Elhadj Benkhelifa  is passionate academic and researcher with almost 20 years of experience and demonstrable leadership skills at an international level. His research focuses on the development of solutions to support the next generation digital transformation’s technologies and paradigms.

Elhadj is currently a full Professor of Computer Science and Digital Innovations at Staffordshire University, where he is also the Head of Professoriate leading a large body of all Associate and Full Professors across the whole University with the mission to contribute, influence, shape and enable the collective advancement of the University’s strategies and develop excellence in T&L, research and enterprise. He is also a member of the University Research Ethics Committee. Elhadj is the Founding Director of the Smart Systems, AI and Cybersecurity Research Centre (SSAICS), responsible for growing the research portfolio in the Digital, Technologies and Art (DTA); leading 15 Staff and 23 PhD students the SSAICS research centre is established to be the hub for interdisciplinary research in ‘digital’ across the University. Between 2014 and 2016, he was the Director of the Mobile Fusion Applied Research Centre (MF-ARC), leading more than 18 Staff and 45 PhD students.

Prior to Joining Staffordshire University in 2010, he was lead researcher on an EPSRC project at Cranfield University, which was on biomimetic design optimisation of MEMS. Prior to that Elhadj was a lecturer at University of the West of Enlgland, UWE and University of Bristol. Under the supervision of Prof. Antony Pipe, Elhadj obtained his PhD from UWE, Bristol Robotics Lab, in Artificial-Life (Bio Inspired Evolvable and Self-Healing Systems). Between 2003 and 2004, he was a Software developer at ATE communications Ltd in Nottinghamshire, where he developed a Linux based DVR (digital video recorder)

Elhadj’s research interests cover Cloud computing in its centralised and decentralised forms (Fog/Edge computing, Cloudlet, Blockchain etc), Data (Governance, Semantics, analytics, Social Networks), Artificial Intelligence & Artificial Life (bio-inspired computing), Digital Transformation and Emerging Technologies, IoT and Cybersecurity. Elhadj has a led a number of successful consortia on a number of national and transnational projects. Interdisciplinary research is Elhadj’s current focus, applying innovative advanced computing and digital solution in areas of high impact. Elhadj supervised many PhD projects and published extensively in journals and conferences (150+). He has co-edited around 20 conference proceedings and journal special issues. Elhadj is a co-founder of some pioneering international conferences, including FMEC, SDS, IOTSMS and SNAMS, and has delivered close to 40 keynote talks around the world.

Elhadj is a reviewer of national (EPSRC) and international grant proposals. He is often invited by international institutions as an external assessor for promotions to Associate and Full Professor Ranks. Elhadj has been an external examiner of a number of PhD Vivas in the UK and outside and is currently an external examiner for computer science courses for both Under & Post Graduate levels and had acted as an external moderators of new courses from international institutions. Elhadj is a Visiting Professor to the Universities of Suffolk, UK; Lyon3, France; and Paris 8, France.

Since early days, Elhadj has been a strong advocate for open access to research, that in 2005 he co-founded IBScientific Publishing group, to enable scientists mainly from low-income countries to publish their research through open access and peer-review process.

Elhadj is a Director at Yotta Laboratories Ltd, and a co-founder of www.emergingtechnetwork.org. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the West Midland Cyber Resilience Centre, and member of the Staffordshire Police Evidence Based Practice Board. In April 2022, He was elected/appointed as the Chair of the IEEE UK&I Section’s Education & STEM office. Elhadj is a Senior Member of IEEE, A Member of ACM, Fellow of UK HEA and a Prince2 Practitioner