Hi, I’m Ahtsham Manzoor — an Applied AI Scientist and lifelong technologist, fascinated by how ideas can evolve into intelligent systems that make life easier, smoother, and more meaningful.

From an early age, I was drawn to science. Choosing pre-engineering in high school felt like destiny. After a highly competitive examination process, I was admitted in 2011 to the BS Computer Science program at a prestigious public engineering institute — University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore.

During my studies, I gained hands-on experience and began my career as a Software Developer (Intern) in 2014. My journey grew from solving problems in large codebases; exploring/debugging/coding tens of thousands of lines of code and hundreds of SQL tables. However, the curiosity to learn more led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), focusing on data science and machine learning. Imagine implementing neural networks and machine learning models in Matlab — and that without modern libraries! :p

After completing my Master’s thesis in 2017, my curiosity to advance Data Science transformed into an R&D passion.

In 2019, I joined the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, as a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity (AICS). Within the Information Systems Research Group, I investigated natural language generation (e.g., GPT, BERT, Transformers, RNNs, GNNs) and retrieval-based methods for the conversational recommendation problem, with a particular focus on their effectiveness in terms of quality and usability from a human-centric standpoint.
In 2023, this work led to my PhD project conclusion in Applied AI (ML/NLP/UX), with 10+ peer-reviewed publications. In essence, it was a transformative journey, where in addition to the persuit of becoming an independent researcher, I explored how humans interact with multi-turn conversational agents like ChatGPT — and how technology can feel more natural, predictable, and human-intuitive.

Over the past decade, I’ve been fortunate to work across research labs, startups, and global enterprises in domains such as travel & insurance, media, auto finance, e-commerce, and enterprise digital/data platforms. From acquring scientific exposure to practical problem solving, I see myself as a scientific liaison between R&D, engineering, and design; eager to apply what I’ve refined over the years on a broader, practical scale, while learning from others, upscaling expertise, and creating impact.

My primary research interests lie at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Human-Computer Interaction (assistive technologies, human factors, UX).



Outside of work, I enjoy sightseeing, traveling, and exploring multi-cuisine food. Have something serious to discuss? Just offer me a nice coffee! ☕