Talal Shaikh is an educator and industry-turned academic with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, software engineering, and intelligent robotics. He currently serves as Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai. Before transitioning to academia, Talal Shaikh accumulated over a decade of industrial experience, including roles as a Chief Information Officer and Software Engineer. His work bridges practical industry insights and cutting-edge research in domains such as ubiquitous computing, IoT, machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies, and now includes WiFi-based sensing for healthcare applications as well as financial machine learning for enhanced analytics.

He is recognized for his innovative teaching methods, having supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations, many of which achieved distinctions. He has received multiple Teaching Excellence Awards and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), UK. Through his research and teaching, Talal Shaikh continues to contribute to the advancement of intelligent systems and fosters student-centric learning environments.

Director of Undergraduate Studies (Dubai)

Programme Director of BSc Computer Science

Programme Director of BSc CS (AI)  & MSc Software Engineering

• Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing – Leveraging context-aware and sensor-based solutions
• IoT and M2M Technologies – Designing efficient communication and security in interconnected devices
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – Applying ML algorithms to robotics, big data analytics, and financial systems
• WiFi-Based Sensing & Emotion Recognition – Developing real-time healthcare applications for patient monitoring and diagnostics
• Robotics – Creating intelligent robots with applications in navigation, automation, and human-robot interaction
• Student Learning & Educational Research – Innovating teaching strategies and improving student experience in computing fields

• IoT, Ubiquitous Computing, Sensor Networks
• Machine Learning / Deep Learning
• Intelligent Robotics / Autonomous Systems
• Computer Vision / Image-based Detection
• WiFi Sensing / Emotion Recognition / Healthcare
• Financial Machine Learning / Predictive Analytics
• M2M Communication / Smart Environments
• Educational Technology / Student-Centered Learning