Background

The DataIA Institute is the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Université Paris-Saclay. Winner of the "Instituts Convergences" call for projects launched by the French National Research Agency (ANR) in 2017, the DataIA Institute has gathered the artificial intelligence (AI) expertise of the Paris-Saclay ecosystem to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration between institutions in data science and AI.

In January 2021, the Institute refocused its activities on the Université Paris-Saclay cluster of excellence, becoming the bearer of the University's strategy in artificial intelligence, research, and training. As France's leading artificial intelligence ecosystem, DataIA Paris-Saclay Institute aims to federate and structure multi-disciplinary expertise to develop cutting-edge research in data science in conjunction with other disciplines, such as the humanities and social sciences. It mobilizes over 800 faculty members from 47 laboratories (including 15% international) within the Paris-Saclay University perimeter.

In May 2024, the Institute was officially awarded the "AI-Cluster" label by the French government.

This call aims to support AI research specifically through small project boosts.

Scientific scope and objectives

This funding supports doctoral mobility for a PhD student to visit a laboratory outside the DataIA ecosystem or to host a PhD student from an external laboratory within the DataIA ecosystem.

Expenses such as conference participations are not eligible.

The applicant must demonstrate that the research project aligns with the themes and strategic axes of the DataIA AI-Cluster (Appendix 1).

Terms of project proposal submissions

Specifically, all faculty from DataIA’s partner institutions are eligible to be project holders and manage the allocated funding (refer to Appendix 2).

Submission process

Candidates must submit their resume along with their projects, justifying their alignment with DataIA.

Proposal format and evaluation criteria

The proposal needs to be submitted using the form provided in the following link: https://www.dataia.eu/sites/default/files/aapg-2025-mobilite-doctorale-form.docx.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the project:

• scientific excellence;

• synergy between partner institutions;

• and the potential impact of the application on the chosen subject.

Proposal submission

For any questions, please contact: submission-dataia@inria.fr.

Selection process

DataIA cluster’s steering committee (comité de pilotage, COPIL) will examine the eligibility of the projects and assign external reviewers. After receiving the external reviews, the COPIL will make the final decision.

Validity of the funding

Selected projects will receive funding of up to € 2,000 per month of travel, which must be spent within the following year and completed by December 31, 2029.

Project acceptance and commitments

Principal investigators agree to:

• Use the funding as described in the project proposals;

• Participate to the annual data collection on the progress of the funded project requested by the ANR;

• Include the following acknowledgement on all publications and communication materials related to the funded project:

(EN Version 🇬🇧)
This research work is supported by France 2030 funding managed by the National Research Agency (ANR) as part of IA CLUSTER program, reference ANR-23-IACL-0003 – DATAIA CLUSTER

(FR Version 🇫🇷)
Ce travail de recherche a bénéficié d’un financement de France 2030, géré par l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), dans le cadre du programme IA CLUSTER, référence ANR-23-IACL-0003 – DATAIA CLUSTER

At the end of the project, they will submit a brief report to the DataIA Institute summarizing the achievements and all publications completed during the project duration.

If the DataIA institute considers that the funding has not been used in accordance with the objectives stated in the project proposals, a refund may be requested. Similarly, unused funds must be paid back by the partner institution.