Ilies arrived at KAUST in mid-July, initially as a visiting student at the RC3 center. He started his Ph.D. two months later in September under the supervision of Professor Marc Dacier. His research focuses on network security-related topics such as invisible semi-active components in end-to-end communications.
Throughout his education, Ilies obtained two bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in 2018. And obtained two master’s degrees in computer science and cybersecurity respectively at Telecom Saint-Etienne and Eurecom in France earlier this year. In addition, Ilies worked in Germany at iABG on Explainability in Deep Neural Networks to understand how AI actually behaves.
Ilies considers that going abroad really helped him to broaden his knowledge, therefore he is very happy to continue his studies within the RC3. He also thanks KAUST for granting him the Al- Khwarizmi doctoral fellowship.
According to him: “KAUST is an amazing place to study, it is really challenging to combine research and courses but it feels even more rewarding. The people come from all over the world and I am glad that the university organized the Orientation this year to help us socialize and break the ice. My daily life is also extremely different from the one I had in France. In Paris, public transportation was driving me crazy. Everything is nearby here, and it is so convenient. For instance, I usually like to have a break in Discovery Square or play football with friends when my work day is over.”
