Earlier this week, we opened the 2020 call for proposals for Amazon Research Awards (ARA). The deadline for submissions is October 11, 2020.
The ARA program has merged with the previously separate AWS Machine Learning Research Awards (MLRA) program to make it easier for researchers to apply through a single submission system and a centrally managed website on Amazon Science that provides all the information needed to submit a proposal.
Proposals are reviewed for the quality of their scientific content, their creativity, and their potential to impact both the research community, and society more generally. Theoretical advances, creative new ideas, and practical applications are all welcome.
Below are the five call for proposals; each page provides information about the type of projects teams are seeking to fund:
Project proposals should follow the template guidelines provided on each call-for-proposal page.
This is the first year for the combined program, but the sixth overall for ARA. The program continues to offer grant recipients unrestricted funds and AWS Promotional Credits. Funded projects are assigned an Amazon research contact, and recipients also receive training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on session with Amazon scientists and engineers.
Amazon retains no intellectual-property rights to the funded work, and recipients are encouraged to publish the results of their research, and commit related code to open-source repositories.
In 2019, 51 recipients representing 39 universities in 10 countries received grants that averaged $72,000 in cash and $15,000 in AWS Promotional Credits.
Before applying, we encourage researchers to visit the website and read the FAQs for more specific program information.
We’re looking forward to receiving researchers’ submissions. Decision letters will be sent in early 2021, or three to four months after the submission deadline.