May/June 2026

May/June 2026



General Updates

New Neuromatch Computational Behaviour Course: Neuromatch, in partnership with and generously supported by  Connected Minds , is developing a new two-week Computational Behaviour Course to launch for the 2027 Neuromatch Academy! In May we  launched a webpage for the new course,  did external communications, and have started recruiting for a  New Course Creation Committee.  Please join #a-27-behaviour-course-creation if you're interested.
AISS Program: This is a 6-month, part-time, fully remote mentored research program for early-career researchers. The program brings together researchers working at the intersection of AI, consciousness, and society, combining mentored research projects, workshops, seminars, an in-person convening, publication opportunities, and a stipend with research funding. In May we reviewed all applications and  selected 10 Scholars to work across 10 projects . June was filled with onboarding the scholars. Next month we will launch our  public seminar series , that you all are invited to join. Please join #ai-sentience-scolars program if you are interested.
Impact Scholars Program: The 2025–26 cohort of Impact Scholars have submitted their final micropublications, which are now being published in the Neuromatch Zenodo Community, making their research openly accessible to the broader community. You can explore the collection here:  Neuromatch Zenodo Community . In June, we introduced the 2026 Academy Cohort to Impact Scholars Program and our partner projects during  Professional Development seminars.  Please join #impact-sholars-program if you are interested.
Upcoming Conferences: In July at the  FENS Forum,  Neuromatch will be partnering with ALBA Network (supported by IBRO) for  a joint interactive event  at focused on equitable global participation in neuroscience training. In November, Neuromatch will have a booth at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). We're looking forward to connecting with our community in person and introducing our programs to new audiences — mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details as each event approaches!
Staffing Updates:
  • Manisha Sinha has joined us as the Academy Data Analyst!
  • We've onboarded this year's Academy Support Staff. Welcome to Faezeh Sarlakifar, Nelson Ndugu, Gideon Alex, and Luai Waleed! They will be with us during the course, managing Discord support tickets and our support email.

Academy updates

2026 Academy Kicks off Next Week!!
  • A huge thank you to all our  Academy Leadership  this year!
  • TA Trainings and Orientations are happening this week with CN and DL starting on Monday, 6 July, and NeuroAI and CMA starting on 13 July.
  • We've made big updates to our TA Training this year. You can see them here:  Notebook⁠⁠Academy TA Training & Manual⁠ 
  • We are putting the final touches on our new day of content for Comp Neuro, W2D2: Time Series Analysis and Signal Processing.
  • We've integrated many new updates for our Deep Learning course, mostly focused on reducing the content and creating cohesion across days.
  • Artist Palette We'll be reaching out to our volunteer community on Slack to vote for this year's overall Academy Art Contest Winner! Keep an eye on Slack 22 July!
  • Want to be a part of the action on Discord?  Sign up to be a Content Support Volunteer!  
  • Professional Development Mentors: This year we've shifted to  Professional Development Mentors  rather than Project Mentors. This year we will have 94 Mentors connect with our 2026 Cohort!
  • Professional Development Seminars: We had a fantastic  Professional Development seminar series  open to all students, TAs, and volunteers during the month of June. These events were designed to help the 2026 Cohort prepare for the Academy, connect with others, and feel confident ahead of their course. All 11 sessions were recorded, so if you were unable to make it, please  check out some of the YouTube videos !
Neuromatch Post-Academy Closure: Our "office" will be closed 27-31 July, the week after the course, to recoup!
New Course Exploration: We're exploring potential new courses and want your input to help shape what we build next! We're currently considering Connectomics and Neural Dynamics, Computational Behavioural Analysis & Modelling, and Computational Approaches to Neurodegeneration but we'd love to hear your ideas too!  Take the 2-minute survey  to let us know what you'd like to see, and join #a-new-course-exploration on Slack to get involved in the conversation!


Fundraising

Newly Confirmed Funding:
  • Dana Foundation Pilot Proposal: NeuroAI: Intelligence in Brains and Machines High School Course ($180,000 total; $95,000 allocated to Neuromatch): A high school program developed in partnership with ARNI.
Unsuccessful Applications:
  • NIH BRAIN R25 Supplement: $60,000 supplement award to our existing grant supporting the Computational Neuroscience course, to fund annual Neuromatch team travel to SfN with an exhibitor booth to advertise our programs.
  • Dana Foundation Pilot Proposal: NeuroAI & Society ($180,000 total; $115,000 allocated to Neuromatch): Supports workshops, scholar-led projects, and hackathons exploring the ethical and societal implications of NeuroAI. Developed in partnership with the Institute of Neuroethics, the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), and the Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society at Georgia Tech.
  • Coefficient Giving (Effective Careers): $330,000 over two years to integrate enhanced career mentorship into our existing programs.
  • Coefficient Giving (AI Sentience Scholars): $1,237,039 over two years to expand the AI Sentience Scholars Program.
  • Gatsby Charitable Foundation: Not moving forward with preparing a full proposal for the Impact Scholars Program due to a strategic change in Gatsby's neuroscience funding priorities, which are no longer aligned with capacity-building initiatives.
Pending Applications:
  • Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF): $1,000,000 over two years (Fairness Track) for unrestricted funding to support core organisational infrastructure and the expansion of key program initiatives.
  • Effective Altruism Long-Term Futures Fund - AI Sentience Scholars: $500,000 for one year to expand the AISS Program
In Conversation/Drafting:
  • Allen Institute: In talks with senior leadership about regular funding support for the Academy and Impact Scholars program, and how to strengthen our partnership with Allen, including using more of Allen's data in our programming.
  • AWS Imagine Grant (Momentum to Modernize): Up to $50,000 in unrestricted financial support and up to $20,000 in AWS Promotional Credit. We are planning to submit an application to help us modernise our portal, including using it for better long-term impact tracking of our alumni.
  • Longview Philanthropy: Digital Minds RFP for an expansion of the AI Sentience Scholars Program
  • Google DeepMind Sponsorship: $25,000 to support the delivery of Neuromatch Academy


Financial Snapshot

  • Financial Runway: As of 25 June 2026, Neuromatch Inc. held $1,182,173 in the bank. Based on current projections and not accounting for pending or future fundraising, Neuromatch will exhaust available and committed funds in February 2028. This provides a conservative financial runway of approximately 20 months.