This July, STAI CDT students, staff, and collaborators gathered for the 2025 Annual Retreat — a two-day event held in the tranquil setting of Cumberland Lodge. Designed to offer space for reflection, connection, and forward thinking, the retreat brought together PhD students from across the cohorts for structured discussion, team-building and a chance to spend time together.
Day 1: Disagreement, Collaboration, and Competition
The retreat opened with an interactive session titled ‘Disagreeing Well’, led by staff from Cumberland Lodge. This session focused on navigating disagreements constructively — a skill increasingly vital in multidisciplinary AI research. There were lots of interesting discussions and takeaways, including the importance of trying to approach disagreements from a position of being curious in understanding someone’s view more and the need for everyone to reflect on their own triggers and biases when entering into disagreements.
Following a relaxing lunch, the afternoon sun provided a great backdrop for a Dragster Race team-building event on the front lawn. In the spirit of friendly competition, students and staff collaborated in teams to build and race miniature cars — an activity that blended creativity, engineering, and laughter. Teams showcased their creativity not only in car design, but also names, presentations and in the races themselves!
Day 2: The Future of AI and Ethical Thinking
Friday’s agenda kicked off with a panel discussion on ‘Future Opportunities and Challenges in a Rapidly Shifting Landscape’. This session brought together diverse perspectives on the evolving research, policy and job environment for AI in the UK and beyond.
The panel was made up of:
- Michael Luck, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of Sussex
- Cameron Ross, Senior Portfolio Manager in the AI & Robotics team at EPSRC and programme lead for the UKRI AI CDTs
- Odinaldo Rodrigues, Reader in AI, King’s College London
- Caitlin Bentley, Senior Lecturer in AI Education, King’s College London, and Deputy Chair of the Responsible AI UK’s Skills Pillar
- Amy Rechkemmer, Research Assistant on the Responsible AI Keystone Project Participatory Harm Auditing Workbenches and Methodologies (PHAWM), King’s College London
The panel conversation led to some thought-provoking discussions and questions about future opportunities and challenges amongst the panel and students. STAI CDT PhD students have an important role to play in this future with their expertise and the panel was a chance for students to reflect on this.
The retreat concluded with an important session on AI ethics, delivered by STAI CDT PhD student, Chiara Di Bonaventura and her collaborator and fellow King’s PhD student, Julia De Miguel Velazquez. This session provided an overview of different ethical frameworks and encouraged students to reflect on how to integrate ethics into their own research.
Overall, it was another successful retreat that offered not only a welcome pause from day-to-day research but also a chance to reconnect across cohorts, share experiences and reflect on the past year and the future.