Cambridge
High
Impact
Research
Project

‍ ‍

Sun 29 Nov 2026 — Fri 29 Jan 2027

Apply here by Mon 16 Nov 2026

The Cambridge High Impact Project (’CHIRP’) is a mentored vacation research programme.

You’ll choose a project from our list and produce legible output, working in cause areas that are Impactful, Neglected and Tractable. Think of it as a research stint but remote!

Our projects

[AI Safety and Governance] Can regulators independently assess whether developers can detect and report deceptive-evasion incidents?

Read the brief

[Biosecurity] How should newly identified viruses be prioritised for further research and experimental characterisation?

Read the brief

[AI Safety and Governance] Run a Whitehall Crisis Workshop

Read the brief

[Biosecurity] State of field analysis for regulation in DNA synthesis screening

Read the brief

[Animal Welfare] Suffering Adjusted Days (SAD) burden modelling for milkfish farmed in Indonesia and the Philippines

Read the brief

[Global Health and Development] Consequences of USAID cuts on maternal health in Kenya

Read the brief

[Animal Welfare] AI governance for animals: what should farm AI measure? Where are frontier models governed?

Read the brief

The programme

What you get

Mentorship from a domain expert and methodological support from a research manager.

Research experience in a high-impact cause area during the winter vacation - you don’t have to wait for summer!

Written work you can show when applying for further opportunities in that area.

What we ask

6–10 hours a week from Mon 30 Nov 2026 to Fri 29 Jan 2027. You can take one week off at a time agreed with your mentor.

Kickoff day on Sun 29 Nov 2026, where you meet your mentor and team and scope your research.

Two rounds of drafting and a presentation in February.

What people have said

CHIRP last ran in Lent 2026, with thirteen participants in six teams. Projects covered sociotechnical AI safety, biosecurity governance, wellbeing as a measure for public policy, food insecurity in conflict settings and evaluations for protein design tools. One team presented its work on evaluations as a conference poster.

“My research and writing skills and my understanding of the field greatly increased. I learnt how to conduct research in a team, and built fantastic relationships alongside.”

— Lorien Bray, global health team

“Being told that the programme prioritised my growth as a researcher rather than the research itself helped me allow myself to make mistakes, which is crucial for learning.”

— Rio Thomas, biosecurity team

Questions

    1. You get deeper exposure to a high-impact cause area

    2. You get to produce written work that makes you more competitive for further opportunities in that area

    3. You get research experience that is useful in general, and you do it over the winter vacation instead of waiting for the summer!

  • Mon 16 Nov 2026: application deadline

    Mon 23 Nov 2026: application outcomes released

    Sun 29 Nov 2026: kickoff day. You meet your mentor and teammates, scope your research and join sessions on research skills. We strongly encourage you to come.

    Mon 30 Nov 2026 – Fri 29 Jan 2027: research phase, with a one-week break at a time agreed with your mentor and two rounds of drafting

    February: project presentations and a celebration dinner

  • 6–10 hours a week, including a weekly team meeting of 1–2 hours and a 30–60 minute check-in with your mentor.

    We also strongly encourage you to come to the kickoff on Sun 29 Nov 2026.

  • It varies by project. Most deliverables evaluate and analyse as well as describe, and most give you a chance to share your work on a public platform.

  • Mentorship from a domain expert, and methodological support from a research manager.

  • Most likely in a team of 2–3 students, formed at the kickoff from the project preferences on your application form.

    Nonetheless, you apply individually, although you can ask to be paired with a specific person and we’ll try to arrange it.

  • Strong projects can be extended after discussion with your mentor. You publish on a public platform during the research phase, and extended projects may reach a wider audience, possibly with partner organisations.

    You will also be invited to EA conferences, career chats and events. Past participants say CHIRP made them more employable for full-time roles.

  • Anyone based in Cambridge regardless of year, course or research experience, including graduate students and visiting students. We expect successful applicants to have some level of context about EA ideas and/or your cause area of interest. The floor we have in mind is what you'd get from joining an intro fellowship program.

    If you're not sure that you meet this floor, we invite you to apply to our introductory EA Fellowship, CAISH Alignment Fellowship, CBH Biosecurity Fellowship or Bluedot courses. We think it'll give useful context about cause prioritisation and cause areas of interest. We'll circle back to you at the end of the EA Fellowship to follow up on progression to CHIRP.

  • Applications are open now here until Mon 16 Nov 2026.

  • You fill in a form telling us about yourself and why you would be a strong candidate.

    We'll invite you to an interview and/or the EA Fellowship (if you are also new to EA). We aim to release application outcomes by Mon 23 Nov 2026.