PhD Studentship: Language Model-Grounded User Simulation for Personalised Conversational Systems

3 weeks ago


Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

About the Project

This PhD project aims to develop personalised conversational systems by leveraging user simulation, supported by recent advancements in large language models with their strong capability in natural language understanding and generation.

Conversational systems or dialogue systems are useful in supporting interactive information exchanging, especially between human and machines. Conventional approaches rely on the optimisation of key components, which put high weights on human-labelled data and commonly limited in domain scope and prone to various data collection biases.

To mitigate these limitations, this PhD project aims to develop user simulators, capable of accurately imitating interactions between real users and systems. By varying the personality of simulated users, reliable training input can be obtained for developing conversational systems. Furthermore, the use of LLMs can further enhance the potential of user simulators in modelling natural languages.

This PhD project is part of an ongoing collaboration with researchers from UCL and the University of Edinburgh. For additional information, please contact Dr Xi Wang at When reaching out, kindly use the subject line '[PhD-Sim4Conv] - [Your Name] - [Your Current Institution] - [Your Country]'.

Supervisor Bio

Dr Xi Wang is a Lecturer in Natural Language Processing at the Department of Computer Science, the University of Sheffield, with his research interests in Conversational AI, personalisation, retrieval augmented generation, as well as relevant topics among NLP and IR.

About the Department/Research Group

99 percent of our research is rated in the highest two categories in the REF 2021, meaning it is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are rated as 8th nationally for the quality of our research environment, showing that the Department of Computer Science is a vibrant and progressive place to undertake research.

The successful candidate will join the Natural Language Processing group, one of the largest and most successful language processing groups in the UK and has a strong global reputation.

Candidate Requirements

  • Minimum 2.1 bachelor's degree or master's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., artificial intelligence, computer science and data science) or its international equivalent to provide evidence for sufficient computing and mathematical background.
  • Solid programming experience and familiarity with deep learning environments (e.g., PyTorch).
  • Passionate and self-motivated about conducting high quality research in NLP with a special focus on the topic of advanced conversational systems.
  • If English is not your first language, you must have an IELTS score of 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each component.

How to Apply

To apply for a PhD studentship, applications must be made directly to the University of Sheffield using the Postgraduate Online Application Form. Make sure you name Dr Xi Wang as your proposed supervisor(s).

Information on what documents are required and a link to the application form can be found here -

The form has comprehensive instructions for you to follow, and pop-up help is available.

Funding Notes

The PhD studentship will cover standard UK home tuition fees and provide a tax-free stipend at the standard UK Research Council rate (currently £19,237 for the 2024/25 academic year) for 3.5 years. If you are an overseas student, you are eligible to apply but you must have the means to pay the difference between the UK and overseas tuition fees by securing additional funding or self-funding. Further information on International fees can be found here:

£18,622 for 2023/24



  • Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    About the ProjectDecisions on adopting vaccine policies for infectious diseases can be informed by model-based economic evaluations of the costs and benefits achieved, including the indirect benefits by reducing transmission. Supply-chain and manufacturing process design can also be informed by modelling. Additional investments in manufacturing processes may...

  • PhD Studentship

    1 month ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have seen a major shift thanks to recent strides in aerial and satellite data technologies, covering acquisition, sharing, and interpretation. However, challenges in data quality and compatibility persist, necessitating manual corrections that are both time-consuming and limit scalability. Despite the availability of...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have seen a major shift thanks to recent strides in aerial and satellite data technologies, covering acquisition, sharing, and interpretation. However, challenges in data quality and compatibility persist, necessitating manual corrections that are both time-consuming and limit scalability. Despite the availability of...

  • PhD Studentship

    5 days ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have seen a major shift thanks to recent strides in aerial and satellite data technologies, covering acquisition, sharing, and interpretation. However, challenges in data quality and compatibility persist, necessitating manual corrections that are both time-consuming and limit scalability. Despite the availability of...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Neuromorphic devices aim to emulate the structure of the human brain to develop resource efficient computing systems. Recent developments have shown strong growth but the complexity of manufacturing many operating elements is challenging to scale indefinitely. To circumvent this, we aim to use bespoke nanoscale devices as 'complex' neurons that operate as...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Neuromorphic devices aim to emulate the structure of the human brain to develop resource efficient computing systems. Recent developments have shown strong growth but the complexity of manufacturing many operating elements is challenging to scale indefinitely. To circumvent this, we aim to use bespoke nanoscale devices as 'complex' neurons that operate as...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Artificial intelligence (AI) applications are transformative, but they are becoming increasingly unsustainable. Many AI models require extensive training with large model sizes. As an alternative reservoir computing exploits random fixed networks to transform data to simplify training. By creating structure within these networks, much like the natural...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Artificial intelligence (AI) applications are transformative, but they are becoming increasingly unsustainable. Many AI models require extensive training with large model sizes. As an alternative reservoir computing exploits random fixed networks to transform data to simplify training. By creating structure within these networks, much like the natural...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Anti-ferromagnets are emerging as key materials for a variety of modern technologies across data storage, processing and more. Recent advances have demonstrated how they can be efficiently manipulated at high frequency but at this scale the interaction of the magnetisation with the atomic structure is important. This project will explore the complex dynamics...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Anti-ferromagnets are emerging as key materials for a variety of modern technologies across data storage, processing and more. Recent advances have demonstrated how they can be efficiently manipulated at high frequency but at this scale the interaction of the magnetisation with the atomic structure is important. This project will explore the complex dynamics...


  • Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    A fully-funded PhD Studentship is available in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield to study turbulence in fusion technology using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The project is in collaboration with UKAEA and the Daresbury Laboratories at Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Turbulence in the...


  • Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    A fully-funded PhD Studentship is available in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield to study turbulence in fusion technology using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The project is in collaboration with UKAEA and the Daresbury Laboratories at Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Turbulence in the...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    The project combines state-of-the-art advanced mathematical tools and numerical simulations to better understand, predict and control pipeline flows for greener transportation and energy.Working under the supervision of Dr Elena Marensi and Prof. Pierre Ricco, the successful candidate will join a vibrant and multidisciplinary team of researchers within the...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    The project combines state-of-the-art advanced mathematical tools and numerical simulations to better understand, predict and control pipeline flows for greener transportation and energy.Working under the supervision of Dr Elena Marensi and Prof. Pierre Ricco, the successful candidate will join a vibrant and multidisciplinary team of researchers within the...

  • PhD Studentship

    5 days ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Recent years have witnessed significant strides made by machine learning-based computer vision, thus enabling machines to interpret and understand visual information. However, most machine learning approaches exploit correlational relationships in a training data set to predict a target variable. When these correlations are spurious or unreliable, those...

  • PhD Studentship

    1 month ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Recent years have witnessed significant strides made by machine learning-based computer vision, thus enabling machines to interpret and understand visual information. However, most machine learning approaches exploit correlational relationships in a training data set to predict a target variable. When these correlations are spurious or unreliable, those...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Recent years have witnessed significant strides made by machine learning-based computer vision, thus enabling machines to interpret and understand visual information. However, most machine learning approaches exploit correlational relationships in a training data set to predict a target variable. When these correlations are spurious or unreliable, those...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    We have a vacancy for an enthusiastic and self-motivated PhD student for a PhD project in the Leonardo Centre at the University of Sheffield funded by the John Crane Ltd.About the ProjectThe transition away from fossil fuels has been rapid. Increasingly our energy comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar. These sources are intermittent which means...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    We have a vacancy for an enthusiastic and self-motivated PhD student for a PhD project in the Leonardo Centre at the University of Sheffield funded by the John Crane Ltd.About the ProjectThe transition away from fossil fuels has been rapid. Increasingly our energy comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar. These sources are intermittent which means...

  • PhD Studentship

    4 weeks ago


    Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom University of Sheffield Full time

    Supervisors: Prof. Solomon Brown (University of Sheffield) & Dr Mark Workman (Imperial College)Socio-technical transitions are complex and subject to deep uncertainty. Indeed, topics previously considered to be subjected to scientific processes of `prediction' – such as the retail price inflation index - are now increasingly considered to be steeped in...