David is a specialist with a H1 Master’s degree in Interactive Media from University College Cork. David holds a BA in Game Design and Project Management from Uppsala University and is currently contributing to the development of an innovative digital application for stroke rehabilitation for his PhD. His work focuses on enhancing Early Supported Discharge (ESD) pathways within tertiary care by applying gamification principles to improve patient engagement, motivation, and recovery outcomes. The application is computer science–led but clinically driven, with its design and functionality shaped directly by frontline stroke care needs.

Working in close collaboration with the Stroke Team at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, David ensures that behavioural design approaches align with real-world rehabilitation practices. Clinical leadership is provided by his PhD supervisor, Dr. Kieran O’Connor, who guides the clinical direction and integration of the application within the tertiary setting. Together, this partnership bridges technology and clinical expertise to develop a solution with the potential to transform ESD delivery and improve outcomes for stroke patients.

Outside of his professional work, David enjoys gaming/esports, making and listening to music, spending time with friends, and watching Star Wars.

Supervisors: Dr. Sabin Tabirca, Deniz Mevlevioglu, Dr. Kieran O’Connor MUH

Mingxing “Stella” Zhang is a Research Master’s student and holds an MSc in Computing Science from University College Cork. Her master’s thesis focused on applying Explainable AI techniques to machine learning models for spectroscopy data.

She is currently working in the field of Explainable AI, with a strong focus on developing interpretable, consistent, faithful, and domain-relevant explanations for machine learning systems.

Beyond her academic work, Mingxing is active and open-minded. She enjoys tennis, climbing, hiking, and surfing and is always eager to explore new ideas, experiences, and challenges. She warmly welcomes people who share similar interests to connect and join her in exploring them.

Supervisor: Dr. Andrea Visentin

Andrea is a research master’s student at University College Cork and CRT-AI, researching explainable constraint programming and human-centric AI systems. Her current work focuses on human-centric scheduling, exploring how explanations and AI techniques can make constraint-based optimisation systems more transparent, understandable, and useful for users.

Before joining CRT in AI, Andrea worked for over five years as a software engineer across backend, infrastructure, and full-stack engineering roles. She has industry experience building scalable systems, cloud infrastructure, process automation software, and optimisation tools for large-scale scheduling and timetabling applications.

Andrea completed her bachelor’s degree in International Media and Computer Science at HTW Berlin, where her thesis explored computer vision, machine learning, and IoT-based gesture recognition systems.

Supervisor: Professor Ken Brown

Ji Xinggang is a PhD student in Computer Science at University College Cork (UCC). His research interests lie at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on Quantum AI, Quantum Neural Networks, Quantum Machine Learning, and AI for Mathematics. His current research work is entitled Foundation Model for Stochastic Differential Equations.

He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mathematics from Waseda University and the National University of Singapore. Outside of academia, he enjoys traveling, going to the gym, and diving.

Supervisor: Dr. Harry Nguyen and Professor Barry O’Sullivan

Dr. Kinza Salim is a First Year PhD at the SFI CRT in Artificial intelligence. She achieved her MBBS degree from People’s University of Medical and Health Sciences, Pakistan. She is a gold medalist in the subject of Biochemistry and has recently completed her Postgraduate Clinical training in Otorhinolaryngology from Capital Hospital, Islamabad. She is an enthusiastic medical practitioner and a BLS provider.

Her keen interest in the field of research has led to the publication of an article named Investigation of low back pain and intervertebral disc using fatigue loading a review in 2022 and she is also recently working on a thesis titled effect of cochlear implantation on vestibular function.

Dr Kinza was a subeditor in Med Hoc magazine during her undergraduate studies. She has experience of teaching medical students and has worked as a demonstrator in the Anatomy department. She also participated in the charity ‘Love Your Eyes’ World Sight Day symposium. Prior to joining CRT-AI, she was working as an occupational medical officer in Islamabad. Dr. Kinza has experience teaching medical students and worked as a demonstrator in the Anatomy department. Her supervisor is Dr. Harry Nguyen, and she will be working closely with the National Learning Analytics Unit spearheaded by Professor George Shorten.

In her spare time, she reads books, likes to play badminton and Scrabble, loves to write short poems and blogs, and watches documentaries.

Supervisors are Dr. Harry Nguyen and Dr. Vijayakumar Nanjappan as supervisor and Dr. Rosane Minghim 

Khanh-Tung Tran holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology, Vietnam. With a background in academia and industry, he has enriched his skills and knowledge through research roles at WARA Media and Language (Sweden) and FPT Software (Vietnam). He has been working on large-scale research projects, under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Johanna Björklund, Asst. Prof. Harry Nguyen, Dr. Xuan-Son Vu, and Dr. Duy Khuong Nguyen. His research interests include sound signal processing, spatio-temporal models, and multimodal machine learning.

Supervisor: Dr. Harry Nguyen 

Dung, also known as Robert is a first year PhD, working with Dr. Harry Nguyen (UCC).Dung holds a BSc in Computer Science from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam. He also worked at AI Centre at FPT Software for two years. 

His research work title Medical Training Analytics Framework with Enhanced Feedback using Reliable AI methods. 

In his spare time, Dung enjoys reading, going to the gym and hanging out with his friends. 

I am a first-year PhD student in the SFI Centre for Research Training in Artificial Intelligence in University College Cork. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in computer science in University of Glasgow and worked as a research assistant in National University of Singapore prior to joining the CRT-AI funded PhD programme. My supervisor is Dr Harry Nguyen and my current research topic is Geographical Mapping and Sustainable Impact Assessment AI. In my spare time, I enjoy doing martial arts.

Supervisors: Dr. Harry Nguyen & Professor Barry O’Sullivan 

I am a Ukrainian citizen residing in Western Ukraine’s Chernivtsi city. I completed my education as a Computer Engineer at Yuriy Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University, where I also received a master’s degree in Engineering with a focus on IoT Technologies and Cyber-physical Systems. I spent a semester studying in Germany as an exchange student, and during my master’s degree, I studied in Austria. In between my studies, I participated in the Work and Travel program in the United States. Overall, my academic pursuits have been diverse, spanning multiple countries and areas of study, providing me with a well-rounded education and valuable life experiences.

Since my bachelor’s study, I have engaged in various scientific endeavors focused on advanced computing, such as attending the ECODAM and IEEE International Conference on Electronics and Information Technologies. In addition to this, I worked in an IT company as a 3D artist, creating visualizations for mobile video games. My varied interests have helped me acquire the ability to work in different roles effectively. During my research, I designed a genetic algorithm for producing reversible circuits, which are more energy-efficient and less prone to faults than traditional circuitry.

Presently, I am collaborating with Professor Sabin Tabirca to create a medical resource scheduling application specifically for operating theatres in surgical procedures. By merging my expertise in evolutionary computing for optimal solutions and deep learning prediction models, we are developing an automated and efficient scheduler suitable for implementation in hospitals. In my leisure time, I have a keen interest in learning Japanese and playing the piano. I enjoy listening to new audiobooks focused on self-help or science fiction, and I have a passion for movies with profound meaning. 

Supervisors: Professor Sabin Tabirca & Professor Mark Corrigan (CoMH UCC)

Nicola Rossberg is a first-year PhD candidate at University College Cork. In 2023 she received her MSc in Data Science Cum Laude from Tilburg University. During her Master’s program she conducted research in the areas of Natural Language Processing and Deep learning. Her Master’s Thesis, “Explainable Multiclass Classification using Deep Neural Networks for Orthopaedic Applications” was completed under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Visentin and in co-operation with University College Cork. In her free time she enjoys reading and spending time exercising. She is especially fond of rowing and lifting weights.

Supervisors: Professor Barry O’Sullivan & Dr. Andrea Visentin