Mentorship
Your journey into AI begins right here.
One-on-one and group mentorship with working researchers and practitioners. Free, and open to anyone from an under-resourced region.
How it works
Mentorship here happens wherever you are.
Everything runs remotely, video calls, shared documents, asynchronous review when timezones do not line up. You do not need to travel, relocate, or be in a particular country.
You need a connection good enough for a call and a few hours a month. If your connection is unreliable, tell us; we will work around it rather than drop you.
What you’ll need
Four things, and none of them need to be perfect.
We are looking for a clear picture of who you are and what would actually help. Not a polished pitch.
01
CV or résumé
Whatever you have. It does not need to be long or polished.
02
Your regional background
Tell us where you are from and what access to AI education looks like there.
03
AI research interests
What you want to work on, and why that question interests you.
04
What you expect from mentorship
Your goals, your experience so far, and the specific obstacles in your way.
The process
How applying works.
Put your application together
Four things, listed below. Plain text in the email body is completely fine. We are not scoring you on formatting.
Send it to us on Discord
Join the server and post it in the applications channel, or message a mentor directly. There is no form to fill in.
We read it and reply
We reply either way, including when the answer is no. If we cannot help you ourselves, we will try to point you somewhere that can.
Get matched
If it is a fit, we pair you with a mentor working in your area of interest and agree a cadence that suits both of you.
Apply now
Apply on our Discord
Applications are read on a rolling basis. There is no deadline and no application fee.
Questions
Before you ask.
What does “under-resourced region” actually mean?
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We are not enforcing a list of approved countries. If your access to AI education, supervision, equipment, or research networks is materially limited by where you are or what you can afford, that is what we mean. Tell us your situation honestly and let us judge.
Do I need to already know machine learning?
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No. We take people at the beginning and people well into a research project. What matters is that you are specific about where you actually are, so we can match you sensibly.
Does it cost anything?
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No. Not now and not later. Fulcrum is a volunteer-run non-profit and every program is free.
Do I need to be enrolled at a university?
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No. Most of our mentees are students, but that is not a requirement.
How long does mentorship last?
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There is no fixed term. It continues as long as it is genuinely useful to you and sustainable for your mentor.
What language do you work in?
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English, for now. That is what our mentor pool has in common.
Still not sure? Just ask.