KU Leuven AI Safety Lab Visiting Fellowships 2027 – €2,000 Monthly Allowance
Overview
The KU Leuven AI Safety Lab offers five Visiting Fellowships 2027 for researchers focusing on the large-scale risks of advanced artificial intelligence, as well as the governance and control of AI systems. Five selected fellows will complete a three-month in-residence stay in Leuven, Belgium, working on a self-directed research project within one of the Lab's designated research programmes. The first cohort completes its residency from March to May 2027. This opportunity requires participants to work on site from the Leuven office, and remote participation is not permitted.
Who can apply
The program welcomes PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, faculty members, and researchers based outside academia, provided that non-academic applicants demonstrate a genuine research purpose for the stay. Applicants may come from disciplines such as philosophy, law, political science, economics, psychology, computer science, and related fields. The Lab particularly encourages applications from women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups. Candidates must propose a research project that connects strongly to AI safety and can be completed within the three-month duration.
What you get
Successful applicants receive a monthly allowance of €2,000 to help cover accommodation and living costs. Fellows are granted official status as visiting scholars at KU Leuven rather than employment contracts, meaning they manage their own tax and social-security arrangements. In addition to a dedicated desk at the Lab's Leuven offices and access to KU Leuven libraries and facilities, fellows receive supervision and feedback from the core team, opportunities to present work in progress at internal seminars, and chances to share their research at the annual conference and summer school.
Requirements
Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae of a maximum of two pages including a publication list, a cover letter of up to one page detailing motivation and fit, and a research plan of up to 1,500 words. The research plan must outline the research question and its relevance to AI safety, the proposed methodology, the theory of change and anticipated impact, intended academic or policy submission venues, and a justification of how the project is feasible within three months under a chosen research programme. Fellows are expected to actively participate in the local research environment, complete a research paper by the end of the term, deposit it as a preprint on an equivalent repository like arXiv or PhilPapers, and submit it to a target publication.
Key dates
The call was published on 21 September 2026. The application deadline is 31 October 2026. Shortlisted candidates are expected to be interviewed in November 2026, and successful applicants will be contacted by the end of November 2026. The first cohort takes up residency from March to May 2027.