me to previously unknown research areas, but it also greatly helped my academic development. My mentor was really kind and helpful, introducing me to research beyond the program's topics. Highly recommend for students or people who intend to go into research."

Luis F. S.
How Tokenizer Features Affect Downstream Model Performance, 2025
"SOAR gave me the opportunity to get my foot in the door and actually contribute to a publication-worthy AI research project. It connected me with talented mentors who helped build the foundations for my research journey."

Ayesha I.
An Engine for Taming LLMs - Prompt Optimisation for Verifiable Hallucination Reduction, 2025