Motaz Saad

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT MOTAZ SAAD

I hold a PhD in Natural Language Processing (NLP) from the University of Lorraine, France, with over 15 years of experience in academia (research and teaching) and more than 7 years in data science.Currently, I work as a Research Fellow at the University of Salento, Italy, where I design pipelines to extract Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) KPIs from company reports. My work involves integrating open-source large language models (LLMs) into ESG data processing workflows. I have developed a web scraping algorithm to locate ESG reports, evaluated content extraction tools, and built Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems for KPI extraction. Additionally, I implemented an agentic AI system for the project, delivered a seminar on NLP to the Data Lab team, and teach Big Data and NLP courses in the THERESA Master’s program focused on critical infrastructure security.Previously, I served as an Assistant Professor at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG), where I taught graduate and postgraduate courses in Python, AI, and NLP, supervised 10 master’s students, and published 34 research articles. I collaborated on two Erasmus Plus (E+) projects with European universities to develop a digital library for Palestine and launch an eMaster program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I led a cross-functional team of seven to provide e-Learning services to students and 400 professors, achieving approximately 95% student engagement under highly challenging circumstances.In parallel with my academic role, I worked part-time as a Data Science Consultant at the United Nations International Computing Center (UNICC). There, I enhanced products and services for UN partners using cutting-edge AI technologies. I implemented AI-based chatbots and search engines, developed and maintained predictive models and dashboards, mentored students and junior data scientists on seven proof-of-concept (PoC) projects, and contributed to creating a framework for AI and ML governance in collaboration with cross-functional teams.I am multilingual and have developed a strong understanding of multicultural environments, having worked across several countries and cultures. Outside of work, I’m an adventurous traveler who has visited 14 countries, and I enjoy swimming and connecting with new people over a cup of coffee.