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Our PhD researchers who have been named in the Sunday Business Post’s prestigious “30 under 30” list.

Who are they?

Vi Ngoc Tuong Ly, Dublin City University
Ege Duran, University College Cork
Khanh-Tung Tran, University College Cork

As funded PhD students within the Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence, they are already and continue contributing cutting-edge work in areas such as large language models, optimization and heuristic methods, and advanced AI techniques.

This accolade, recognising Ireland’s top young innovators shaping the future of technology and AI shows their achievements, highlighting the exceptional calibre of talent in our doctoral community and the strength of our partnerships across academia and industry.

We are incredibly proud of Khanh-Tung Tran Ege Duran and Vi Ngoc Tuong Ly and look forward to seeing the impact their research will continue to have in Ireland and beyond.

We must also acknowledge our CRTAI PhDs, our future leaders of tomorrow, who have previously been featured as a 30 Under 30 and continue to strive for academic excellence in their AI research!

We are so proud of all of you!

Akasha Shafiq
Nicola Rossberg
Josh McGiff
Gauri Vaidya

Wonderful to be back on-site with Cadence Design Systems Cork for a rich industry & academic engagement, focused on our postgraduate community and their research journeys. 

The visit centred on a lively PG poster session and a series of talks by our postgraduate students, who shared their work on topics spanning computing, AI, and digital systems and engaged in great technical discussions with the Cadence team. Great job Omayma EL HAJI Vanita K. Nana Mohammad Moghimi Khanh-Tung Tran Daniella Traynor 

It was fantastic to see the quality of the posters and the confidence with which students presented and fielded questions. 

Thank you to our colleagues at Cadence Cork, Madhur Sharma, Ursula McCarthy, Davide Nolè, and Emma Pratt, for hosting us onsite, and to the staff and leads at Cadence for taking the time to speak with our PG students about their projects and career aspirations and continuing to grow these valuable links with University College Cork and Maynooth University. 

A special thanks to our three CRT in AI PhD Researchers, presenters, Nicola Rossberg, Akasha Shafiq (both nominated by Sunday Independent’s 30 Under 30 women in Irish Tech, 2024) and Samaksh Chandra, whose talks gave a deeper insight into their research, methods, and future directions, and really highlighted the talent within our postgraduate cohort. 

Finally, this visit reflects our ongoing commitment to building structured research training and meaningful industry partnerships in AI and computer science. We were also delighted to have the UCC ACM Student Chapter Committee members join us in appreciation of Cadence’s continued sponsorship of the Irish Collegiate Programming Contest IRLCPC, where Cadence has played a key role as main sponsor over several years, and also Dr. Andrea Visentin for his leadership in supporting these opportunities for our PG researchers and in strengthening collaborations between UCC and Cadence.

The CRT in AI Defence in Action: Viva Practicum was held or CRT in AI PhD Candidate in their final year, Kislay Raj, who used their time wisely to prep in advance of their impending Viva date. Huge thanks to our actors, Dr Eric Ferreira dos Santos, Dr. Cian Hughes, and PhD Candidate Mohsin Jabbar, who set the bar high for a rigorous mock defence. It was great to have Praveen Acharya, Vivek Bulani and Hoang Le Lai present to witness and support with additional questions. This was our fifth time running this event to support PhD students and help reduce anxieties about the unexpected aspects of the viva process.

Lessons learned: start preparing early and avoid leaving your practice to the last minute. Rehearse your presentation multiple times, take feedback seriously, and actively integrate it into your narrative. Ensure your visuals are clear, concise, and appropriately labelled so they support rather than distract from your message. Be ready to articulate the limitations of your work and to outline realistic future directions and planned follow-on studies.

Huge thanks to Vicky Flanagan, who led the charge and arranged the logistics, and to the PhD students who attended the Cohort dinner.

Machine Learning Training Week 2026 concluded with an amazing lineup of presentations from our CRT in AI PhD students.

This one-week bespoke training offering was spearheaded by Professor Tiziana Margaria, Co-director of the CRT in AI at the University of Limerick, and is running into its sixth consecutive year, with great support from its HOD Patrick Healy, Computer Science and Information Systems.

Our PhD researchers were immersed in a full week of ML training covering areas including human activity recognition for edge AI systems, generative models for underwater plastic detection, comparative ML and DL for energy predictions in residential buildings, introductions to physics-informed ML and variational methods, and the next frontier in AI agents for autonomous test design. The researchers were also exposed to a fully supported, lab-based, hands-on experience.

One of the highlights of the week was the Frontiers of Technology Panel moderated by Prof Margaria with panellists including Lars Kotthoff James O’Donnell Christina Morin Nora O’ Murchú

Thanks to all involved, especially Jane Kierse who so kindly managed the logistics. Here’s to another great opportunity for AI training and the continuity of our commitment to PhD education. A great start to 2026!

    

 

 

The latest from NLP Training Week 2025—as part of our 5-week annual training module delivery for our CRTAI PhDs!
Well done to all the PhD fellows for participating in another exciting week of AI training under the mentorship of Professor Paul Buitelaar Dr. Omnia Zayed with special thanks to the presenters, Dr. Bharathi Raja Chakravarthi Ghanshyam Verma Gaurav Negi and to our industry friends at Genesys Galway for making this week so worthwhile for our PhDs. 

The winning group consisting of CRT in AI PhD researchers Luo Yang (DCU), Ayman Abaid (UoG), Cailean Finn (UL) and Jed Hazaymeh (DCU) has been selected for the coveted NLP first-place award. 

Well done to all!

Congratulations to our PhD graduate Andrea Rossi for winning the UCC Computer Science Student Paper of the year award for 2024.

Our PhD researchers are at a 5-day AI training week led by Professor Suzanne Little with interactive sessions, filled with fascinating lecturers, experienced panel discussions, and lots of time to network! In the midst of their final day, of a 5-day training week in Visual Media Analytics, Computer Vision, a valuable addition to the week was the group visit to Croke Park, where Prof Suzanne Little explained the innovative Croke Park IOT Stadium project. This collaboration between GAA, DCU, Intel, and Microsoft showcases real-world applications of AI and IoT technologies to our PhD Students. The week was filled with fascinating talks from Marija Bezbradica Blagojevic, Mark Roantree, Prof Gareth Jones, including Cohort One PhD researcher Mikhail Kudriavtsev, presenting to our Cohorts four and five PhDs.

Our CRT in AI specific AI Training module coordinated by Professor Tiziana Margaria at the University of Limerick where our CRTAI PhD researchers are immersed in an intense week of machine learning training. They were joined by Dr. Alex Norta of Dymaxion, who discussed his company’s fascinating work in enhancing DAO security through AI-driven analysis. We were joined by Dr. Meghana Kshiragar they shared their fascinating work in LLM in cancer clincial trials. Our 3rd Yr PhD student, now Dr. Gauri Vaidya was on hand to run an interactive session with the group!

Early January 2025, we kicked off the year with our comprehensive Machine Learning Training Week for Cohort 4 & 5 PhD researchers. The training included external and internal presenters from TU Dortmund. A blockchain technology consultancy firm, Dymaxion, and academics/PhDs from the University of Limerick, who facilitated discussions on current and cutting-edge machine learning topics. Locally, UL lecturers and CRTs in AI-approved supervisors and 4th Year CRTs in AI PhDs, were invited to present. The highlight of the week included a Future of Technologies Panel discussion in collaboration with the Research @ Immersive Software Engineering PhD Programme (R@ISE) and The Irish Computer Society (ICS).

Nostalgia when we were reminiscing over a fantastic PhD-focused collaborative event where over 180+ PhD students came together to meet with industry and public agencies from across this island to get a sense of the real-world skills necessary to make it in today’s tech landscape.

The FPSS’24 event brought together over 180 PhD students with industry leaders and public agencies across Ireland. We thank Science Foundation Ireland and all our institutions for helping us make it happen, and we give great thanks to our kind industry members and partners who joined us on the day and gave their time.

The CRT programmes are designed to offer a solid support structure, opportunities for group learning, and the ability to go through the programme with a familiar group of individuals. With collaborative learning and milestone sharing, we hope these events help enhance the academic experience! 

See a brief video of the FPSS’24 event here! https://lnkd.in/ev6VN78G

Unlocking the Secrets of Digital Security: Join Us on European Researchers’ Night 2023! 

Mark your calendars for September 29th as we invite you to a captivating evening at Trinity College Dublin, where the world of digital security meets the wider public!

European Researchers’ Night is here, and we’re excited to share the importance of cyber security with YOU ALL! Our team of brilliant PhD researchers, alongside their dedicated program manager, are all set to host an unforgettable event that delves into the fascinating realm of cybersecurity.

We’ll be discussing why translating the topic of digital security to a wider audience is crucial. In today’s interconnected world, understanding the importance of cyber safety is more essential than ever. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or just curious, this event promises to broaden your horizons. 

Stay tuned for insightful discussions, live demonstrations, and the opportunity to interact with our passionate researchers. 

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to learn, engage, and connect. Join us on September 29th at Trinity College Dublin, and let’s unravel the mysteries of digital security together! 

 See you there! #DigitalSecurity #Cybersecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #ResearchNight23 #CRTAI #PhDResearchersRock