About

I am Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Doctoral College at the University of Derby. I believe that doctoral researchers should be at the heart of a university's research community, not only as learners but as active contributors to the creation of knowledge, innovation and impact. My ambition is to help create an environment in which doctoral researchers are empowered to pursue ambitious ideas, engage across disciplinary boundaries, build strong networks and develop the skills needed for successful and fulfilling careers both within and beyond academia.

Throughout my career I have been committed to supporting researchers at different stages of their development. Having supervised doctoral researchers and led research active staff for many years, I continue to enjoy helping individuals refine their ideas, grow in confidence and realise their potential as independent researchers. As Director of the Doctoral College, I work with colleagues across the University to strengthen our research culture and ensure that Derby provides an outstanding doctoral experience.

Alongside my doctoral education leadership, I remain an active researcher in computer science. My work spans service computing, distributed systems, cloud and edge computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), data processing architectures and applied artificial intelligence. A common theme throughout my research is exploring how intelligent systems can make effective use of data to address complex real-world challenges.

A distinctive feature of my career has been the close integration of research, knowledge exchange and industry engagement. I have led and contributed to a range of collaborative projects funded by UK and international agencies, working with organisations from SMEs to multinational companies to translate research into practical innovation and tangible impact. This commitment to connecting research with practice aligns closely with the University of Derby's mission to deliver research that benefits industry, society and communities.

I have established long-standing collaborations with researchers and institutions across Europe, Brazil and China, and continue to work internationally on challenges relating to intelligent systems, data-intensive computing and digital transformation. Across all my roles, I am motivated by helping people, organisations and ideas realise their potential through research, innovation and collaboration.

Teaching responsibilities

I have taught at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level throughout my academic career, delivering modules in areas including databases, cloud computing, web technologies, IoT and software systems. I continue to enjoy teaching and engaging directly with students, most recently through modules in functional programming and databases.

My educational leadership experience includes programme design, curriculum development, distance learning, degree apprenticeships and international education. I have led the development of transnational education partnerships, including Joint Education Programmes with universities in China, and have taught both in the UK and internationally, most recently in China.

Doctoral supervision and researcher development have been central to my career. I have supervised numerous doctoral researchers to successful completion and, as Director of the Doctoral College, I am committed to ensuring that postgraduate researchers play a central role in the University's research community.

I am particularly interested in the connections between teaching, research and knowledge exchange, and in creating opportunities for students to engage with real-world challenges, research and industry throughout their studies.

Research interests

My research focuses on intelligent distributed systems and the architectures that support them. I am particularly interested in service computing, cloud and edge architectures, the Internet of Things (IoT), context-aware systems, semantic data integration and AI-enabled data analytics. A central theme throughout my work is understanding how data can be processed and acted upon as close as possible to its source, enabling systems that are more responsive, scalable, resilient and privacy-aware.

My research has explored runtime adaptation and decision-making in complex software systems, service selection, intelligent resource management, data modelling and knowledge representation, and high-performance data processing architectures. These strands increasingly come together in my work on edge intelligence, distributed analytics and autonomous digital systems, with applications in areas such as healthcare, intelligent mobility, smart cities and industrial environments.

I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary research and collaborations that bridge fundamental computing research with practical applications. Much of my work involves engagement with industry, public sector organisations and international academic partners to address real-world challenges through innovative digital technologies.

I welcome opportunities to engage with prospective doctoral researchers, academic collaborators and external partners who share interests in intelligent distributed systems, data-intensive computing, service-oriented architectures, edge computing and applied AI. The University of Derby offers an exciting environment for ambitious research, and I am always keen to discuss new ideas, collaborations and opportunities for doctoral study.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a fellow of the BCS, chartered status (FBCS CITP), a member of the IST (MIScT, CSci), a professional member of the ACM and a member of IEEE.

Qualifications

I hold a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Glasgow and a First Class BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Wales Swansea. Before entering academia, I completed a Datenverarbeitungskaufmann (IHK) apprenticeship in Germany, giving me both vocational and academic foundations in computing.

In the media

I regularly contribute expert commentary on emerging digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, smart systems and the societal impact of technology. My media engagements have included interviews with BBC Radio Leicester discussing smart technologies and artificial intelligence, contributions to The Conversation, participation in industry panels on AI in health technologies, and commentary for wider public audiences on the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and digital innovation.

Recent highlights include participation in a panel discussion on the impact of AI in health technology, contributions to a Guardian Labs feature exploring how AI is changing the world, and a live BBC interview on the impact of AI on society. These engagements reflect my commitment to making research accessible and encouraging informed public discussion about technological change.

Recent publications

I have extensively published in peer reviewed journals and conferences throughout my career and my Orcid profile will lead to the fuller record. My most recent works are:

Journals:

G. Ortiz, J. Tena, A. Garcia-Bermejo, A. Garcia-de-Prado, S. Reiff-Marganiec. MicroCEP: Complex Event Processing on the Edge. Journal of Universal Computer Science. (in press, accepted Jan 2026)

L.H.M. Sepulvene, I. Drummond, B. Tardiole Kuehne, R.M.D. Frinhani, D.M. Leite Filho, M.L.M. Peixoto, S. Reiff-Marganiec, B. G. Batista. Performance Evaluation of Machine Learning Techniques for Fault Diagnosis in Vehicle Fleet Tracking Modules. Comput. J. 65(8): 2073-2086 (2022)

M.S. Hassan Zada, B. Yuan, W.A. Khan, A. Anjum, S. Reiff-Marganiec, R. Saleem. A unified graph model based on molecular data binning for disease subtyping. Journal of Biomedical Informatics (2022)

H.Q. Yu, S. Reiff-Marganiec. Learning Disease Causality Knowledge From the Web of Health Data. Int. J. Semantic Web Inf. Syst. 18(1): 1-19 (2022)

M.S.H. Zada, B. Yuan, W.A. Khan, A. Anjum, S. Reiff-Marganiec, R. Saleem. A unified graph model based on molecular data binning for disease subtyping. J. Biomed. Informatics 134: 104187 (2022)

L.J. de Melo de Azevedo, J.C. Estrella, A.C.B. Delbem, R.I. Meneguette, S. Reiff-Marganiec, S.C. de Andrade. Analysis of Spatially Distributed Data in Internet of Things in the Environmental Context. Sensors 22(5): 1693 (2022)

Conferences:

A. Garcia-de-Prado, J. Tena, A. Garcia-Bermejo, G. Ortiz, S. Reiff-Marganiec. Demonstration Paper: Lightweight API-Driven Complex Event Processing for Microservice-Oriented Edge Microcontrollers. 2026 IEEE International Conference on Service-Oriented System Engineering (SOSE), 2026.

H.Q. Yu, B. Scanlon, S. Reiff-Marganiec. Engineering Critical Analysis Software Services: a Graph-Rag and Self-Learning Large Language Model Agent Services Approach. 2025 IEEE International Conference on Service-Oriented System Engineering (SOSE): 1-7, 2025.

H.Q. Yu, J. Sutton, S. O’Neil, S. Reiff-Marganiec. Case Studies on LLM Centric and Services Oriented Data Analytics Agent Development. International Conference on Software and Information Engineering (ICSIE) 2024: 69-76, 2024.

M. Liu, Z. Wang, T. Jiang, X. Xu, Q.Z. Sheng, S. Reiff-Marganiec. External Service Sensing in an Uncertain World. COMPSAC 2022: 368-373. 2022.