Win4AISafety - Open Research Summer Challenge

About the Challenge

Welcome to the first multi-disciplinary summer challenge organized by SAIN Utrecht. This event invites participants to showcase their passion, ideas, and talent by crafting a short study over a period of 6 weeks. The challenge focuses on shedding light on underexplored areas of AI Safety, replicating existing studies to perform new analysis, or producing surveys to raise awareness inside and outside the field. Just like professional researchers, participants will work under uncertainty, narrowing down broad, general questions into highly actionable studies.

Themes and Tracks

Participants can choose any area of AI Safety, including Technical AI Safety (AISF) or Governance. There are no strict themes or step-by-step guidelines provided; the process relies on independent critical thinking to define the scope of the research.

Participation and Format

• Team Structure: You can participate individually or with a team.
• Duration: The challenge spans 6 weeks, during which you will define your scope, conduct your research, and synthesize your findings.
• Mentorship: Five mentors are available to assist participants throughout the challenge.
• Eligibility: Participants must be based in the Netherlands.
• Final Submission: Working hard for these 6 weeks is intended for committed individuals. The final submission must be a comprehensive essay published as a Substack post. The essay should be self-contained, allowing someone outside the challenge to follow the argument, understand the reasoning, and see the evidence behind the conclusions.

Requirements

The essay should aim for a substantial length of at least 2,000 words, focusing deeply on one question rather than broadly across several. Each submission must include the live Substack link, a title, named contributors and their roles, and clearly cited references, data sources, or tools.

Prizes

Winners will receive exclusive SAIN Merch corresponding to their placement (Gold, Silver, or Bronze Tier Medals). Additionally, all top three places offer the opportunity to pitch at the New Academic Year Kick-off Ceremony and will be scouted for a position in the SAIN Research Hub for the next academic year.

Judging Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on: - Commitment: Sustained, deep research effort across the full period. - Agency: Independent problem-scoping and the ability to overcome research roadblocks. - Sharpness: Analytical rigour and self-correcting logic within the essay. - Expertise: Methodological depth and domain accuracy in the output. - Strategic Clarity: High-leverage, impactful research directions rather than restated risk arguments.