Team
Building a community of experts, collaborators, sponsors and stakeholders.
John Shawe-Taylor
Director & UNESCO Chair in AI
Davor Orlič
Chief Operation Officer
Mihajela Črnko
Chief Communications Officer and Partnerships Lead
Kim Sevšek
Finance Management
Gašper Hrastelj
Secretary General, Slovenian Commission for UNESCO, Governmental Contact Point
Marko Grobelnik
Chief Technical Officer, Digital Champion, AI researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute
Ervin Pfeifer
Business Development, Jožef Stefan Institute
Matej Kovačič
AI researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute
Joao Pita Costa
AI researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute
Katherine Evans
Policy expert
Hana Gärtner
Design Lead
ADVISORY BOARD
The role of the Advisory Board is to provide current knowledge, critical thinking and analysis to increase the confidence of the decision-makers at IRCAI.
Renée Cummings
Criminologist, AI Ethicist, Data Activist in Residence, School of Data Science, University of Virginia
Beena Ammanath
Executive Director of Deloitte AI Institute
Kay Firth-Butterfield
Head of AI & Machine Learning and Member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum
Maria Fasli
UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Health, University of Essex
Kathleen Siminyu
Machine Learning Fellow, Mozilla Foundation
BUSINESS & IMPACT COUNCIL
The Center has setup a Business Council with the main goal to ensure that actions are taken and opportunities realised that will maximise the impact of the work of the centre in addressing SDGs. It will liaise with outside venture capital funds aligned with the centre in order to identify potential opportunities for basic funding as well as spin-out companies arising from different grand challenges and projects. It will provide input to the different Scientific Program Committees to ensure that challenges and projects can be prepared and will maximise the exploitation avenues available.
Massimo Preziuso
Chair of Business and Impact Council
Samira Khan
Global Impact Engagement, Salesforce.org
Chelsea Chen
Chief Business Communication Officer
Daniel Matkovits
Head of Influencer Ecosystems, Professional Services, Global Consulting Industry
Melissa Sassi
Global Head of IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator
Daniel Miodovnik
Director, Social Finance
Andreja Kodrin
CEO Third Millennium Knowledge, Founder Quintaum & Challenge: Future
Ben Younkman
Regional Director for Europe, Village Capital
Melina Sánchez Montañés
Managing Director, Innovation Fund
Cosimo Pacciani
Financial Executive
Suzanne Yuen
Director of Data Science, Salesforce.org
Bianca Lopes
Co-Founder of Talle, Identity & Data Expert
Toby Sparwasser Soroka
Merantix
Simone Severini
Director, Quantum computing, Amazon Web Services, and Professor of Physics of Information, University College London
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME COMMITTEES
With special focus on research excellence, the Centre is undertaking vital work looking at different approaches of Artificial Intelligence towards UN SDGs. This work resulted in accompanying AI platforms, reports and white papers that were managed by the Chairs of the following Programme Committees:
Catherine Holloway
Professor and Academic Director, Global Disability Innovation Hub at UCL
PC Chair in AI and Assistive Technologies
Colin de la Higuera
UNESCO Chair in teacher training technologies with OER
PC Chair in AI and Education
Aidan O'Sullivan
Associate Professor in Energy and AI at UCL
PC Chair in AI and Climate Change
Mitja Jermol
UNESCO Chair on Open Technologies for OER and Open Learning
PC Chair in AI and Circular Economy
Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes
Professor of Biomedical Computing at UCL
PC Chair in AI and Healthcare
Vanessa nurock
Professor of Philosophy at the Université de Côte d'Azur (France) and UNESCO EVA Chair (Ethique du Vivant et de l'Artificiel /Ethics of the Living and the Artificial)
PC Chair in AI and Ethics
SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD
The Center is launching an interdisciplinary academic journal seeking academic papers that address the application of novel AI techniques to either advancing Sustainable Development or enhancing the measurement of KPIs associated with the SDGs.
John Shawe-Taylor (Editor in Chief)
UCL and IRCAI
Machine Learning, AI, Reinforcement Learning, Statistical Learning Theory, Kernel Methods, Applications
Marko Grobelnik
IRCAI
Large Scale Machine Learning, Digital Twins, Symbolic and Sub-Symbolic Learning
Catherine Holloway
UCL
Assistive Technologies, Human Computer Interaction, User Studies
Colin de la Higuera
University of Nantes and IRCAI
Natural Language Processing, AI and Education, Open Educational Resources
Bolanle Oladejo
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
PC Artificial Intelligence Applications to Knowledge Management
Aidan O'Sullivan
UCL
AI and Energy, Measuring Sustainable Development, Remote Sensing
Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes
UCL
AI and Health, Tropical Diseases, Proteomics and Machine Learning, Signal Processing
Mitja Jermol
IRCAI
AI and Social Science, Circular Economy, Open Educational Resources, AI and Education
James Hodson
Chief Executive Officer, AI for Good Foundation
Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing
Mark Coeckelbergh
University of Vienna
Ethical, Philosophical, Policy And Societal Dimensions of AI
Ricardo Vinuesa
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
AI for Sustainable Dev., Fluid Dynamics And Turbulence
Moses Thiga
Kabarak University
Health Informatics with a Focus on the Use of AI for Health
Yi Zeng
Professor and Director of AI Ethics and AI for SDGs, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Beijing Academy of AI
AI Ethics and Sustainable Development
Rayid Ghani
Professor of Machine Learning And Public Policy, CMU
Machine Learning for Social Good, Data Science and Social Networks, Applications of AI in Sustainable Dev.
Wayne Holmes
UCL Institute of Education
AI and Education, Learning Sciences, Social Science
Geraint Rees
University College London
Cognitive Neuroscience, Neural Mechanisms Underlying Human Consciousness in Health And Disease
Vipin Kumar
University of Minnesota
Data Science, High Performance Computing, Climate Change, Sustainable Development
Vanessa Nurock
Professor of Philosophy at the Université de Côte d'Azur (France) and UNESCO EVA Chair (Ethique du Vivant et de l'Artificiel /Ethics of the Living and the Artificial)
Ethical, Philosophical Dimensions of AI
Michael Witbrock
Professor, Waipapa Taumata Rau (The University of Auckland) and AI4Good Foundation
Natural Language, Reasoning, Deep Learning systems, AI for Social Good
Gorazd Andrejč
SRC Koper/University of Groningen
Ethical, Philosophical Dimensions of AI
Hamish Fraser
Brown University
Medical Science, Informatics, Clinical Decision Making, Global Health
NATIONAL CONTACT POINTS
The NCPs are the main structure to provide guidance, practical information and assistance on allaspects of participation with governments interacting with IRCAI. NCPs are across UNESCO member states. As the NCPs are nationalfocal points, the type and level of services offered may differ from country to country. There are currently 23 national contact points at IRCAI.
Lama Arabiat
Head of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Division, Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship
Vladimir Aleksandar Radevski
South East European University, Tetovo
Ljubica Ilić Vojnović
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development
NCP of Serbia
Sven Lončarić
Director of Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb
Amra Džidić
First Secretary, UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NCP of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Markus Schatten
Head of Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb
Josip Mesarić
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Lukas Hatala
CEO, Neuromorphics Europe
Jonatan Lerga
Head of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, University of Rijeka
Phoukhaoka Sacklokham
Director, ICT Center for Education and Sports, Ministry of Education and Sports
NCP of Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Jordi Ascensi Sala
PMO Manager, Andorra Research and Innovation, Actuatech
NCP of Andorra
Dominik Batorski
Research Professor, University of Warsaw
NCP of Poland
Petri J. Myllymäki
Vice-Director, Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence
NCP of Finland
Marko Perčić
Postodoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Engineering University of Rijeka
NCP of Croatia
Kadir Eren Gülsoy
National Education Expert, Ministry of National Education
NCP of Turkey
Alperen TOSUN
Sector Specialist, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO
NCP of Turkey
Alex Grech
Executive Director, The 3CL Foundation
NCP of Malta
Maxime HINSON
Directeur des Systèmes d'Information, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique
NCP of Benin
Ernesto Jorge Costa
Professor, University of Coimbra
NCP of Portugal
Eliaz Luf
Director of International Relations, Ministry of Science and Technology
NCP of Israel
Juan Pablo Salazar
Digital Government and Emergent Technologies Adviser, Ministry of Information Communications Technologies
NCP of Colombia
Peter Sinčák
Technical University of Kosice, Research Head of Slovak AI Center
NCP of Slovakia
Taye Girma Debelee
Deputy Director General, Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Center
NCP of Ethiopia
Kristinn R Thorisson
Professor, Reykjavik University and Director, Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines
NCP of Iceland
Fredrik Heintz
Professor, Linköping University
NCP of Sweden
Maria Bielikova
Director-General, Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies
NCP of Slovakia
Muhannad Nasser Al-Naabi
Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology
NCP of Oman
Christian BYK
French National Commission for UNESCO
NCP of France
Martina Le Gall Maláková
President, Industry Innovation Cluster
NCP of Slovakia
Joel Abduel Samuel
Deputy Secretary General, National Commision for UNESCO
NCP of Tanzania
Hugo Cyr
Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal
NCP of Canada
Edson Prestes
Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
NCP of Brazil
ROSA MARIA VICARI
Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
NCP of Brazil
Peter Spyns
Coordinator International R&I Policy & Senior AI Advisor, Flemish Department of Economy, Science and Innovation
NCP of Belgium
Fabio Cozman
Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence, Universidade de Sao Paulo
NCP of Brazil
Noura Nasser Alabri
Assistant Director, Oman National Commission for Education, Culture and Science
NCP of Oman
Aditya Kiran Kaushik
Fellow (Consultant), New Emerging & Strategic Technologies Division (NEST), Ministry of External Affairs, India
NCP of India
Michal Valco
Professor, Department of Church History, Comenius University
NCP of Slovakia
Fatih Sinan Esen
Scientific Programmes Chief Expert,The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
NCP of Turkey
Matthias Grabner
Director of Technology, Advantage Austria
NCP of Austria
Şennur ÇETİN
Head of Department, Ministry of National Education
NCP of Turkey
Vagner Diniz
Manager, NIC.br
NCP of Brazil
Philippe-André Rodriguez
Deputy Director, Centre for International Digital Policy at Global Affairs Canada
NCP of Canada
Alberto Merchante González
Technical Counsellor, Spanish Ministry of Economics and Digital Transformation
NCP of Spain
Antonis Constantinos Kakas
Professor, University of Cyprus
NCP of Cyprus
Ahmed Guessoum
Professor, University of Science and Technology Houari Bouemediene
NCP of Algeria
Mattia Fantinati
Italian Government
NCP of Italy
Guy Aymard Degla
Research Scientist, Institut de Mathematiques et de Sciences Physiques, University of Abomey-Calavi
NCP of Benin
Marike Bontenbal
Senior Policy Advisor Science and Innovation, Netherlands Commission for UNESCO
NCP of Netherlands
Md. Moshiur Rahman
CEO, Brainex Bangladesh
NCP of Bangladesh
MEHMET HAKLIDIR
Head of Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Lab.(B3LAB),TUBITAK BILGEM
NCP of Turkey
Stein van Oosteren
Attaché, Permanent Delegation Netherlands to UNESCO
NCP of France
Rashad Azizov
Head of Department, Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan
NCP of Azerbaijan
Ashley Casovan
Executive Director, Responsible AI Institute
NCP of Canada
Ahmed AlDhanhani
Senior Researcher, Khalifa University
NCP of United Arab Emirates
Yuri Dmitrievich Tsvetkov
Expert for the International Regulation of AI and End-to-End Technologies, Skoltech
NCP of Russia
Anna Alekseevna Zhdanova
Projects Coordinator for AI and Math Modeling, Skoltech
NCP of Russia
Maxim Fedorov
Vice-President for Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modelling, Skoltech
NCP of Russia
Cezary Mazurek
Director, Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center
NCP of Poland
Abiodun Ogunbiyi
President/CEO/Founder, Aerospace Palace International
NCP of Nigeria
Martin Lipinský
Project manager, Industry Innovation Cluster (IIC)
NCP of Slovakia
Cooperation with
the ‘Jozef Stefan’ Institute
IRCAI is associated with the largest Slovenian research institute, in particular with the Department for Artificial Intelligence, which is mainly engaged in research and development of information technologies with emphasis on artificial intelligence and is headed by Prof. Dunja Mladenić. IRCAI is thus located in a group of about 40 researchers. The list of their projects and activities can be found here: https://ailab.ijs.si/
Mark Minevich
Special Advisor for AI at the Department for AI of the Jozef Stefan Institute
IRCAI’s mission is also based on the joint activities of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and the Centre for Knowledge Transfer in Information Technologies at the Jozef Stefan Institute. These two departments have successfully promoted science through the development of the UN award-winning educational portal VideoLectures.net. The success of this portal led to the establishment of the UNESCO Chair in OER and Open Education at the institute.
CONTACT
International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence
under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCAI)
Jožef Stefan Institute
Jamova cesta 39
SI-1000 Ljubljana
info@ircai.org
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