EDUCATION

Ph.D.: Information Systems and Technology, University of Phoenix, USA (2013)

MBA: Information Systems, Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB), Switzerland (2009)

M.Sc.: Computer Science (Applications), Osmania University, India (2001)

PG Certificate: Information Technology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (2013)

B.Sc.: Computer Science, Andhra University, India (1998)

AREAS OF INTEREST

Research: Information Technology Risk Management, Agricultural Information Systems, Machine Learning, Data Science, Technology Acceptance, Knowledge Sharing & Impact of Culture, eCommerce & eBusiness, Big Data Analytics

Teaching: Programming, Databases, Mobile Application Development

EXPERIENCE

Academic Experience

University of New York Tirana (AL), Computer Science Department, Associate Professor (2020- Current)

American University of Nigeria (NG), School of IT and Computing, Chair of Computer Science and Software Engineering Programs and Assistant Professor (2016 -2020)

University of New York Tirana (AL), Computer Science Department, Assistant Professor (2006-2016)

Online Instructor (UK) Recognized Teacher – Graduate Program at the University of Roehampton (2015-2019)

Administrative Experience

University of New York Tirana, Program Director, M.Sc. in Computer Science Program (2021-2022)

University of New York Tirana, Chair of Telecommunication and Network Engineering (2020-2021)

American University of Nigeria, Chair of Computer Science and Software Engineering (2016 – 2020)

University of New York Tirana, Program Director, M.Sc. in Computer Science Program (offered in association with University of Greenwich, UK) (2009-2016)

Professional Experience

Senior Non-Key Expert (NKE) ICT Training on Python (ICT-T-Python). European Union (EU) funded Project managed by EU office in Kosovo – EU support for the Competitiveness of Kosovo’s ICT sector (2021-2022).

Junior Non-Key Expert (NKE) ICT Training on Java (ICT-T-Java). European Union (EU) funded Project managed by EU office in Kosovo – EU support for the Competitiveness of Kosovo’s ICT sector (2021-2022).

Project Manager – IT & IS Research, WWW(W3) Research (2013-to date), St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, USA.

IT Consultant, Nebula, Tirana, Albania (2021-to date).

Associate Consultant for Protech Albania, (2013-to date)

IT Consultant, Inovacion Albania, Tirana, Albania (2014-2019).

Adriatinn IPA Project, Team Member (2013-2016),

Director – IT Analytics, WWW(W3) Research (2010-2013), St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, USA.

RESEARCH OUTPUTS

Refereed Journal Articles

Vajjhala, N.R. & Strang, K.D. (2022 – in press). Impact of Information Communication Technologies Strategies on Learning Effectiveness. International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design (IJOPCD). Volume 12, Issue Not Allocated. Indexed in Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), SCOPUS, INSPEC, DBLP, and UGC-CARE. Scopus Cite Score – 1.1

Potluri, R.M. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Risks in Adoption and Implementation of Big Data Analytics: A Case of Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM) 10(3). IGI Publishers. Indexed in Cabell’s and ACM Digital Library. ISSN: 2160-9624. Link: http://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-risk-contingency-management/53135

Strang, K.D., Che, F., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Thematic Analysis of Agricultural Government Policy and Operational Problems. Agricultural Research (Springer Journal). Volume 10, Issue 3.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-021-00588-2. Springer. Indexed in Scopus, SCImago, and Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index. Scopus Cite Score – 1.6

Che, F., Strang, K.D. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Using Experiential Learning to Improve Student Attitude and Learning Quality in Software Engineering Education. International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (IJITLHE). Volume 2, Issue 1. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-innovative-teaching-learning/217719

Che, F., Strang, K.D., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Voice of farmers in the agriculture crisis in North-East Nigeria: Focus group insights from extension workers. International Journal of Development Issues. Volume 19, Issue 1, pp. 43-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-08-2019-0136. Emerald Insight. Indexed in Scopus, Cabell’s and Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC), Journal Quality List – C. Won Outstanding Paper in the 2021 Emerald Literati Awards. Scopus CiteScore – 0.9 (2020) and 1.2 (2021).

Strang, K.D. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Predictors of e-service consumption in a highly productive Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa region sample. International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications (IJESMA). Volume 12 Issue 1, pp. 39-56. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-services-mobile-applications/1114. Indexed in Scopus and DBLP. Scopus Cite Score: 1.9.

Books and Book Chapters

Che, F., Strang, K.D., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Opportunities and Strategic Use of Agribusiness Information Systems. IGI Publications. ISBN13: 9781799848493. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4849-3. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/book/opportunities-strategic-use-agribusiness-information/244594

Biba, M. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Machine Learning for Metabolic Networks Modelling: A State-of-the-Art Survey. Handbook of Machine Learning Applications for Genomics, Springer Nature.

Biba, M. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Statistical Relational Learning for Genomics Applications: A State-of-the-Art Review. Handbook of Machine Learning Applications for Genomics, Springer Nature.

Strang, K.D., Che, F., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Ideologies and Issues for Teaching Blockchain Cybersecurity in Management and Computer Science. In Daimi, K. & Guillermo A. F. (Eds.), Innovation in Cybersecurity Education. Springer Nature. ISBN: 978-3-030-50243-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50244-7_7.

Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Introduction to Agricultural Information Systems. Opportunities and Strategic Use of Agribusiness Information Systems. IGI Publications. ISBN13: 9781799848493. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4849-3. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/book/opportunities-strategic-use-agribusiness-information/244594

Potluri, R.M. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Grounded Theory Study on Assessment of E-Readiness Challenges of Farmers and Extension Workers in North-East Nigeria. Opportunities and Strategic Use of Agribusiness Information Systems. IGI Publications. ISBN13: 9781799848493. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4849-3. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/book/opportunities-strategic-use-agribusiness-information/244594

Strang, K.D., Che, F., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Agriculture Business Problems: Analysis of Research and Probable Solutions in Africa. Opportunities and Strategic Use of Agribusiness Information Systems. IGI Publications. ISBN13: 9781799848493. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4849-3. Link: https://www.igi-global.com/book/opportunities-strategic-use-agribusiness-information/244594

Vajjhala, N.R., Strang, K.D., & Bitrus, N.S. (2020). Contemporary Usage of Farm Management Information Systems in Nigeria. In Yildiz (Ed.), Recent Developments in Individual and Organizational Adoption of ICTs. IGI Publications.  Link: https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/4292

Refereed Conference Presentations

Tafa, I. & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Exploratory review of privacy and security issues in the deployment of 5G Networks, The 1st International Conference on Information Technologies and Educational Engineering (ICITEE 2021). 19 – 20 November, 2021, Tirana, Albania. Published in CEUR Workshop Proceedings, ISSN: 1613-0073.

Sun, Z., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Responsible Big Data Analytics for e-Business Services. The 5th International Conference on Big Data Research (ICBDR 2021). Sep. 25-27. Published by ACM conference proceedings, ISBN: 978-1-4503-8775-0. Indexed by Scopus, EI. Link: http://www.icbdr.org/

Maa, C.D., Garba, N., Thandekkattu, S.G., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). A Semantic-Based Input Model for Patient Symptoms Elicitation for Breast Cancer Expert System. 2nd International Conference on Intelligent and Cloud Computing (ICICC-2021) (Springer). 22-23 October 2021. Bhubaneswar, India.

Imoh, N., Vajjhala, N.R., & Rakshit, S. (2021). Experimental Face Recognition System using Deep Learning Approaches. 2nd International Conference on Advances in Computer Engineering & Communication Systems (ICACECS 2021)(Springer), August 13-14, 2021, Hyderabad, India.

Biba, M., Vajjhala, N.R., & Rakshit, S. (2021). A State-of-the-Art Survey on Deep Learning Methods and Applications in Bioinformatics. 2nd International Conference on Advanced Computing and Applications (ICACA-2021). Advs in Intelligent Syst., Computing, Vol. 1406, JyotsnaKumar Mandal et al. (Eds): Proceedings of International Conference on Advanced Computing Applications, 978-981-16-5206-6, 511538_1_En. Springer. Organised by CSI Kolkata Chapter, India. Link: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811652066

Strang, K.D., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2021). Impact of Vocational Motivation for Teaching ICT Online During COVID-19 Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. IEEE – IST-Africa 2021 (Co-Sponsored by IEEE Education Society, IEEE TEMS, IEEE Africa Council). 10-14 May 2021. Electronic ISSN: 2576-8581, Electronic ISBN:978-1-905824-67-0. p. 1-10. Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9576989

Che, F., Vajjhala, N.R., & Strang, K.D. (2021). Perceived Student Learning, Attitudes and Experiential Learning in Software Engineering Education. V IEEE World Conference on Engineering Education (EDUNINE 2021). March 14 to 17, 2021. Universidad Galileo, Guatemala. Annual conference of the IEEE Education Society organized jointly with COPEC for Region 9 (Latin America). DOI: 10.1109/EDUNINE51952.2021.9429095. ISBN: 978-1-6654-0302-3

Ikponmwosa, A., Rakshit, S., Vajjhala, N.R., & Longe, O.B. (2021). Examining Data Mining Classification Techniques for Predicting Early Childhood Development in Nigeria. International Conference on Data Science and Management – ICDSM 2021. February 19-20, 2021, Bhubaneswar, India.

Editorship

Editor-in-Chief (EiC), International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM).  https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-risk-contingency-management/53135

AWARDS AND HONORS

2021: Outstanding Paper Award in the 2021 Emerald Literati Awards – Che, F., Strang, K.D., & Vajjhala, N.R. (2020). Voice of farmers in the agriculture crisis in North-East Nigeria: Focus group insights from extension workers. International Journal of Development Issues

2021: Best Paper Award for the paper titled “Examining Data Mining Classification Techniques for Predicting Early Childhood Development in Nigeria”. International Conference on Data Science and Management – ICDSM 2021. February 19-20, 2021, Bhubaneswar, India.

2018:  Best Paper Award for the paper titled “An Exploratory Study on the Efficacy of Big Data Analytics to Indian SMEs”. International Conference on Business and Economics – ICBE.

2017:  Best Paper Award – Distinguished Research Awards at the 2017 International Conference on Business and Economics and 12^th International Conference of Korea Distribution Science Association (KODISA), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

2016: University of Phoenix – School of Advanced Studies (SAS) Research Award Program 2016 – one of the top 4 applicants selected for this award program.

2013: Doctoral Research Assistantship Scholarship, University of Phoenix, 2012-2013 – one of the top 5 applicants selected for this scholarship.

2012: Best Professor of the Year Award for the Academic year 2011-2012, University of New York Tirana, Tirana, Albania.