
Dr. Raian Ali
Professor and UNESCO Chair
Dr. Raian Ali
Professor and UNESCO Chair
Educational Qualifications
PhD in Computer Science
BSc in Informatics Engineering
Entity
College of Science and Engineering
Division
Information & Computing Technology
Biography
Raian Ali has been a Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and a UNESCO chair in digital technologies and human behaviour (June 2025–June 2029). He obtained his PhD from the University of Trento, Italy, in 2010, and has previously worked at the University of Limerick in Ireland and Bournemouth University in the UK. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Latakia (formerly Tishreen University), Syria.
His research primarily focuses on technology and human behaviour, encompassing topics such as digital addiction, responsible technology use, and the impact of technology design on human well-being. He is a member of the steering committee for the Society of Persuasive Systems, and of the steering committee of the Behaviour and Social Computing community.
He has led projects with academic and industry partners, resulting in significant impact, outreach, policy change, and scientific publications. Notably, he leads the $3.8 million cluster on digital citizenship in Qatar (2022–2027), supervising six projects, collaborating with over 15 national and international partners, and managing a team of 50 personnel. Raian also provides consultancy both nationally and internationally.
PhD in Computer Science
University of Trento, Italy
2010
BSc in Informatics Engineering
University of Latakia, Syria
2003
- Technology and human behaviour
- Designing for digital wellbeing
- Digital addiction
- Human factors in AI
Professor
College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
2020 - Present
Lecturer to Professor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, UK
2012 - 2020
Post-Doctoral Researcher
LERO – The Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland
2011 - 2012
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Department of information engineering and computer science, University of Trento, Italy
2010 - 2011
Assistant Lecturer / Lecturer
College of Informatics Engineering, University of Latakia, Syria
2003 - 2005
Complete Publication Listing(s): Google Scholar | Scopus