The competency framework · Five domains · One standard

One standard for
AI practice.

The framework sits beneath every IoAI credential: five domains of practice, described at four levels, published in full. Read it, cite it, and know exactly what the assessment measures before you sit it.

Download the framework (PDF)See the accreditation levels

5 domains

What the standard covers

4 levels

Student to Fellow

1 bar

The same criteria for everyone

Open

Free to download and cite

— The five domains —

What the standard
covers.

Foundations of AI

The concepts beneath the tools: how models learn, where data comes from, what the numbers mean, and the limits of all three.

Machine learning conceptsData fundamentalsModel evaluationStatistical reasoning

Responsible and ethical AI

Practising safely and fairly: bias, privacy, transparency, and the UK regulatory context, treated as working constraints rather than an afterthought.

Bias and fairnessPrivacy and data protectionTransparencyUK regulatory context

Applied AI engineering

Building things that hold up: scoping, designing, shipping, and operating AI systems that survive contact with production and with users.

System designDeployment and operationsTesting and evaluationPerformance and cost

AI strategy and governance

Helping organisations adopt well: choosing the right use cases, weighing risk honestly, and putting governance around AI that people actually follow.

Use-case selectionRisk assessmentPolicy and governanceMeasuring impact

Lifelong learning and communication

Staying current and bringing others with you: deliberate learning, plain-English explanation, mentoring, and contributing back to the field.

Plain-English explanationMentoring and teachingContinuing developmentContribution to the field

— Depth by level —

The same five domains,
deeper at every level.

Domain	Student	Associate	Professional	Fellow
Foundations of AI	Understands the concepts	Applies them in real work	Designs with them at scale	Advances them in the field
Responsible and ethical AI	Knows the principles	Applies them in practice	Sets and enforces standards	Shapes the wider debate
Applied AI engineering	Builds with guidance	Ships production work	Leads delivery at scale	Sets engineering direction
AI strategy and governance	Aware of the context	Contributes to decisions	Owns strategy and risk	Advises at board level
Lifelong learning and communication	Learns deliberately	Explains work clearly	Mentors and teaches	Speaks for the profession

Every assessment is scored against this grid. The criteria are published before you apply.

— How it is used —

One framework,
three uses.

For individuals

Accredited professionals.

Every individual assessment is scored against the framework, domain by domain and level by level. The criteria you are measured on are the ones published here.

See the levels

For universities

Recognised degrees.

Universities map programmes to the framework so a course can carry recognition, and graduates leave with a credential employers can place.

University partnerships

For organisations

Capability maps.

Organisations use the domains to band roles, audit the skills they actually have, and see the gaps before they hire or train.

Partner with us

— The document —

Read the standard in full.

The framework is a public document. Cite it in a job description, a programme specification, or a governance pack. It costs nothing, and the criteria inside it are the ones every assessment is scored against.

Download the framework (PDF)

The Institute of AI

The competency framework