Dr Ahmed Zoha
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Distributed AI
SMIEEE · FRSA · FRET
I believe AI should do more than think—it should care. As a technology leader, educator, and advocate for responsible innovation, I have dedicated my career to building intelligent systems that advance AI for social good.
Recognized among Stanford's Top 2% Most Cited Scientists and endorsed as a UK Exceptional Talent by the Royal Academy of Engineering, I lead research at the intersection of Federated Learning, Edge Intelligence, and AI-Driven Systems. With 5,450 citations, £2.2M in competitive external funding, 132 publications, and 11 PhD completions, my work bridges theoretical breakthroughs with transformative applications—from award-winning NHS-deployed systems for dementia care to privacy-preserving technologies for smart cities.
As Director of FLAIR, I lead a group of dynamic researchers in developing distributed AI that protects privacy while unlocking collaborative intelligence. My vision is a world-leading programme that translates cutting-edge research into real-world impact across healthcare, infrastructure, and beyond.
I am equally passionate about education and mentorship—shaping the next generation of AI researchers and practitioners who will carry this mission forward. For me, the true measure of research is not publications alone, but lives improved and problems solved.
Research Impact & Recognition
Global Research Standing
- • Stanford University Top 2% Most Cited Scientists (2022-2023)
- • Total Citations: 5,450 | h-index: 32 (Google Scholar, September 2026)
- • 132 publications: 16 first-author, 49 senior author, 67 co-authored
- • One in five Scopus-indexed outputs in the top 10% most-cited worldwide
- • 62% of papers in top-10% journals by CiteScore (Scopus)
Real-World Impact & Translation
- • Award-winning NHS-deployed AI system for dementia care (200+ homes, 650+ people)
- • Research cited in 3 government policy documents (UK Parliament & EU)
- • Research cited in 68 patent documents (Lens.org, September 2026)
- • Research featured in 22+ media outlets
- • Founding shareholder and director, InfraMesh Energy Ltd — £320K seed round led by AI Seed
Professional Recognition & Awards
- • UK Exceptional Talent - Royal Academy of Engineering (2017)
- • University Teaching Excellence Award (University-level), University of Glasgow (2026)
- • EAI Distinguished Member — a title held by the top 0.5% of members (2022)
- • Senior Member - IEEE
- • Fellow - Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
- • Two IEEE Best Paper Awards (Intelligent Systems 2012, ISSNIP 2013)
Impactful research requires more than technical excellence—it demands strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and a relentless focus on solving problems that matter.— Dr Ahmed Zoha
Major Funded Programmes Led/Contributed
£2.2M in competitive external funding: £433,446 as Principal Investigator (including EPSRC MIMER and the Innovate UK KTP with AWTG) and £1.76M as Co-Investigator (Scotland 5G Centre and DCMS 5G New Thinking), plus two SFC Global Challenges awards as Co-Investigator.
LEAP (Aruva)
Knowledge Transfer Partnership with AWTG Limited (£159,968 grant, £78,789 company contribution) producing Aruva, an AI platform for higher education.
MIMER
Leading international consortium developing state-of-the-art deepfake detection solutions in partnership with governmental and commercial stakeholders.
Scotland 5G Centre UoG Testbed
AI/ML work-package lead. PECN energy sensing live in a 2,000-occupant campus building, demonstrated at COP26. Worked with 30+ academic and industrial partners (Samsung, Nokia, Cisco).
5G New Thinking (UoG)
Led the design of a portable RF sensing device for older people, deployed in a remote care home with Albyn Housing and CISCO.
Quality-Aware Self-Organising Network
Led international consortium (USA, UK, Spain) to develop autonomous network management solutions for 5G heterogeneous networks.
TIHM Healthcare AI
Designed the activity-pattern and anomaly-detection models for TIHM, deployed across 200+ homes supporting 650+ people; later CE-marked and MHRA-registered as a medical device.
Ed-Tech Innovation Grants
Led portfolio of education-technology innovation grants, driving the integration of advanced learning technologies such as eye-tracking analytics and immersive XR into engineering education.
EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Grants
Led an EPSRC IAA funding portfolio totalling £65K, translating AI, IoT and energy analytics research into real-world solutions for independent living and smart buildings.
Appointments & Service Roles
Academic Appointments
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor)
University of Glasgow, UK
Director of FLAIR; PI on EPSRC MIMER and Innovate UK KTP with AWTG; 11 PhD completions; currently principal supervisor of five and second supervisor of four; two postdocs and six research assistants
Programme Director, Communications Engineering
Glasgow College UESTC, University of Glasgow
Accountable for academic standards of a UK degree delivered in China; co-led the programmes' IET reaccreditation under AHEP4
Lecturer
University of Glasgow, UK
Independent research in machine learning for self-organising cellular networks and remote health monitoring; grew doctoral supervision to eight concurrent students
Visiting Assistant Professor
Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Taught Digital Communication Systems at MSc level and advised on outcome-based engineering programme accreditation
Research Appointments
Knowledge Exchange Associate (5G and Beyond)
University of Glasgow, UK
Translated 5G and machine-learning research toward industry adoption with the Scotland 5G Centre partnership; continued the TIHM NHS dementia-monitoring collaboration
Research Fellow (Data Analytics & ML)
5G Innovation Centre, University of Surrey, UK
Led the machine-learning analytics engine for TIHM, deployed across 200+ homes supporting 650+ people; later CE-marked and MHRA-registered
Research Fellow (AI & Cyber-Physical Systems)
iTrust Research Centre, SUTD, Singapore
Developed data-driven anomaly detection for critical water-infrastructure control systems using operational testbed telemetry
Research Scientist (Principal Researcher)
Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre, Qatar
Led machine-learning research within QSON, a $1.45M QNRF-funded self-organising networks programme
Editorial Leadership
- Associate Editor — Journal of Big Data (Impact Factor: 8.1)
- Associate Editor — Frontiers in Communication and Networks
- Guest Editor — 3 special issues on ML/FL for IoT
- Book Editor — Body Area Networks (Springer, 2021)
- Book Editor — Multimodal Intelligent Sensing (Wiley-IEEE Press, 2024)
Conference Leadership
- Chair Technical Programme — EAI BodyNets 2021, Glasgow (200+ attendees)
- TPC Chair — IEEE PIMRC 2024 6G workshop, Toronto
- Keynotes — IEEE SPS Seasonal School (2026), EIT Digital Edinburgh (2019), ICETEMS Pakistan (2014)
- Industry Chair — Deepfakes roundtable with Cifas and JPMorgan (2026)
- Publicity Chair — 4th UK-China Emerging Technologies (UCET), Glasgow (2019-2020)
- Lead Organizer — 1st 5G Workshop on Sustainable 5G, University of Glasgow (2018)
Examining & Grant Review
- PhD Examiner — External examiner at nine institutions in five countries
- External Evaluator — New College Durham Foundation Degree in AI and Applied Data Analytics, validated by Durham University (2026)
- Grant Reviewer — EPSRC College, UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships, HBKU Qatar, HEC Pakistan, NCSTE Kyrgyzstan
- Journal Reviewer — 20+ Q1 journals including IEEE Transactions and Nature
Professional Advisory
- CSC Academic Advisor — FCDO UK (2022–Present)
- Advisory Board Member — Cloudlab Pvt Limited
- Visiting Researcher — AI4Network, University of Oklahoma (2016–Present)
Education
Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Distinction)
University of Glasgow, UK
Electrical & Electronic Engineering
University of Surrey, UK
Communication Engineering
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Electronic Engineering (Distinction)
Air University, Pakistan
Teaching Leadership & Curriculum Design
Programme Leadership
- • Programme Director for Communications Engineering
- • Coordinated successful IET accreditation (AHEP 4 aligned)
- • Oversee curriculum strategy and academic programme review
- • Manage transnational partnership with UESTC China
Curriculum Design
- • Designed 4 courses spanning PhD to undergraduate level
- • Created AI-Driven Wireless Systems course (PhD)
- • Developed AI/ML, Digital Communications, and Programming courses
- • Courses delivered to 250-400 students annually
Global Reach
- • Coursera contributor: '6G for a Connected Future' specialization
- • Module on Multimodalities-enabled Smart Wireless Networks
- • £60K+ secured for technology-enhanced learning innovation
Let's Collaborate
I'm always open to discussing research collaborations, PhD supervision opportunities, industry partnerships, or speaking engagements. Let's explore how we can work together to advance AI for social good.
Get in Touch