- Please join our on (16:00–17:30 UTC), where we will share our strategic vision for the year ahead and hold space for open discussion and community feedback.
- Starting in 2026, Bradley will host regular CEO Office Hours for anyone in the Neuromatch community who would like to connect — whether to have a virtual coffee, a general chat, discuss strategy, explore a specific program, or propose a new idea or direction. You can book a 30-min virtual meeting on Thursdays from 16:30–17:30 UTC OR Fridays 09:30–10:30 UTC: https://calendly.com/bradley-roberts-neuromatch/ceo-office-hours
- We're excited to announce a one-year pilot funded by Longview Philanthropy and run in partnership with PRISM and the Institute of Neuroethics (IoNx). The program aims to build capacity among early-career researchers (Master’s to early postdoc) working at the forefront of AI, providing the empirical, interdisciplinary, and ethical tools needed to examine increasingly agentic or sentience-like AI systems and their societal/governance implications. We hope to share more with the community soon!
- The Research Talent Pipeline Working Group has officially launched! The group will explore new programs to support early-career researchers and strategic directions for Neuromatch in this space. We’ve started asynchronous work reviewing a pre-doctoral fellowship draft, with the first meeting planned for the new year.
- We have worked with our legal team to complete a comprehensive update to the Privacy & Data Retention Policy .
- Neuromatch offices will be closed from 22 December to 2 January. The support email will not be monitored during this time.
- We are hosting Academy Info Sessions in January, an opportunity for prospective students to learn more about our courses and ask questions. We’d love for alumni, teaching assistants, content creators, and other volunteers to join as well, to share their experiences and showcase the rich, supportive, and truly global community that makes Neuromatch unique.
- We are finalizing interviews and offers to our 2026 Chairs. New Chairs will be joining us in January to start the planning of the Academy! The Student Experience Chair role is still open, please apply if you're interested!
- We are working on a plan to designate one week in February before applications open for people to upskill their Python skills though self-study with our Python training modules. It's a great opportunity for those wanting to apply as a TA to practice answering questions and for those wanting to apply to the Academy, it's an opportunity to reduce a common entry barrier. Get in touch if you want to participate.
- Climatematch Academy will be hosting a session on inclusive, transparent, and globally engaged geoscience education. Convened by Jenna Pearson and Co-convened by Climatematch co-founders Rocío Paola Caballero-Gill and Yuhan (Douglas) Rao, the session will feature a presentation on Climatematch. There will also be a poster presentation on Climatematch.
- We submitted a proposal to Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy) focused on capacity building in AI Safety, aiming to continue supporting the MEXA community through: "MEXA AI Safety Scholars: Early-Career Training for Safe and Responsible AI in Mental Health". (Total requested: $1,186,580 across two years).
- We have requested additional funding from Wellcome to continue supporting the Wellcome funded MEXA cohort over the next two years, with a focus on maximising translation, impact, and sustainability. The Wellcome team has expressed strong interest in our proposal, though several internal approvals are still required. (Total requested: $500,000 across two years).
- We've submitted a small project proposal ($100k) to co-develop community-informed resources that strengthen understanding of risks and safeguards for AI in mental-health contexts. This would be implemented via a structured workshop series leveraging the interdisciplinary expertise within the MEXA community.
- We submitted a proposal to host a Civic Science Fellow who would help integrate civic science, public engagement, and policy-aware practices into the new Neuromatch AI Sentience Scholars Program. The Fellow would strengthen our global partnerships and develop training, community engagement, and policy-facing outputs to support responsible research on digital sentience.
- NSF approval has now been granted, enabling us to complete the review and transfer of Hilmar Lapp’s grants from Duke as part of the affiliate PI work. We are currently awaiting the final transfer award letter.
There is no financial runway update this month due to the earlier delivery of this update in alignment with holiday closures. The team is currently focused on closing out the 2025 financials, and we will provide a comprehensive update on our financial position and runway in January.