Further your Research career with Edinburgh Napier University

We are currently looking for a Research Fellow to join our School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (SCEBE) on a full-time, fixed-term until 31st March 2028,  basis to work on The Learning from Collaborative Storytelling (LoCS) project.

The Learning from Collaborative Storytelling (LoCS) project is an EPSRC-funded research programme that brings together interdisciplinary expertise from computer vision, cognitive robotics, and human-robot interaction. The project is led by the School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University, with collaboration from academic partners and industry stakeholders.

The ambitious programme aims to create a new framework for visual scene understanding through interactive, collaborative storytelling between humans and robots. By integrating multimodal data, advanced computer vision techniques, and cognitive models, the project seeks to enhance robots’ ability to acquire a deeper contextual understanding of dynamic environments and to support real-world applications in education, healthcare, and assistive technology.

The role involves taking a leading part in the LoCS project under the direction of Dr. Yanchao Yu, working on developing and integrating multimodal knowledge extraction techniques and designing novel AI-driven storytelling frameworks.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Undertake high-impact research in developing and evaluating real-time machine learning models for visual scene understanding and collaborative storytelling between humans and robots. Priority research areas include knowledge extraction from visual data (e.g., image and video streams), multimodal interaction for contextual reasoning, and real-time narrative generation. Of particular interest are models that integrate cognitive robotics and multimodal data sources to enhance robots’ ability to engage in meaningful dialogue.
• Design and implement experimental protocols for data collection and human-robot interaction studies. This includes setting up laboratory and real-world evaluations, coordinating collaborative storytelling activities, and analysing results using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques.
• Contribute to the development and evaluation of cognitive frameworks that integrate commonsense knowledge and real-world sensory input for improved understanding and interaction in diverse environments.
• Prepare high-quality, peer-reviewed publications for leading journals and conferences and disseminate research findings at national and international conferences.

Who are we looking for?

The ideal candidate will have:

• Awarded a PhD degree in a closely relevant field (e.g., Computer Vision, Robotics, Conversational AI, Multimodal Interaction).
• Excellent programming skills in Python and/or C++, with expertise in deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• A strong background in computer vision, cognitive robotics, machine learning, multimodal interaction, or a related area.
• Research experience in visual scene understanding, human-robot interaction, natural language processing/generation, or multimodal storytelling systems.
• A strong publication record in top-tier international journals and conferences (e.g., CVPR, ICRA, HRI).
• Experience in developing and evaluating real-time algorithms for complex visual data analysis and interactive multimodal systems.
• Strong quantitative research skills and ability to apply advanced techniques to interpret and analyse complex multimodal data.

To view the full job description, please click here.

About the School

The Schools of Computing and Engineering & the Built Environment have around 200 academics, 3,100 campus-based students, and deliver programmes with professional accreditations from the British Computer Society, Institution of Engineering and Technology, The Chartered Institute of Building and other accreditation bodies. We have excellent computing, engineering and construction lab facilities.

The School of Computing is highly regarded and one of the UK’s largest computer science departments. The School of Engineering & the Built Environment houses leading UK research centres in transport policy and sustainable construction. The schools are based in the lively and exciting Merchiston area at the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland’s inspiring capital.

The University’s improved research power rating will now see our research funding increase as we take significant strides to grow our reputation as a research-focused institution as well as a teaching one.  We are confident that we are well on our way to establishing ourselves as one of the UK’s world-leading universities in research.

Benefits we offer

We are committed to providing a wide range of benefits including:

• minimum of 41 days annual leave and the option to purchase additional annual leave
• employer pension contributions of 17.6%
• a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• opportunity to join our staff inclusion and support networks
• access to our benefits platform Vivup which includes huge range of discounts across the UK’s major retailers, health care discounts and Cycle to Work (click here for more info)
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

For more information about our wide range of benefits, click here.

Salary: £36,924 per annum (Grade 5)

Additional Information

For informal discussions about this position, please contact Dr. Yanchao Yu y.yu@napier.ac.uk

For general enquiries, please get in touch with the Recruitment team (recruitment@napier.ac.uk).

Closing Date 16 January

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on several factors specific to the successful applicant. Check salary criteria for the visa on https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa. Contact us to discuss individual circumstances on recruitment@napier.ac.uk

If successful, the University will determine the appropriate visa route.

Edinburgh Napier is committed to creating an environment where everyone feels proud, confident, challenged, and supported and are holders of Disability Confident, Carer Positive and Stonewall Diversity Champion status. Please see here for more information.