Prof. Dr. Shadi Basurra

Professor Shadi Saleh Basurra is a distinguished academic, researcher, and technology leader with expertise in artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, computer science, and digital transformation. He serves as the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Republic of Yemen and as Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

The University of Reading promoted Professor Basurra to Professor in Intelligent Systems in 2024. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Bath, earned in collaboration with the University of Bristol, as well as degrees from the University of Kent and the University of Exeter.

His leadership experience includes serving as Dean and Head of the School of Computing at Birmingham City University. As Yemen's minister, he also chairs boards of national telecommunications and postal institutions and leads national digital-transformation initiatives.

His research spans intelligent systems, artificial intelligence, smart networks, healthcare technologies, sustainable energy, environmental sustainability, and digital transformation. He has led EU- and UK-funded research projects, supervised more than 100 master's and doctoral theses, and led multidisciplinary teams of more than 80 researchers and specialists.

Before his academic leadership, Professor Basurra worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Sony Europe on sports-performance analysis systems used at Wimbledon and in the English Premier League. His contributions have received awards including the West Midlands Tech Award, the Sparkles Global Computing Award, and the President of the Republic of Yemen Award for Science in Computer Science.