Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Immersive Technologies at Teesside University. He also worked as associate faculty at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He is co-investigator at Innovate UK funded AI Feasibility Study project. He completed PhD in Computer Science with a specialization in Immersive Technologies and intelligent agents from University College Dublin, Ireland, with the thesis titled "Investigating Real-time Touchless Hand Interaction and Machine Learning Agents in Immersive Learning Environments". During his PhD, he worked as a graduate assistant for teaching Augmented & Virtual Reality and Mobile Computing labs at University College Dublin, Ireland. He also worked as an associate faculty member at the National College of Ireland.  

Research Publications 

He published his research in ISMAR, Technology in Society, Digital Chemical Engineering, Computer & Education: X Reality, Frontiers in Virtual Reality, Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences,  Education and Information Technologies, Interactions, Telematics and Informatics Reports and ACM IUI. 

Future Research Interests

His future research vision is to explore the convergence of immersive technology, digital twins, metaverse, and digital transformations. These emerging technologies can offer unprecedented opportunities and challenges for various sectors and domains, such as education, health care, entertainment, tourism, and manufacturing. One of his main research goals is to develop novel methods and frameworks for creating, managing, and interacting with digital twins of real-world objects and environments using immersive technology such as AR, VR, and MR. He is interested in how digital twins can enable seamless and immersive experiences across physical and virtual spaces and how they can support data-driven decision-making and innovation.

Another research direction he is pursuing is to investigate the metaverse's potential as a new immersive technology paradigm.  He is curious about how metaverse can foster new forms of learning, collaboration, entertainment, and expression and what are the ethical, social, and technical implications of this technology. To achieve these research objectives, he seeks motivated and talented PhD students interested in immersive technology, digital twins, metaverse, and digital transformations. He is willing to offer a supportive and stimulating research environment, access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations and industry partnerships. If you are interested in joining him as PhD student, please get in touch with your CV and research proposal.

His research interests are Human-Computer Interaction, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, Digital Interaction Techniques, Digital Twins, Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence and Educational Technology. 

Accepting PhD students in these areas; 

• Virtual Reality (VR) and haptic feedback for industrial training.
• CG Avatars with Generative AI in the XR environment 
• XR & AI in Net Zero Industry 
•  Use of immersive technologies for healthcare and nursing training 
• Immersive technologies for STEM education in secondary and higher education 
• Digital Twins for healthcare and industry 
• Immersive technologies for data-driven and safety training 
• Digital transformation & Digital humanities 

• Reviewer of ACM SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Awards
• Member of Organizing Committee iLRN2023 
• Member of ACM Metaverse Chapter Committees

            -HCI Committee and Metaverse & Society

• Immersive Technologies (Undergrad)
• Virtual Reality (Postgrad)
• Augmented Reality (Postgrad)
• Immersive Reality (Postgrad)
• Cyber-Physical Systems & Digital Twinning (Postgrad)
• Game Design Optimisation (Postgrad)
• Computing Master Projects (Postgrad)

• Innovate UK AI Feasibility Study Project (£50K)

Previous projects; 

• Real-time Hand Interaction and Machine Learning Agents in Immersive Learning Environments

• Metaverse and Emerging Opportunities in the Immersive Technologies

• Touchless/Contactless Interaction Technologies

• Ethics, Privacy and Security Issues with Extended Reality