Amazon Research Awards (ARA) Launches Autumn 2023 Calls

The Amazon Research Awards (ARA) calls for proposals have been published, inviting applications worldwide for research on topics related to artificial intelligence (AI), automated systems, cybersecurity, sustainability and other areas of interest.

Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

The Amazon Research Awards (ARA) programme was founded in 2015 and merged with AWS Machine Learning Research Awards (MLRA) programme in 2020. The programme offers unrestricted funds and AWS Promotional Credits to support research in areas relevant to Amazon. Relevant fields include but are not limited to machine learning, automated reasoning, robotics, security (including cybersecurity) and sustainability.

Funding is provided on the basis of Calls for Proposals (CFPs). The autumn 2023 CFPs have now been launched, which are based around the following topics: AI for Information Security, Automated Reasoning, AWS AI, AWS Cryptography and Privacy, AWS Database Services and Sustainability.

Applications are welcome from around the world, with the exception of the following countries or territories: Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Crimea. The Principal Investigator must be either a full-time faculty member at an accredited academic institution or a permanent researcher at a non-governmental organisation with recognised legal status in their respective country (equivalent to 501(c)(3) status under the United States Internal Revenue Code). All applicants must be above the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of application. Each Principal Investigator is permitted to submit only one proposal to the ARA Program per call for each proposal period.

The size of the grant is determined within the framework of each CFP. For the autumn 2023 CFPs, the following funding information applies:

AI for Information Security

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $80,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $40,000 on average.

Automated Reasoning

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $80,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $20,000 on average.
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

AWS AI

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $70,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $50,000 on average.
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

AWS Cryptography and Privacy

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $80,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $20,000 on average.
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

AWS Database Services

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $100,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $40,000 on average.
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

Sustainability

Selected PIs may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $50,000-$100,000 on average.
  • AWS promotional credits, no more than $40,000.
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 1 November 2023.

(This report was the subject of a ResearchConnect Newsflash.)