Collaborate With Me

I’m a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Embodied Natural Language Processing at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, where I lead the Embodied, Situated and Grounded Intelligence (ESGI) research group. My work on multimodal generative AI and embodied, situated human-robot interaction has been shaped through research collaborations with organisations including Amazon Alexa AI, Meta AI, Sony PlayStation and the European Space Agency, alongside a track record of peer-reviewed publications in top NLP, vision and robotics venues.

I’m always happy to hear from prospective students and companies interested in working together. This page outlines the main ways we can collaborate and what I need from you to get started.

For Students

There are two main routes for students to work with our research group. Before reaching out, take a look at our recent publications and current PhD students to see how your interests align with our work.

🎓 PhD Positions

I supervise PhD students through the School of Informatics’ postgraduate research programme. Prospective applicants should apply under one of the available Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) and scholarships.

When emailing me about a PhD, please include:

  • Your CV
  • A brief statement of your research interests and motivation, ideally linked to our group’s research themes
  • Your intended start date
  • The scholarship/CDT you plan to apply through, if known
✈️ Visiting Periods

I welcome visiting students who wish to spend a period of time working with the group. Please keep the following in mind when planning a visit:

  • ATAS-required visits: if you require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) certificate, the University’s International Graduate School (IGS) needs to receive your request at least five months ahead of the start of your planned visit.
  • Non-ATAS international visits: if you are an international visiting student who does not require ATAS, IGS needs to receive your request at least two months ahead of the start of your planned visit.
  • One visit per year: Visiting Research students are permitted to register only once in any 12-month rolling period. Multiple split visits (e.g. 3 months on programme, 1 month break, 3 months on programme) are not permitted.

Given these timelines, please get in touch as early as possible so there’s enough time to process the request.

When emailing me about a visiting period, please include:

  • Your CV
  • A brief statement of your research interests and motivation for visiting
  • Your proposed visit dates
  • Whether you require an ATAS certificate

Get in touch at asuglia [at] ed.ac.uk.

For Companies

Building on the industry track record described above, I already collaborate with a number of companies on applied research, consultancy and knowledge exchange projects focused on Multimodal Generative AI and Embodied Agents.

🏢 Industry Collaboration

These collaborations are most commonly arranged through the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Innovations, which supports formal industry partnerships, consultancy and collaborative research agreements.

A few other options for collaboration are also possible, including:

  • Funded research projects: collaborative research addressing challenges relevant to your organisation
  • Sponsored PhD scholarships: co-funding a PhD student to work on a shared research agenda
  • Focused long-term collaborations: sustained partnerships built around a specific research direction

Other arrangements are also possible depending on the nature and scope of the collaboration.

If you’re interested in exploring a partnership, please email me at asuglia [at] ed.ac.uk with a short description of your organisation and the type of collaboration you have in mind.