Dr. Muhammad Akmal Remli currently serves as the Director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data (AIBIG) at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Malaysia. The AIBIG institute is a Center of Excellence (COE) specializing in research, development, and training in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. His primary research interests include artificial intelligence, data science, business intelligence, and computational systems biology. He has authored numerous scientific research papers indexed by Scopus and Web of Science, including publications in journals such as Expert Systems with Applications (ESWA) and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence (EAAI). He and his team have secured over one million ringgit in research grants, specifically in AI research for bioinformatics and metabolic engineering. While serving as Director, he also actively engages with industry and collaborates with both local and international institutions. He has also been appointed as a visiting research fellow at the Centre for Research, Innovation, Development and Entrepreneurship (CRIDE) LT in the UK.

Dr. Akmal became a fellow researcher at AIBIG in early 2020, and in 2021, he assumed the role of leading the institute. Additionally, he holds the position of Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Data Science and Computing, UMK. He was one of the key figures involved in establishing the Faculty of Data Science and Computing and in developing several academic programs, such as the PhD and Master in Computing. At the faculty, he teaches various undergraduate Computer Science courses, including Fundamental Programming, Object-Oriented Programming, Artificial Intelligence in Practice, and Computer Vision and Image Processing. He also teaches Advanced Algorithms at the postgraduate level. Currently, he supervises 11 postgraduate students (8 PhD and 3 Master’s). Two PhD students have already graduated, with all of them conducting research in AI.

He earned his Master’s and PhD degrees in Computer Science from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Subsequently, he worked at Universiti Malaysia Pahang from 2018 to 2020. In 2016, he undertook a research attachment at The Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems, and Educational Technology (BISITE) Research Group at the University of Salamanca in Spain, focusing on cancer bioinformatics. He received a PhD scholarship from Malaysia’s MyBrain15 program, which supported his three-year study. In recognition of his exceptional achievements, he was named the best PhD student during UTM’s 2018 convocation.

Dr. Akmal also contributes to the community by frequently appearing in Malaysian newspapers such as Berita Harian, Astro Awani, Utusan, The Sun, and New Straits Times, where reporters contact him to offer suggestions and advice regarding AI.

Awards

  1. Best Researcher Award (Publication) 2023, Faculty of Data Science and Computing, UMK
  2. France-Malaysia Collaboration Programe for Joint Research 2023 (MyTIGER) Receipient, 2023
  3. Sultan Mizan Antartica Research Foundation (Yayasan Penyelidikan Sultan Mizan – YPASM) Grant 2023 Receipient Award, 2023
  4. Excellence Achievment for Research and Innovation, Deputy Vice Chansellor Award, Universiti Malaysia Kelanntan, 2022,
  5. Best of the Best (Paper) Award, Hybrid International Conference, Current Trends in Islamic Technology: Through Research and Innovation, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei, 2022.
  6. Gold Medal, CRI, UMK 2021, “S-IOTP: Integrated Solar-IoT Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance Systems for Irrigation.
  7. Gold Medal, i-SPiKE 2021, “S-IOTP: Integrated Solar-IoT Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance Systems for Irrigation”
  8. Silver Medal, 10th Creation, Innovation, Technology & Research Exposition (CITReX), UMP 2020.
  9. Gold Merit Award (Journal Publication) at Cendekia Bitara, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 2019.
  10. Excellent performance in the Instructional Evaluation and exceptional commitment towards teaching and learning, Faculty of Computer Systems and Software Engineering, UMP Pahang,
  11. Best PhD Student Award (based on excellent academic achievement), UTM 60th Convocation, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 27 April 2018.
  12. Graduate on Time (G.O.T) 36 Months for PhD program in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 2018, Feb 2015 – Feb 2018.
  13. Silver Medal Award for ‘Improved Cooperative and Parallel Metaheuristic Method (iCPM) for Parameter Estimation in Large-Scale Metabolic Models” in 1st Graduate Research Exhibition Competition (GRex) 2017, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 19 September 2017.
  14. Research Attachment Scholarship at Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca, University of Salamanca, Spain. Funded by UTM and University of Salamanca (USAL), Spain.
  15. MyBrain15 Scholarship from Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for Ph.D program (2015 – 2018).

Selected Publication

PolarBytes: Advancing Polar Research with a Centralized Open-Source Data Sharing Platform
NH Hazman, RM Zawawi, AS Jusoh, MA Remli, MC Leong, MS Mohamad, …Environmental Modelling & Software, 106325

AI-driven Q-learning for personalized acne genetics: Innovative approaches and potential genetic markers
YC Chua, HW Nies, II Kamsani, H Hashim, Y Yusoff, WH Chan, MA Remli, …Egyptian Informatics Journal 26, 100484

Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) Based Architecture for Forecasting Tourist Arrivals
H Mukhtar, MA Remli, KNSWS Wong, Y RizkiAI in Business: Opportunities and Limitations: Volume 2, 585-600

Artificial intelligence and database for NGS-based diagnosis in rare disease
YW Choon, YF Choon, NA Nasarudin, F Al Jasmi, MA Remli, MH Alkayali, …Frontiers in Genetics 14, 1258083

Recent advancements and challenges of AIoT application in smart agriculture: A review
HK Adli, MA Remli, KNS Wan Salihin Wong, NA Ismail, …Sensors 23 (7), 3752

A review on recent progress in machine learning and deep learning methods for cancer classification on gene expression data
AU Mazlan, NA Sahabudin, MA Remli, NSN Ismail, MS Mohamad, …Processes 9 (8), 1466

An Enhanced Segment Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Kinetic Parameters Estimation of the Main Metabolic Model of Escherichia Coli
MA Kunna, TAA Kadir, MA Remli, NM Ali, K Moorthy, N MuhammadProcesses 8 (8), 963

An improved scatter search algorithm for parameter estimation in large-scale kinetic models of biochemical systems
MA Remli, MS Mohamad, S Deris, R Sinnott, S NapisCurrent Proteomics 16 (5), 427-438

Cooperative enhanced scatter search with opposition-based learning schemes for parameter estimation in high dimensional kinetic models of biological systems
MA Remli, MS Mohamad, S Deris, AA Samah, S Omatu, JM CorchadoExpert Systems with Applications 116, 131-146

Metaheuristic optimization for parameter estimation in kinetic models of biological systems-recent development and future direction
M Akmal Remli, M Saberi Mohamad, S Deris, S Napis, R Sinnott, …Current Bioinformatics 12 (4), 286-295

An enhanced scatter search with combined opposition-based learning for parameter estimation in large-scale kinetic models of biochemical systems
MA Remli, S Deris, MS Mohamad, S Omatu, JM Corchado
Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 62, 164-180