[Jobs] Fully funded PhD studentship in Lifelong Robot Learning at the University of Southampton, UK

[burhan...@gmail.com]

Dear colleagues,

We're hiring a fully funded PhD student to explore Large Language Models in lifelong robot learning at the University of Southampton.

Project Title

Skill Acquisition in Lifelong Robot Learning with Large Language Models

About the PhD Project

The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) into robot learning has recently led to significant advancements. By leveraging LLMs to generate sequences of natural language commands linked to pretrained skills, robots can efficiently perform long-horizon tasks in physical environments. Additionally, LLMs have enabled few-shot adaptation to novel tools by generating task-agnostic tool descriptions, facilitating language-conditioned learning of new manipulation skills. Long-horizon task learning and rapid adaptation, powered by LLMs, are crucial for lifelong robot learning. 

However, current approaches remain incompatible with continual learning settings, where robots must acquire skills sequentially without prior knowledge of task distributions. Furthermore, existing methods do not adequately address the challenge of retaining previously learned knowledge while adapting to new tasks. 

This project aims to advance the role of LLMs in lifelong robot learning by developing methods for incrementally acquiring and refining skill representations. Specifically, it will explore how textual descriptions and spatio-temporal action data can be jointly leveraged to learn and adapt visuomotor skills over time. The proposed methods will be evaluated in household environments, focusing on real-world, open-ended robotic learning scenarios. 

You will join the School of Electronics and Computer Science within the University of Southampton which is ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide. The successful candidate must have a strong background in machine learning. Prior knowledge of reinforcement learning, robotics and training and finetuning LLMs is highly desirable.

Funding Available For

UK, EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries

Entry Requirements

1. A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree) or its international equivalent 
2. IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) for non-native English speakers

How to Apply

Please send your pre-application package including CV, transcripts, sample publications (if any), two references and cover letter expressing your research vision and interest in the position to burhan...@soton.ac.uk

Closing Date

31 August 2025. Applications will be considered in the order that they are received. The position will be considered filled when a suitable candidate has been identified.

For more information, please visit: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/projects/skill-acquisition-in-lifelong-robot-learning-with-large

Best regards, 

Muhammad Burhan Hafez

--

Dr. Muhammad Burhan Hafez

New Frontiers Fellow (Lecturer)

School of Electronics & Computer Science

University of Southampton

Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK

E-mail: burhan...@soton.ac.uk

Homepage: https://www.soton.ac.uk/people/65b6st