Team

Building a community of experts, collaborators, sponsors and stakeholders.

John Shawe-Taylor

John Shawe-Taylor

Director & UNESCO Chair in AI

Davor Orlič

Davor Orlič

Chief Operation Officer

Mihajela Črnko

Mihajela Črnko

Chief Communications Officer and Partnerships Lead

Monika Kropej

Monika Kropej

Centre Manager

Špela Sitar

Špela Sitar

Office Manager

Gašper Hrastelj

Gašper Hrastelj

Secretary General, Slovenian Commission for UNESCO, Governmental Contact Point

Marko Grobelnik

Marko Grobelnik

Chief Technical Officer, Digital Champion, AI researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute

Ervin Pfeifer

Ervin Pfeifer

Business Development, Jožef Stefan Institute

Matej Kovačič

Matej Kovačič

AI Researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute

Joao Pita Costa

Joao Pita Costa

AI Researcher, Jožef Stefan Institute

Tanja Zdolšek Draksler

Tanja Zdolšek Draksler

Researcher and Project Manager

Katherine Evans

Katherine Evans

Policy Expert

Jorge Andrés Clarke De la Cerda

Jorge Andrés Clarke De la Cerda

Strategic Advisor - AI, Innovation and Sustainability Expert

Benjamin Majcen

Benjamin Majcen

Project Manager

Ana Fabjan

Ana Fabjan

Brand Designer

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

Renée Cummings

Criminologist, AI Ethicist, Data Activist in Residence, School of Data Science, University of Virginia

Beena Ammanath

Beena Ammanath

Executive Director of Deloitte AI Institute

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Head of the Centre for Trustworthy Technology, World Economic Forum Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network

Maria Fasli

Maria Fasli

UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Health, University of Essex

Kathleen Siminyu

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

Massimo Preziuso

Chair of Business and Impact Council

Samira Khan

Samira Khan

Global Impact Engagement, Salesforce.org

Chelsea Chen

Chelsea Chen

Chief Business Communication Officer

Daniel Matkovits

Daniel Matkovits

Head of Influencer Ecosystems, Professional Services, Global Consulting Industry

Melissa Sassi

Melissa Sassi

Global Head of IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator

Daniel Miodovnik

Daniel Miodovnik

Director, Social Finance

Andreja Kodrin

Andreja Kodrin

CEO Third Millennium Knowledge, Founder Quintaum & Challenge: Future

Ben Younkman

Ben Younkman

Regional Director for Europe, Village Capital

Simone Severini

Simone Severini

Director, Quantum computing, Amazon Web Services, and Professor of Physics of Information, University College London

Cosimo Pacciani

Cosimo Pacciani

Financial Executive

Suzanne Yuen

Suzanne Yuen

Director of Data Science, Salesforce.org

Bianca Lopes

Bianca Lopes

Co-Founder of Talle, Identity & Data Expert

Toby Sparwasser Soroka

Toby Sparwasser Soroka

Briink

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

Catherine Holloway

Professor and Academic Director, Global Disability Innovation Hub at UCL

PC Chair in AI and Assistive Technologies

Colin de la Higuera

Colin de la Higuera

UNESCO Chair in teacher training technologies with OER

 

PC Chair in AI and Education

Aidan O'Sullivan

Aidan O'Sullivan

Associate Professor in Energy and AI at UCL

 

PC Chair in AI and Climate Change

Mitja Jermol

Mitja Jermol

UNESCO Chair on Open Technologies for OER and Open Learning

PC Chair in AI and Circular Economy

Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes

Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes

Professor of Biomedical Computing at UCL

PC Chair in AI and Healthcare

Vanessa nurock

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

Matjaž Mikoš

Matjaž Mikoš

Professor of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, UNESCO Chair in Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction

PC Chair in AI and Water Resources Management

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)

John Shawe-Taylor (Editor in Chief)

UCL and IRCAI

Machine Learning, AI, Reinforcement Learning, Statistical Learning Theory, Kernel Methods, Applications

Marko Grobelnik

Marko Grobelnik

IRCAI

Large Scale Machine Learning, Digital Twins, Symbolic and Sub-Symbolic Learning

Catherine Holloway

Catherine Holloway

UCL

Assistive Technologies, Human Computer Interaction, User Studies

Colin de la Higuera

Colin de la Higuera

University of Nantes and IRCAI

Natural Language Processing, AI and Education, Open Educational Resources

Bolanle Oladejo

Bolanle Oladejo

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

PC Artificial Intelligence Applications to Knowledge Management

Aidan O'Sullivan

Aidan O'Sullivan

UCL

AI and Energy, Measuring Sustainable Development, Remote Sensing

Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes

Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes

UCL

AI and Health, Tropical Diseases, Proteomics and Machine Learning, Signal Processing

Mitja Jermol

Mitja Jermol

IRCAI

AI and Social Science, Circular Economy, Open Educational Resources, AI and Education

James Hodson

James Hodson

Chief Executive Officer, AI for Good Foundation

Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing

Mark Coeckelbergh

Mark Coeckelbergh

University of Vienna

Ethical, Philosophical, Policy And Societal Dimensions of AI

Ricardo Vinuesa

Ricardo Vinuesa

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

AI for Sustainable Dev., Fluid Dynamics And Turbulence

Moses Thiga

Moses Thiga

Kabarak University

Health Informatics with a Focus on the Use of AI for Health

Yi Zeng

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

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

Wayne Holmes

UCL Institute of Education

AI and Education, Learning Sciences, Social Science

Geraint Rees

Geraint Rees

University College London


Cognitive Neuroscience, Neural Mechanisms Underlying Human Consciousness in Health And Disease
Vipin Kumar

Vipin Kumar

University of Minnesota

Data Science, High Performance Computing, Climate Change, Sustainable Development

Vanessa Nurock

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

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

Gorazd Andrejč

SRC Koper/University of Groningen

Ethical, Philosophical Dimensions of AI

Hamish Fraser

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

Lama Arabiat

Head of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Division, Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship

NCP of Jordan
Vladimir Aleksandar Radevski

Vladimir Aleksandar Radevski

South East European University, Tetovo

NCP of Macedonia
Ljubica Ilić Vojnović

Ljubica Ilić Vojnović

Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development

NCP of Serbia

Sven Lončarić

Sven Lončarić

Director of Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb

NCP of Croatia
Amra Džidić

Amra Džidić

First Secretary, UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

NCP of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Markus Schatten

Markus Schatten

Head of Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb

NCP of Croatia
Josip Mesarić

Josip Mesarić

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing

NCP of Croatia
Lukas Hatala

Lukas Hatala

CEO, Neuromorphics Europe

NCP of Slovakia
Jonatan Lerga

Jonatan Lerga

Head of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, University of Rijeka

NCP of Croatia
Phoukhaoka Sacklokham

Phoukhaoka Sacklokham

Director, ICT Center for Education and Sports, Ministry of Education and Sports

NCP of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Jordi Ascensi Sala

Jordi Ascensi Sala

PMO Manager, Andorra Research and Innovation, Actuatech

NCP of Andorra

Dominik Batorski

Dominik Batorski

Research Professor, University of Warsaw

NCP of Poland

Petri J. Myllymäki

Petri J. Myllymäki

Vice-Director, Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence

NCP of Finland

Marko Perčić

Marko Perčić

Postodoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Engineering University of Rijeka

NCP of Croatia

Kadir Eren Gülsoy

Kadir Eren Gülsoy

National Education Expert, Ministry of National Education

NCP of Turkey

Alperen TOSUN

Alperen TOSUN

Sector Specialist, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO

NCP of Turkey

Alex Grech

Alex Grech

Executive Director, The 3CL Foundation

NCP of Malta

Maxime HINSON

Maxime HINSON

Directeur des Systèmes d'Information, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique

NCP of Benin

Ernesto Jorge Costa

Ernesto Jorge Costa

Professor, University of Coimbra

NCP of Portugal

Eliaz Luf

Eliaz Luf

Director of International Relations, Ministry of Science and Technology

NCP of Israel

Juan Pablo Salazar

Juan Pablo Salazar

Digital Government and Emergent Technologies Adviser, Ministry of Information Communications Technologies

NCP of Colombia

Peter Sinčák

Peter Sinčák

Technical University of Kosice, Research Head of Slovak AI Center

NCP of Slovakia

Taye Girma Debelee

Taye Girma Debelee

Deputy Director General, Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Center

NCP of Ethiopia

Kristinn R Thorisson

Kristinn R Thorisson

Professor, Reykjavik University and Director, Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines

NCP of Iceland

Fredrik Heintz

Fredrik Heintz

Professor, Linköping University

NCP of Sweden

Maria Bielikova

Maria Bielikova

Director-General, Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies

NCP of Slovakia

Muhannad Nasser Al-Naabi

Muhannad Nasser Al-Naabi

Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology

NCP of Oman

Christian BYK

Christian BYK

French National Commission for UNESCO

NCP of France

Martina Le Gall Maláková

Martina Le Gall Maláková

President, Industry Innovation Cluster

NCP of Slovakia

Joel Abduel Samuel

Joel Abduel Samuel

Deputy Secretary General, National Commision for UNESCO

NCP of Tanzania

Abiodun Ogunbiyi

Abiodun Ogunbiyi

President/CEO/Founder, Aerospace Palace International

NCP of Nigeria

Hugo Cyr

Hugo Cyr

Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal

NCP of Canada

Edson Prestes

Edson Prestes

Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

NCP of Brazil

ROSA MARIA VICARI

ROSA MARIA VICARI

Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil

NCP of Brazil

Peter Spyns

Peter Spyns

Coordinator International R&I Policy & Senior AI Advisor, Flemish Department of Economy, Science and Innovation

NCP of Belgium

Fabio Cozman

Fabio Cozman

Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence, Universidade de Sao Paulo

NCP of Brazil

Noura Nasser Alabri

Noura Nasser Alabri

Assistant Director, Oman National Commission for Education, Culture and Science

NCP of Oman

Aditya Kiran Kaushik

Aditya Kiran Kaushik

Fellow (Consultant), New Emerging & Strategic Technologies Division (NEST), Ministry of External Affairs, India

NCP of India

Michal Valco

Michal Valco

Professor, Department of Church History, Comenius University

NCP of Slovakia

Fatih Sinan Esen

Fatih Sinan Esen

Scientific Programmes Chief Expert,The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

NCP of Turkey

Matthias Grabner

Matthias Grabner

Director of Technology, Advantage Austria

NCP of Austria

Şennur ÇETİN

Şennur ÇETİN

Head of Department, Ministry of National Education

NCP of Turkey

Vagner Diniz

Vagner Diniz

Manager, NIC.br

NCP of Brazil

Philippe-André Rodriguez

Philippe-André Rodriguez

Deputy Director, Centre for International Digital Policy at Global Affairs Canada

NCP of Canada

Alberto Merchante González

Alberto Merchante González

Technical Counsellor, Spanish Ministry of Economics and Digital Transformation

NCP of Spain

Antonis Constantinos Kakas

Antonis Constantinos Kakas

Professor, University of Cyprus

NCP of Cyprus

Ahmed Guessoum

Ahmed Guessoum

Professor, University of Science and Technology Houari Bouemediene

NCP of Algeria

Mattia Fantinati

Mattia Fantinati

Italian Government

NCP of Italy

Guy Aymard Degla

Guy Aymard Degla

Research Scientist, Institut de Mathematiques et de Sciences Physiques, University of Abomey-Calavi

NCP of Benin

Marike Bontenbal

Marike Bontenbal

Senior Policy Advisor Science and Innovation, Netherlands Commission for UNESCO

NCP of Netherlands

Md. Moshiur Rahman

Md. Moshiur Rahman

CEO, Brainex Bangladesh

NCP of Bangladesh

MEHMET HAKLIDIR

MEHMET HAKLIDIR

Head of Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Lab.(B3LAB),TUBITAK BILGEM

NCP of Turkey

Stein van Oosteren

Stein van Oosteren

Attaché, Permanent Delegation Netherlands to UNESCO

NCP of France

Rashad Azizov

Rashad Azizov

Head of Department, Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan

NCP of Azerbaijan

Ashley Casovan

Ashley Casovan

Executive Director, Responsible AI Institute

NCP of Canada

Ahmed AlDhanhani

Ahmed AlDhanhani

Senior Researcher, Khalifa University

NCP of United Arab Emirates

 Yuri Dmitrievich Tsvetkov

Yuri Dmitrievich Tsvetkov

Expert for the International Regulation of AI and End-to-End Technologies, Skoltech

NCP of Russia

Anna Alekseevna Zhdanova

Anna Alekseevna Zhdanova

Projects Coordinator for AI and Math Modeling, Skoltech

NCP of Russia

Maxim Fedorov

Maxim Fedorov

Vice-President for Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modelling, Skoltech

NCP of Russia

Cezary Mazurek

Cezary Mazurek

Director, Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center

NCP of Poland

Martin Lipinský

Martin Lipinský

Project manager, Industry Innovation Cluster (IIC)

NCP of Slovakia

Cooperation with

the JoŽef 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/

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
on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI)
under the auspices of UNESCO 

Jožef Stefan Institute
Jamova cesta 39
SI-1000 Ljubljana

info@ircai.org
ircai.org

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