Khem Emrith

Senior leader with over 15 years of experience operating at the intersection of research, innovation, and industry engagement across academia, government, and corporate environments. Proven track record in shaping strategy, securing large-scale external funding, building high-value partnerships, and translating advanced research and technology into measurable scientific, economic, societal, and organizational impact.
Experienced in working with executive leadership, boards, faculty, government entities, and corporate stakeholders to design governance frameworks, manage complex portfolios, and deliver outcomes aligned with institutional, national, and commercial priorities. Recognized for bridging academic rigor with commercial relevance, applied innovation, and sustainable growth.

Head of University Collaboration and Industrial Engagement (Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Feb’ 21 - Present)

• Senior leadership role responsible for external engagement, strategic partnerships, and applied
  research collaboration across academia, industry, and government.)

Head of Business Engagement and Partnerships - Department of Engineering ( University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K Aug’ 18 - Feb’ 21)
Led engagement strategy, external revenue development, and partnership-driven growth across
academic and industry stakeholders.

Program Director and Partnership Lead ( University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K Jun’ 15 - Mar ’19)
Combined program leadership with partnership development and talent outcomes.

Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Principal Investigator (University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K Jan’ 14 - Jul’ 18)

Other (Selected)

Machine Learning Consultant (BDO Solutions Mauritius (part of BDO group) Aug’ 16 - Dec’ 17)
Postdoctoral Research Associate in 3D Computer Vision (Bristol Robotics Lab, University of the West of England, Bristol, U.K. Apr’ 10 - Jan ’15)
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computer Vision (Texture Lab, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K. Jun’ 08 - Mar ’10)

PhD Computer Science, Oct’ 04 - Jul’ 08 ( Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.)
PhD Thesis: Perceptual Dimensions for Surface Texture Retrieval. Funded by the James Watt
Scholarship
MSc/MRes Computer Science, Sept’ 99 - Dec’ 02 (Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
)
MRes Thesis: Content Based Image Retrieval using Relevance Feedback. Funded by Programme
Canadien de Bourses de la Francophonie
BEng(Hons) Computer Science and Engineering with First Class Honors, Aug’ 94 - Jul’ 98 (University of Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius)