Welcome to Zhuang Li’s Personal Website
Welcome!
Hello! My name is Zhuang Li, and I am a Lecturer at RMIT University and formerly a Research Fellow at Monash University. My expertise lies in Natural Language Processing (NLP), with a focus on semantic parsing, social NLP, culturally-inclusive AI, and data-efficient NLP. I am passionate about developing neural-symbolic methods to align large language models with diverse social norms, striving for an inclusive world where AI systems respect and adapt to different cultural backgrounds. My research also focuses on applying semantic parsing to dialogue systems in low-resource settings.
About Me
I earned my PhD from Monash University, where I was mentored by Dr. Lizhen Qu, Prof. Gholamreza Haffari, and ACL Fellow Phil Cohen. Throughout my career, I have mentored junior researchers, helping them publish in prestigious venues such as AAAI, EMNLP, and EACL. I am dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration in the NLP community.
News
- 12/02/2024: I joined RMIT University as a Lecturer!
- I will be recruiting 1 PhD student in the 2025 cycle to work on low-resource languages and culturally-aligned large language models (LLMs).
I may collaborate with researchers from RMIT University and Monash University to recruit another PhD student focusing on multimodal NLP.(filled)- If you are interested in joining, feel free to reach out!
- 12/04/2024: Co-organized the ALTA Shared Task: Overview of the 2024 ALTA Shared Task: Detect Automatic AI-Generated Sentences for Human-AI Hybrid Articles.
Research Interests
Natural Language Processing
- Semantic Parsing: Transforming natural language utterances into machine-readable meaning representations for applications such as dialogue systems.
- Social NLP and Culturally-Inclusive AI: Aligning NLP systems, including large language models, with diverse social norms to ensure inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.
- Data-Efficient NLP: Enhancing NLP model performance while minimizing the need for large amounts of labeled data.
Machine Learning
- Continual and Active Learning: Developing models that adapt and improve over time through ongoing learning and active sampling.
- Semi-Supervised Learning: Leveraging limited labeled data alongside abundant unlabeled data to build robust and efficient models.
Collaboration and Supervision
I am eager to collaborate on innovative NLP and machine learning projects, particularly in semantic parsing, social NLP and data-efficient NLP.
I welcome:
- Remote interns with strong research backgrounds for interesting collaborative projects
- Industry partners from tech companies interested in practical NLP challenges
For PhD supervision at RMIT, I collaborate with senior faculty members (usually professors) at RMIT as part of the supervision team. I welcome applications for:
- Grant-based students (subject to grant availability)
- University scholarship applicants (highly competitive)
Interested? Feel free to reach out by sending your CV and research interests to zhuang.li@rmit.edu.au!
Australian PhD Application Tips
Here’s a helpful overview for those considering doctoral studies in Australia and aren’t familiar with the application process:
Click to learn about Supervisor-Supported PhD Positions
- If your research interests match a supervisor's work, they may support your enrollment directly. The entry requirements are quite flexible and largely depend on the supervisor's discretion.
- Enrollment through this path can happen at any time throughout the year, though supervisor grant availability varies.
- English Language Requirements: While specific requirements vary by supervisor, typical English benchmarks include:
- IELTS overall band score of 6.5 or higher
- Equivalent scores in PTE or TOEFL
Click to learn about University Scholarship Opportunities
For International Applicants:
- For AI-related students in particular, these scholarships have become increasingly competitive due to limited positions and growing enthusiasm in the field. The competition has intensified as more students pursue AI research.
- Applications for university scholarships are only accepted during specific periods. For example, RMIT's 2026 scholarship round opens in April 2025. Plan ahead and prepare your application early!
- Recent successful applicants have typically had:
- A Master's degree from a prestigious university
- Strong transcript grades (High Distinction or equivalent grades across different systems - for example, 70+ in British universities or 85+ in Chinese universities)
- Research experience, demonstrated through a first-authored publication in respected venues (such as CORE A or A* conferences)
- English proficiency test scores (such as IELTS overall band 6.5 or equivalent in TOEFL/PTE)
For Australian Residents:
- The Australian government provides Research Training Program (RTP) scholarships for domestic students
- Universities usually offer additional stipends for RTP recipients
- Typical requirements include a minimum overall grade of 75
- Still, exact eligibility criteria and funding amounts vary by program and supervisor availability.
Personal Interests
Outside of academia, I enjoy engaging in hobbies that inspire creativity and relaxation, such as gaming, movies, and reading.
Click to learn more about my favourite books, movies, and games
Gaming: AAA games like Elden Ring, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo II, III, IV, Black Myth: Wukong, Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077, God of War series, etc.
Movies: Sci-fi and fantasy classics like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Batman: The Dark Knight. Other popular favorites include the Indiana Jones series, The Shawshank Redemption, The Silence of the Lambs, Forrest Gump, the Harry Potter series, and the The Chronicles of Narnia series.
Books: Works on history and economics, including Les Misérables and The Intelligent Investor.
I’m also active on Zhihu (@Alpaca).