Details
1093144
University of Edinburgh
02/06/2025
3 Months
21-35 hours per week, worked between 9-5, Monday-Friday
Not Applicable
Pay
£13.94
£2.52
Description
Role
The University of Edinburgh’s Information Services Group (ISG) invites applications from undergraduate students interested in working this summer as one of three AI Development Interns. The key purpose of this role is to assist with delivering a range of roadmap enhancements that feed into the core infrastructure that supports the Edinburgh (access to) Language Models (ELM) platform. This may include making improvements to the current Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and RAG Fusion approaches and improving the modality support of ELM base functionality (e.g., image, voice capabilities, better prompt curation).
Within this role, you will gain practical experience in building and evaluating open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) and developing workflows to solve real end user problems. At the end of this internship, you will have achieved the following outcomes: created working code, contributed to a live service and delivered a report on completed changes and suggestions for future developments. You will join the ELM team who are responsible for supporting staff and students by providing tools that enhance their productivity, such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI).
You can expect to start work on the 2nd June 2025 and work until the 22nd August 2025. You will work between a minimum of 21 to a maximum of 35 hours per week (Monday to Friday) in a hybrid working pattern split between working from home (commutable distance from Edinburgh), and in Argyle House. Your preference on working hours within the above range can be discussed during the interview stage. You will be paid £13.94 per hour, plus £2.52 per hour holiday pay. Payment is one month in arrears, meaning your first payment date (should this position start when expected) will be 28th July 2025.
For more information on what to expect as an ISG Summer Intern and to hear from previous interns, please see our ISG Student Employment website.
Duties and responsibilities
- Working with the ELM operations team and the Service Manager to extend ELM’s functionality and capabilities;
- Researching other current frameworks and best practice approaches to technical challenges such as User Interface and User Experience;
- Building and evaluating open source LLMs (such as Llama3/Deepseek) and developing workflows to solve real end user problems;
- Presenting findings and recommendations to the team, including reporting on outcomes;
- Setting up support processes that facilitate the effective use of AI tools, such as chatbots;
- Developing improvements to the prompting functionality of ELM.
Skills and experience
Essential criteria:
- A current University of Edinburgh undergraduate student (you must be a matriculated student for the duration of your employment). Internships are open to all undergraduate students, except those in their final year of study;
- Based in the UK for the duration of the work, within commutable distance of Edinburgh, and able to work on campus (we cannot accommodate individuals working overseas due to tax and legal implications), and able to attend a Right to Work Check in person if needed;
- Evidence of excellent communication and teamwork skills;
- Demonstrable strong problem-solving skills;
- Proven experience of using Python development (such as Langchain, PyTorch, scikit-learn);
- Demonstrable experience with Prompt Engineering.
Desirable criteria:
- Proven knowledge of open-source Large Language Models (such as Llama3, Deepseek);
- Demonstrable knowledge of Java;
- Proven experience of using ELM, particularly using API mode;
- Demonstrable experience with Typescript/Angular.
Location
Hybrid, split between working from home (commutable distance from Edinburgh) and in Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR
Benefits
- The full range of benefits as a Summer Intern is available on our 2025 Summer Internships webpage;
- Being part of a welcoming community of over 50 ISG Summer Interns with opportunities to network, whilst working in a supportive and nurturing environment with a strong emphasis on work/life balance;
- A broad programme of training and development opportunities, run by experts across a range of fields;
- Opportunity to participate in the prestigious Edinburgh Award for Work Experience.
Additional information
Please apply below by uploading an up-to-date CV and cover letter (our system cannot accept PDFs) clearly stating how you meet the criteria above. To have the best chance of being offered an interview, we encourage you to view our two-page Application Guidance document and attend one of our short, online internship overview sessions, bookable via the 2025 Summer Internships webpage.
We ask that you carefully consider which internships best suit your interests, skills, and career goals, and apply for a maximum of 3 ISG internships. We encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as Widening Participation students.
To view all our internships on offer this summer, please see our Unitemps Adverts page.
Interviews for this internship are likely to be held on the week commencing 7th April 2025, and are expected to be in person.
The closing date for this advert is 23:59 on Sunday 23rd March. If you encounter any issues when applying, please e-mail unitemps@ed.ac.uk well in advance of the deadline, as we will only respond within office hours (9-5, Monday to Friday). Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.