Zia Ur Rehman

Zia Ur Rehman is a PhD researcher in Computer Science at the University of Limerick, Ireland, affiliated with the Biocomputing and Developmental Systems (BDS) Group. He is working under the supervision of Professor Conor Ryan, focusing on cutting-edge research in Federated Learning, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), Ensemble Learning, and related domains in machine learning. His current research aims to develop transparent, privacy-preserving, and interpretable machine learning frameworks that integrate ensemble methods with federated architectures. The work contributes toward responsible AI by aligning model performance with explainability and computational efficiency, especially in distributed data environments.

Prior to starting his PhD, Zia completed his MS in Computer Science from the Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, where he graduated as the top-ranked gold medalist. His master's thesis, “Towards Enhanced Federated Learning Efficiency through Parallel Computing and Data Augmentation Techniques,” explored trade-offs between model accuracy, computation speed, and energy consumption in federated settings. Zia has developed two open-source Python libraries: EnergyEfficientAI, which estimates energy and power consumption for machine learning and deep learning models, and Cryptizia, a tool for implementing classical cryptographic algorithms. He has also conducted hands-on industrial workshops on AI and computer vision, and played an active role in embedded and computer vision projects for industry and academia.

Zia has contributed to projects involving embedded systems, Raspberry Pi-based automation, and OpenCV-driven interactive systems. His research contributions in Federated Learning, Green AI, and Parallel Computing have been presented at top venues like IEEE INMIC and IET, with co-authorship alongside renowned researchers such as Prof. Rajkumar Buyya and Dr. Saif Ul Islam. "