Fine-tuning SLM models with LoRA: building specialized on-device story generators
Hands-on workshop - The Fifth Elephant Pune Edition
About the workshop
As generative AI moves closer to the edge, developers are looking for ways to build creative, high-quality applications that run privately, efficiently, and without dependence on cloud APIs. This session explores how to shift from server-side story generation using large language models (LLMs) to highly optimized on-device workflows powered by small language models (SLMs). Attendees will learn the end-to-end process of generating content in the cloud, reproducing it locally, and progressively improving output quality using prompt tuning and LoRA-based fine-tuning.
Through a series of practical demonstrations, we will walk through three stages of on-device model refinement: baseline inference, prompt-tuned enhancement, and LoRA-based adapter tuning for personalization. Participants will compare outputs from each stage, understand the trade-offs in quality vs. performance, and learn lightweight evaluation methods for generative storytelling. By the end, they will know how to build efficient, privacy-preserving, specialized story generators that can run directly on mobile or embedded devices.
Workshop level: Intermediate
Prerequisites
- Basic Python knowledge; familiarity with foundational LLM concepts
- Bring your own laptop
Key takeaways
- Learn how to migrate generative workflows from cloud LLMs to optimized, on-device SLMs.
- Understand and apply prompt tuning and LoRA adapter tuning to personalize model behavior.
- Gain practical methods to evaluate improvements in on-device generative quality.
Target audience
- AI/ML developers building edge or offline applications
- Mobile developers exploring on-device inference
- Researchers working with small, efficient model architectures
- Engineers evaluating personalization strategies for constrained devices
About the instructor
Mayur Madnani is a seasoned engineer specializing in AI, data, and backend systems, with extensive experience building scalable, high-performance platforms at organizations such as JioHotstar, Intuit, Walmart, and SAP. He frequently delivers webinars and technical sessions on AI engineering and distributed systems, and actively shares insights with the developer community. Connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayurmadnani/
How to attend this workshop
This workshop is part of The Fifth Elephant Pune edition and is open for The Fifth Elephant annual members. If you wish to attend The Fifth Elephant Pune edition, pick up an annual membership.
This workshop is open to 40 participants only. Seats will be available on first-come-first-serve basis. 🎟️
Contact information ☎️
For inquiries about the workshop, contact +91-7676332020 or write to info@hasgeek.com