Horacio González-Vélez
Professor of Computer Systems and Founding Head of The Cloud Competency Centre

Horacio González-Vélez is a Professor of Computer Systems and and Founding Head of The Cloud Competency Centre at National College of Ireland. Under his guidance, the Centre has grown exponentially, from some 20 students and a single EU-funded project in 2012 to hundreds of students and multiple EU-funded research projects underpinned by a capable team of professionals by 2023. His research has consistently sought to bridge the gap between data-intensive computational problems and their discrete patterns of computation and communication. He has harnessed his diverse background to engage with stakeholders of all backgrounds, skills, and genders, as he actively contributes to institutional committees, European working groups, and research strategy development. More details can be gathered through his LinkedIn and ORCID profiles.

Adriana E. Chis
Associate Professor in the School of Computing

Adriana E. Chis is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing at NCI. She received her Diploma-Engineer (Honours) in Computer Science and Engineering from Politehnica University of Timisoara, Romania in 2007. She received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University College Dublin in 2013. During her Ph.D. she collaborated with the IBM Software Group, Dublin, and the Intelligent Application Analysis Group, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA. Her research interests are in the general area of computer systems and software systems, including programming languages, program analysis, compilers, runtime systems, and cloud computing.

Dietmar Janetzko
Postdoctoral Researcher

Dietmar Janetzko studied psychology, computer science, and learning sciences and holds a PhD in cognitive science and a PhD in learning sciences. From 2007 to 2012, he worked as a lecturer of AI in the School of Computing at the National College of Ireland. From 2012 to 2022, he was professor of business computing at Cologne Business School in Germany. From August 2022 to May 2024, he took up a post as Head of Research at Stockpulse GmbH in Bonn, Germany. Since 2024, he has been working as a PostDoc at the Cloud Competence Centre of the NCI. His research interests are in the range of AI, data science, statistics, psychometrics, and quantitative finance.

Yao Yao
Postdoctoral Researcher

Distinguished Data Scientist Yao Yao marries technical prowess with innovation in knowledge integration and knowledge-driven AI deployment. Having made significant contributions to numerous EU Commission-funded projects, Yao's expertise lies in creating computational models that enable seamless knowledge integration, data analytics, and the development of agent-based frameworks. His acumen was recognised with the award of the Marie Curie post-doc Fellowship in 2019, paving his way into advanced AI research in Ireland. Yao's dedication to pushing the boundaries of AI remains unparalleled. 

Jorge Mario Cortés-Mendoza
Postdoctoral Researcher

Hailing from a rich academic background in computer science, Dr Jorge Mario Cortés-Mendoza now excels as a postdoctoral researcher at the Cloud Competency Centre. With degrees from Autonomous University of Puebla and CICESE Research Centre, and research stints in Germany, Luxembourg, and Russia, Jorge's work is globally recognised. His academic pursuits have led him to explore domains such as cloud computing, load balancing, and artificial intelligence. Moreover, as a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico since 2020, he actively contributes to advancing the field with his innovative insights.  

Bernardo Pulido-Gaytan
Postdoctoral Researcher

Bernardo Pulido-Gaytan received a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the CICESE Research Center, Mexico in 2024. His expertise lies in designing privacy-preserving machine learning cognitive models in cloud environments using homomorphic encryption cryptosystems. He has been involved in collaborative efforts with multiple international research groups, leading to several research internships at high-level institutions such as the University of Göttingen in Germany, the North-Caucasus Federal University in Russia, the University of the Republic in Uruguay, and the National High Technology Center in Costa Rica, among others. He has served as thesis supervisor for undergraduate and master's students, delivered invited talks at international conferences, and collaborated as a program committee member at several esteemed conferences.

Meri Cvetkovska
EU Project Manager

Meri holds a Bachelor's degree in Law and a Master's in International Law and EU, specializing in human rights and equality. She is certified in agile methodologies. With seven years of experience in program management and coordination of diverse initiatives within multi-sector consortia, Meri has actively contributed to impactful education and youth programs, spanning both formal and informal education, as well as national curricula. Additionally, she has worked in advocacy, played a role in creating national policies, and contributed to building institutional capacities. Meri is also the co-author of a manual for peer education and has collaborated with esteemed organizations such as Erasmus+, UNESCO, and the World Health Organization.

Grace Herbert
Research Associate

Grace Herbert is originally from Co. Kildare and currently resides in Co. Sligo. She has been working in Digital Learning at NCI for over two years. Since March, she has had the fantastic opportunity to collaborate with the CCC on the Digital4Business project, working alongside consortium members from around the world. In her role as Research Associate in Digital Sustainability, she will be creating content for both Digital4Business and Digital4Sustainability. Grace is eager to explore new ways to make online learning more interactive, engaging, and impactful for students and looks forward to continuing this journey with the CCC team.

Lorraine Gorimani
Research Associate

Lorraine Gorimani recently joined the Cloud Competency Centre as a Research Associate in Digital Sustainability. She is excited to contribute to the team’s work and leverage her previous experience at Google Ireland to drive positive impact. Lorraine looks forward to learning from the team, collaborating on innovative projects, and making a meaningful contribution to their shared goals.

Kelda McManus
EU Deliverables Coordinator

Kelda McManus is 24 years old and originally from West Cork. She studied Business Studies at MTU Cork for her undergraduate degree from 2018 to 2022. Upon completing this course, she spent a year working as the Vice President for Welfare with the MTU Cork Students' Union. Following this, Kelda worked for a year with the National Union of Students in Ireland, where she contributed to national policies and several EU frameworks. While working full-time for USI, she decided to pursue a one-year full-time master's degree in international relations at DCU, specializing in human rights and international policy. She is now working with the Cloud Competency Centre as the EU Deliverables Coordinator and is excited to see what the next chapter holds

Amanda Miranda
EU Deliverables Coordinator

KAmanda Miranda is originally from São Paulo, Brazil. She graduated in Journalism from Anhembi Morumbi University and worked in the fashion industry. In 2019, she moved to Ireland to embrace a new challenge, leaving her career in Brazil behind. Amanda joined NCI in 2022 as a Programme Coordinator in Academic Operations, where she spent two valuable years. She has recently transitioned to the Cloud Competency Centre as an EU Deliverables Coordinator and is excited about this significant opportunity.

Ariadny Bittencourt
EU Deliverables Coordinator

Ariadny Bittencourt is originally from Brazil and is currently based in Ireland. She moved to Ireland in 2013 and completed her postgraduate degree in Business in 2021. Her career in third-level education began in 2018 when she joined the Exams Department at Dublin Business School. In 2021, she started working at the National College of Ireland as a Programme Coordinator, and in 2023, she was promoted to Team Leader. Ariadny is now working as an EU Deliverable Coordinator, where she manages and oversees key educational initiatives. Her professional journey reflects her commitment to supporting student success and leading academic programmes.

Graciela Román-Alonso
Visiting Researcher

Graciela Román-Alonso is a professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the Computing program and the Graduate IT Program. She holds a Ph.D. from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France, specializing in parallel computing and load balancing. Graciela also spent two years on sabbatical at the University of Ottawa in Canada, where she addressed challenges related to distributed systems in vehicular networks. This experience deepened her expertise in strategies for controlling vehicular traffic. Currently, Graciela is conducting research as a visiting professor at National College of Ireland, focusing on current challenges in cloud computing.

Research Associate

Alba González-Cebrián is a Research Associate at the Cloud Competency Center, National College of Ireland (NCI). She earned an FPI grant for her Ph.D. in Statistics at the Universitat Politècnica de València in 2018. Her expertise lies in developing innovative solutions for Exploratory Data Analysis and integrating Machine Learning tools into healthcare environments. She is passionate about bridging the gap between machine learning and statistical reasoning, facilitating a deeper understanding of model decisions. Additionally, Alba is actively involved in promoting FAIR principles within the Open Data and Open Science community, working on data versioning standards.

Postdoctoral Researcher

An esteemed researcher at the Cloud Competency Centre, Dr Fanny Rivera-Ortiz is at the forefront of creating forensic-ready software systems. With a PhD in Computer Science from University College Dublin, her ground-breaking work focuses on assisting software developers in crafting systems that support digital investigations, especially in scenarios involving software data misuse. This entails logging capabilities that shed light on potential security incidents and unexpected data vulnerabilities. Fanny's vast experience spans a 15-year tenure as a Software Engineer in Mexico, complemented by her Master’s in Information Technologies and Bachelor's in Computer Systems Engineering. She passionately delves into areas like digital forensics, cloud computing, machine learning, and robotics. 

Assistant Professor in Computing 

Extensive ICT project experience (e.g., implementation and integration of business-critical systems) in the financial sector prior to joining NCI. Extensive software development experience across a wide range of technology stacks and programming environments. Qualifications include MSc in Mathematics, University College Dublin and BSc (Hons) in Mathematics, First Class Honours, D.I.T., Kevin St., Dublin. Extensive experience in the development of academic programmes. Led and acted as main contributor to the initial design and continued development of the MSc in Data Analytics programme in NCI. Research interests include Quantum Computing and Information Retrieval.

Mohammadreza Azimi is an accomplished researcher with extensive expertise in Image Processing, Data Processing and AI. He holds dual PhDs from the University of Tehran in Aerospace Engineering and the Warsaw University of Technology in Computer Science. Before joining Cloud Computing Centre team at NCI as a Postdoctoral Researcher, Mohammadreza used to be a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, where my research involved advanced image processing techniques to analyze multiplexed immunofluorescence tissue images. 

Over the last few years, his work spans multiple domains, including security and privacy in personal voice assistants, mobile biometrics, transfer learning and bio image processing. His publication record reflects his diverse interests and contributions to both AI and biomedical sciences. He has been the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship and funding from the Health Research Board in Ireland. Dr. Azimi is also actively engaged with the academic community, serving as an invited reviewer for numerous high-impact journals