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Dr Dhouha Kbaier

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Senior Lecturer in Computing & Communications
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Computing & Communications
  • dhouha.kbaier

Web links

Professional biography

Dr Dhouha Kbaier joined the Open University in September 2020 as a Senior Lecturer in Computing & Communications. Her journey has been marked by diverse experiences and notable achievements in the field. She has worked as a technical consultant in Communications and Networking for QA Ltd. Her academic voyage includes a significant tenure as a Senior Lecturer in Computer Networking at the University of Wolverhampton, where she was an active research member of the Wolverhampton Cyber Research Institute (WCRI). Her academic foundation was solidified through her academic pursuits at Telecom Bretagne (Brest, France), culminating in a PhD awarded with the highest honours in 2011, along with a Master of Engineering degree in 2008. Her specialisation in Space Communications Systems was nurtured at the French "Grande École" ISAE in Toulouse, renowned as the heart of the European Aerospace Industry. Prior to working at the University of Wolverhampton, Dr Kbaier was holding a position at the University of Bedfordshire as a Lecturer in Telecommunications and Network Engineering since 2016. In addition, she contributed significantly to the academic landscape as an Associate Lecturer within the Digital Technology Infrastructure Apprenticeship at the University of Exeter from 2017 to 2019. Before establishing her presence in the UK, she garnered substantial research experience in France, where she worked for several years as a post-doctoral research fellow, first at Telecom Bretagne, then with Thales Airborne Systems, and finally at IFREMER. Her multi-disciplinary proficiency and her diverse research background led to her recognition, with the prestigious French "Maître de conférences" qualifications awarded in different fields, both in 2012 and 2016.

Dr Kbaier is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC) member. Her research prowess has been acknowledged with multiple productivity bonuses and two best paper awards, one from IEEE and the other from Spring.

2024-ongoing  BCS Fellowship, home to the most influential professionals in the digital industry. Dr Dhouha Kbaier elected as Fellow of the BCS - News - OU Life

Research interests

Dr Dhouha Kbaier is an integral member of the NeXt Generation Multimedia and network Technologies (XGMT) research group that undertakes high-quality research into various aspects of these exciting and evolving technologies. Her research interests include signal processing applied to telecommunications and oceanography, channel coding, digital communications, information theory, error correction in VANET environments, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, climate change, etc. 

Current Project (OSC): Game-Theoretic Approaches to Environmental Risk​

  • Applying game theory to analyse and mitigate environmental risks​
  • Research Focus: Investigating game-theoretic models and strategies for addressing environmental risks and uncertainties​
  • Collaboration: Collaborative project with the University of Bath involving interdisciplinary research, collaboration with experts in environmental science and policy, and engagement with relevant stakeholders​​
  • Join us on Nov 21st @OpenUniversity for an exciting #EvidenceCafé on Environmental Risk! #RegisterNow #HybridEvent"
  • Flyer Evidence Café Workshop  

How Dr Kbaier would like to engage with Industry:

  • Collaborative research projects: Collaborate on research to address industry challenges and generate innovative solutions​
  • KTPs: Transfer academic knowledge to industry through partnerships​
  • Consultancy services: Provide specialised insights and advice to address industry needs​
  • CPD: Design and deliver industry-focused training and workshops​
  • Funding bids: Collaborate on joint funding proposals to secure research funding​
  • Industry-academia events: Organise conferences and seminars to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration​
PhD supervision 
 
Dr Kbaier has extensive experience supervising postgraduate students across various research projects, including environmental monitoring, digital divide, impact of the pandemic on healthcare, anomaly detection in FinTech, secure vehicular communications, etc. She is currently supervising four PhD students:
  • Full-time Ph.D. student, “Impact of Coronavirus on primary care appointments”, EPSRC funded studentship.
  • Part-time Ph.D. student, “A Novel Semi-Autonomous Time Series Analysis App for Polar Environmental Monitoring and Predictive Decision-Making”.
  • Part-time Ph.D. student, “Reducing the UK Digital Divide: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Areas”.
  • Part-time Ph.D. student, “A Novel Approach to Anomaly Detection in Cloud FinTech Systems”.

Collaboration

Collaboration sits at the core of Dr. Kbaier's approach. Whether you are an active researcher, a prospective PhD/MSc research student, or a representative of an organisation or a company searching for innovative partnerships, I encourage you to reach out via Dhouha.Kbaier@open.ac.uk.

Current PhD topics

Currently, Dr Kbaier is actively seeking to engage with PhD students, either through self-funding or by exploring funding avenues through the school. The following project outlines present exciting opportunities:

Teaching interests

Current teaching commitments:

TM112 - Introduction to computing and information technology 2

TM355- Communications technology (Module Chair)
 

Impact and engagement

Recent highlights

 

External collaborations

  • External examining: Keele University (2021-2024) and Edge Hill University (2023-2026)
  • Academic reviewer - The American College of Thessaloniki BSc (Hons) Business Computing BSc (Hons) Computer Science (2024-2026)
  • Academic reviewer for York College on the teaching of FD Digital Technologies with Cyber Security (2021-2023)
  • OUVP: Demonstrated strong leadership skills as the Chair of multiple virtual and face-to-face validation events. Conducted thorough reviews of validation documents, providing constructive feedback that supported colleges in meeting approval conditions. Successfully facilitated panel discussions, ensuring productive and focused conversations, maintained efficient meeting schedules, and engaged professionally with college staff and students, contributing significantly to the success of these events.
  • Nuffield Research Scheme: Responded to the STEM call for hosting Nuffield research placement students over the summer. Also, captured evidence in the form of a blog. Offered valuable support for this scheme in providing underrepresented A-level students with research experience in computing.
  • Supervising UG dissertations with other institutions 
  • Contributions to conferences (technical committee, session chair, international scientific committee, etc)
  • Several invited lectures, lightning talks, research talks, STEM day, etc.