Prof. Andreas Pester and Prof. Hesham Ali

Biography:

Prof. Andreas Pester and Prof. Hesham Ali

Prof. Dr. habil. Andreas Pester is a mathematician and data scientist with over 45 years of experience in higher education, specializing in mathematical modelling, simulation technologies, and artificial intelligence. He is currently a professor at the Faculty of Informatics and Computer Science at BUE, where he leads the development of deep learning and natural language processing in both research and teaching. His academic career spans extensive international collaboration, visiting professorships across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and leadership roles in more than 15 EU and national research projects. His expertise also includes eLearning strategies, curriculum development, and project-based education at undergraduate and graduate levels. His research focuses on advanced AI applications, including graph neural networks for molecular design, AI-supported medical analytics, environmental sound classification, and data-driven studies on mobility and healthy aging. Prof. Pester has contributed to the global academic community as a keynote speaker, conference chair (including IEEE EDUCON), and editor-in-chief of an international AI journal. As an active member of the IEEE Education Society, he has been closely involved in fostering innovation in engineering education, supporting international collaboration, and advancing the integration of machine learning into engineering and computer science practice. 

Hesham H. Ali is a Professor of Computer Science and the director of the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) Bioinformatics Core Facility. He is also a research collaborator at Mayo Clinic. He served as the Lee and Wilma Seemann Distinguished Dean of the College of Information Science and Technology at UNO between 2006 and 2021. He has published numerous articles in various IT areas, including scheduling, distributed systems, data analytics, wireless networks, and Bioinformatics. He has published two books in scheduling and graph algorithms, and several book chapters in Bioinformatics. He has been serving as the PI or Co-PI of several projects funded by NSF, NIH and numerous state and regional initiatives in the areas of data analytics, wireless networks, Bioinformatics, and next generation healthcare. He has also been leading a Bioinformatics Research Group for over 20 years that focuses on developing innovative computational approaches to model complex biomedical systems and analyze big bioinformatics data using AI tools and network science algorithms. The research group is currently developing several next generation AI-rich data analytics tools for analyzing large heterogeneous biological and health data associated with various biomedical research areas, particularly projects associated with microbiome studies, early childhood development and aging research. He has led several local and national outreach initiatives, including Women in IT initiatives, IT education and training programs, and IT summer internship camps. 

Prof Kouzou Abdallah

As part of the IEEE Life Members Affinity Groups meeting at EDUCON 2026 in Cairo, this presentation will focus on the Africa Council Affinity Group, providing a comprehensive and insightful overview of its current status, structure, and mission. The talk will begin by outlining the organizational framework of the Africa Council Life Members Affinity Group, emphasizing its role in fostering engagement among Life Members (LMs) across the continent. A key component of the presentation will address the current status (status quo) of Life Member membership in Africa, including its geographical distribution and growth trends. This analysis will highlight both the strengths and existing gaps in representation, offering a clear picture of where the community stands today and where further development is needed. Building on this foundation, the presentation will showcase the group’s recent achievements and ongoing initiatives, followed by a strategic outlook on planned activities for 2026. These activities will emphasize opportunities for increased participation, regional collaboration, and the expansion of the Life Member network throughout Africa. Importantly, the presentation will address a central question: why are Life Member Affinity Groups essential in Africa? The discussion will underline the unique value that Life Members bring to the ecosystem, particularly through their extensive professional experience, leadership capabilities, and long-term commitment to the engineering community. Special emphasis will be placed on their critical role in mentoring early-career professionals and students, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and expertise, and supporting the advancement of STEM fields within academia. Furthermore, the presentation will highlight how Life Members can strengthen engagement with industry, bridge the gap between academia and practice, and contribute to sustainable technological development across the continent. Overall, the talk aims to position the Africa Council Life Members Affinity Group as a strategic platform for empowering communities, fostering innovation, and ensuring the continuity of excellence within IEEE in Africa.

Biography:

Mr Kouzou Abdallah (IEEE Senior member & IACSIT Senior member, IFAC, IAENG & IISRO member, IEEE-HKN Alumni Member) was born in Djelfa, Algeria in 1964. He is actually a Full Professor at the University of Djelfa, Algeria. He was the president of the Scientific Council of the faculty of Sciences and Technology from 2014 to 2015 and the Dean of the same faculty from 2015 to 2017. He has participated in several research projects and has led several research projects. He was the founder of the Power Electronics and Power Quality research group at the Applied Automation and Industrial Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Djelfa in Algeria. He is the chair of several international conferences. He is Guest editor with many reputed journals. He is currently the IEEE Africa Council Chair. He was a member of Conference Coordination Committee (CoCC) at IEEE Region 8. He is a AdHoc member of the Climate Change Committee with IEEE R8. He is member of LMAG at IEEE-R8, and the interim chair of Africa LMAGs.  He is the National Contact Point (NCP) in Algeria within the European Horizon Projects 2022-2027 on Renewable energy and Sustainability. He is a Leader –Author at IPCC under climate change working group. He is member of the Technical Committee on Railway Electrification at IEEE Transportation Electrification Council. He was a plenary and an invited keynote speaker and session chair in several national and international conferences and experts in several national and international scientific activities and project evaluations. He is an expert with the ministry of high education and scientific research in Algeria on Socio-economic projects. He was also a visiting professor at several international universities. He was the leader of several research project in Algeria. He is actually participating in a joint project with the main company of petrol and gas in Algeria, where he is leading research group on diagnosis and control of gas turbine used in power generation system and compression stations. He was the Chair of the working group on decarbonisation of Transport in Africa. He is an expert with European Union Research projects. He is an expert on Climate change, especially of decarbonisation of transport systems. He has published more than 550 papers, his main research interests include Active Power Filtering techniques, Power Quality issues, Power Electronics Devices, Application of Power electronics in Renewable Energies, Materials for multi-layers coating in PV cells. Multi-phase machines, Sensorless control, Electrical vehicles and unmanned vehicles, Application of meta-heuristics optimization algorithms, Application of AI in Energy source and Power electronics control, Smart Grid and Smart Buildings, reliability and diagnostics in power electronics converters and in other industrial applications, Non Destructive Testing and Measurement Techniques, Diagnosis and control of Gas Turbine of high power.