PhD Studentship

PhD Project: Learning to Recognise Dynamic Visual Content from Broadcast Footage

This EPSRC funded project is being jointly undertaken by the University of Leeds (Mark Everingham), the University of Oxford (Andrew Zisserman), and the University of Surrey (Richard Bowden).

The objective of this project is to develop automated tools that allow temporal visual content, such as a human gesturing, using sign language, or interacting with objects or other humans, to be learnt from standard TV broadcast signals using the transmitted annotation in the form of subtitles and annotation for the visually impaired as supervision.

This requires the development of models of the visual appearance and dynamics of actions, and learning methods which can train such models using the weak supervision provided by the subtitles. Once the models have been learnt they can then be used without supervision, e.g. for sign language interpretation or automatic description of the content of video footage, and during the project demonstrators will be engineered for both of these applications.

You will focus on the development of visual descriptors and learning algorithms for sign language and action recognition in broadcast video. You will be based in the School of Computing at the University of Leeds, and will be supervised by Dr Mark Everingham.

Value: This EPSRC funded studentship will start as soon as possible. It is funded for 3 years and covers Home/EU fees and maintenance at the standard EPSRC rate (currently £13,590 per annum).

Applications are welcome from overseas students, but such students will need to pay the balance of the International fees, which will be approximately £12,000.

Entry requirements: All candidates should have or expect to obtain a first class or strong 2.1 honours degree in computer science, mathematics, or related discipline.

The following qualities are desirable: demonstrable experience in computer vision or machine learning; excellent record of academic and/or professional achievement; strong mathematical skills; strong programming skills, especially C/C++ and Matlab; good written and spoken communication skills in English.

Supervisor: Dr Mark Everingham

Application deadline: Open until filled

Further information: To discuss this project further informally, please contact Dr Mark Everingham, m.everingham@leeds.ac.uk

Please note, all applications should be sent to the School's Student Support Office, not Dr Mark Everingham.

How to apply: Formal applications for research degree study should be made on-line through the University's website. Please state clearly on the funding section of the application form that you wish to be considered for this scholarship. If you have published research papers, please list these in the 'Additional Information' section.

Please upload all the documents required as soon as possible. Scanned copies are acceptable though you will need to provide originals or certified copies at registration. These will include your degree certificate(s), transcripts of marks achieved in previous degrees, plus evidence of English language qualifications if your first language is not English and you do not hold a degree from an English-speaking country. Please do not provide school certificates, or non-academic certificates.

Please note, if you intend to send academic references we can only accept them if they are on official letter headed paper and contain an original signature and stamp; they must arrive in sealed envelopes. Alternatively, the School will contact your named academic referees directly.

If you require any further information please contact the Graduate School Office, e: phd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk, t: +44 (0)113 343 8000.