Dr Yahya Umar

Dr Yahya Umar is a Senior Lecturer of Computer Science in the department of Computer Science where he has been a full-time staff since January 2012. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and MSc in Computing and New Media, both obtained from University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD, Brunei) in 2019 and 2014, respectively. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree (with specialization in Computer Science and Information Technology) from the Islamic University of Technology (IUT, Bangladesh). His research interests include; Computational Biomechanics, Wearable Computing, Applied AI, Internet of Things (IoT), Computer Vision and Image Processing, and Human Computer Interaction (HCI).

Prior to assuming the position of Dean Faculty of Science on 27^th May 2024, Dr Yahya has been serving as the Head of Motion Analysis Research Laboratory (MARL) since January 2019-to-date. MARL is a Research and Innovations Laboratory based at Kampala Campus. He has also previously served as Faculty of Science Coordinator at Kampala in the period 2012 to 2013. Dr Yahya is also currently the coordinator for IUIU in the Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC) network, a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) support network that is hosted by Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB). He is also currently tasked with coordinating IUIU’s MoUs with several universities including; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST, Pakistan), Islamic University of Technology (IUT, Bangladesh), Superior University (Pakistan), Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI, Pakistan), COMSATS University Islamabad (Pakistan), Lakeside University College Ghana (LUCG) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU, Nigeria). Dr Yahya is also a member of several supervisory committees tasked with overseeing several on-going University engagements. They include:- The Steering Committee for Collaboration between IUIU and Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University (TOGU, Turkey) where he serves as a Member since 2023 to-date; The Supervisory Committee for the IUIU-IsDB-LUCG ERP Technology Transfer Project where he serves as the Secretary and Coordinator - 2023 to 2025; The current Chairman  of  the adhoc Committee tasked with Re-initiating the Reverse Linkage Project on Vocational and Technical Skilling between Turkey and Uganda (IUIU) with partnership from  Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), and OIC’s SESRIC (Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries); Member of the Project Management Committee for the project, “Consultancy services for designing client centric Islamic microfinance products & manuals, capacity building & integrated support solutions”,  2023 to-date; and IUIU’s focal person  in the Commercialization for Academic and Research Innovations (CARI), a pilot project for Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (STI, Office of the President of  the Republic of Uganda), involving only 5 Ugandan Universities,  IUIU inclusive (2023 to-date). 

Dr Yahya has so-far supervised to completion; Nine (09) Masters students both at IUIU and other Universities, two (02) PhD Students (external co-supervisor), and over Sixty (60) undergraduate capstone projects. He is currently supervising Five (05) Masters students, one (01) PhD student (external), and several undergraduate students. He is currently a Review Editor for IoT and Sensor Networks, a Frontiers Journal (2022 to date). He is also a regular review for several reputable journals including; IEEE Access, Neural Computing and Applications, Sports Engineering, ASEAN Journal of Science and Technology for Development, among several others. His research work has been published in several Scopus and Web of Science indexed journals and conferences. Dr Yahya is also a Member of IEEE since September 2017. He is also currently serving as an external examiner for several Universities both in Uganda and abroad.

As Dean Faculty of Science, Dr Yahya Umar will be consolidating the efforts of prior Faculty leadership with emphasis on 7 key areas: - 

1. Enhancing Teaching and Learning (both the process and the environment).
2. Stimulating Research with a focus on multidisciplinary research (within and beyond the faculty).
3. Optimizing administrative processes at the faculty with the aim of improving service delivery.
4. Engaging in knowledge-driven community outreach activities.
5. Targeted staff capacity development & Staff welfare improvement.
6. Growing the Faculty’s Graduate Programmes (Masters and PhD).
7. Attracting external funding through active partnerships and collaborations (both locally and internationally).

For general Faculty-related inquiries (e.g details about the programmes offered by the faculty), send an email to the Faculty Administrator at: fos@iuiu.ac.ug. To get in touch directly with the Dean Faculty of Science, send an email to: dean.fos@iuiu.ac.ug.