College of Information Technology

Capabilities

The College of Information Technology (CIT) offers research capabilities on a global scale.  Our highly experienced faculty and graduate students can provide a wealth of standardized and customized solutions to serve society’s needs. The college has a broad range of active research interests that include:

• The Internet of Things (IoT)
• Artificial Intelligence
• Bioinformatics
• Communications and Mobile Networking Systems
• Data Analytics/Data mining
• E-Health
• Grid/Cloud Computing
• Smart Grid Systems
• Information, Network and Cyber Security
• Privacy
• VLSI design

To support these research activities, the CIT is home to some of the most up-to-date laboratories anywhere in the world. There are 20 specialized laboratories that include laboratories dedicated to Robotics and AI, Data Science, Information Security and Privacy, Drones and IoT, Grid and Cloud Computing, and Immersive Learning.

The CIT hosts a distinguished lecture series to engage both faculty and students in current research activities. It also hosts the Middle East’s largest and most prestigious annual IT research conference, ‘The International Conference on Innovations in IT,’ which has become a hub for IT research innovation and has received worldwide recognition.

Opportunities

The College of Information Technology offers a remarkably diverse array of research opportunities for both faculty and students. Faculty and students can enjoy access to over 20 specialized research laboratories. Research support is provided through the following grants:
Internal Grants

These are university-funded grants that are available to all UAEU faculty through a university-wide competition. They include the following:

• UAEU Program for Advanced Research (UPAR)
• Research Start-up Grant Competition
• UAEU Interdisciplinary Center-based Research Grant Competition
• UAEU Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) Program

Calls for proposals, proposal templates, and submission deadlines for internal grants are announced here.

External Grants

These are externally funded projects from international and national institutions interested in conducting research in information technology. The faculty, the college, or the university at large may initiate these opportunities. Externally funded grant opportunities, when available, are announced through the college website or here. Some of the current external grants available include:

• The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Fund
• National Research Foundation (NRF)
• Aerospace by Dassault Aviation
• Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency
• Space Science and Technology Center
• Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)

College Research Support Programs

These are college-funded research opportunities available only to CIT faculty and students intended to support research. They include:

• The Faculty Research Seed Grant: A funding opportunity to support junior faculty to initiate a research project.
• International conference travel funding at the college level: Each faculty member is given the opportunity for financial support to attend a reputable conference for a full paper review once a year.

Research Groups

The College of IT (CIT) seeks to foster high-quality research and to improve the college’s long-term research capacity by establishing and executing a research strategy that is designed to deliver excellent research outcomes commensurate with UAEU’s strategic priorities and the national drive towards a knowledge-based economy. To help achieve that, the CIT established research groups with the aim to produce high-quality research and successfully engage the college in strategic sponsorship, partnership, and collaboration with national and international entities and to be the catalyst for interdisciplinary research at the UAEU. The Research Groups are in the areas of Data Science and Data Analytic, Cybersecurity and Privacy, Computer Vision, Intelligent Distributed Computing and Systems, AI and Robotics, Brain Computer Interface, and Connected Autonomous Systems and IoT

Research Group	Coordinator	Position	Email	Ext.
Computer Vision Lab (CVLab)	Dr. Shengcai Liao	Associate Professor	scliao@uaeu.ac.ae	5593
Intelligent Distributed Computing and Systems	Dr. Leila Ismail	Associate Professor	leila@uaeu.ac.ae	5530
AI and Robotics Lab	Prof. Fady Al Najjar	Professor	fady.alnajjar@uaeu.ac.ae	5538
Brain Computer Interface lab	Dr. Abdelkader N Belkacem	Associate Professor	belkacem@uaeu.ac.ae	5581
Data Science and Analytics Lab	Prof. Nazar Zaki	Professor	nzaki@uaeu.ac.ae	5571
Autonomous Systems and IoT Lab (ASIL)	Prof. Abderrahmane Lakas	Professor	alakas@uaeu.ac.ae	5533
Cyber Security Research Group	Dr. Norziana Jamil	Associate Professor	norziana@uaeu.ac.ae	5575

 

Publications

Please click here to view the publication profile for the College of Information Technology. Please note that the publications listed are categorized by faculty/researcher and not by their current place of employment. Therefore, some publications listed may not have been done whilst the faculty member/researcher was employed at the United Arab Emirates University.

Industry

The CIT provides opportunities for cooperation with industry partners and government agencies through joint research and/ or consultancy services. Our research partnerships and consultancies include the National Science Foundation, IBM, SAP, EMC, Cisco, DASSAULT, FEWA, ADWEA, DEWA, Thuraya, Du, Etisalat, the UAE Air Force, ADEC, Abu Dhabi Police, Dubai eGov, Intel, Advanced Technology Investment Company, and the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

For more information, please contact:
Prof. Abderrahmane Lakas
Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
College of Information Technology

Phone: +971 3 7135533
Email: alakas@uaeu.ac.ae