

Our team

Overview
Dr. Hassan earned his PhD in Computer Science from Humboldt University Berlin, where his research focused on designing serious games to foster emotional and collaborative skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His interdisciplinary research sits at the crossroads of inclusive education, AI personalization, and serious game development.
He has been engaged in teaching roles at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) Potsdam and the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar. He also worked at Bitcraftx as a senior software developer and contributed to the supervision of undergraduate students at Humboldt University during his doctoral studies.
With a background in academia and industry, Dr. Hassan’s work has been presented at IEEE conferences and the European Conference on Games-Based Learning (ECGBL). His work contributes to the growing research in serious games, HCI, emotional AI, and educational technology innovation.
Areas of Expertise
- Serious Games and Game-Based Learning
- Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
- Educational Technologies for Children with ASD
- Emotional Intelligence through Digital Tools
- AI-Powered Personalization in Education
- Digital Health and Assistive Interfaces
- User-Centered Design and Gamification
- Multimodal and Multi-touch Interfaces
- Learning Analytics and Behavioral Interventions
Research interests
- AI-enhanced learning for neurodiverse learners
- Personalization in multiplayer serious games
- Emotional intelligence development through interactive systems
- Mobile-based behavioral intervention tools for ASD
- Digital empathy and collaborative skill development
- Multi-touch UI design for therapeutic purposes
- Deep learning for health diagnostics
- Socially driven traffic congestion systems
Awards and Honours
- DAAD Scholar – Fully funded doctoral scholarship in Germany.
- Organizer – Global Entrepreneurship Week, University of engineering and technology (2014).
- Workshop Participation – HEC Indigenous Faculty train the trainer.
- Certificate of Academic Excellence – Program Evaluator at the Pakistan Engineering Council
- Best Delegate – NUST Model United Nations (NUMUN), 2012.
- Outstanding Participation – GIKI Model United Nations (GIMUN), 2011.
Publications
- Zirkus Empathico 2.0: A multiplayer serious mobile game for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), focusing on enhancing social and emotional development – Multimedia Tools and Applications, 1–24.
- Malaria Cell Classification Using CNN – ICAI 2024, 627–631.
- Handwritten Alphabet Recognition Using CNN – ICAI 2024, 408–413.
- Zirkus Empathico 2.0. A Serious Game to Foster Emotional and Collaborative Skills in Children with Autism. In European Conference on Games Based Learning (pp. 812-XV). Academic Conferences International Limited. A. Hassan and Niels Pinkwart
- Ahmed Hassan, Niels Pinkwart, Muhammad Shafi, Serious games to improve social and emotional intelligence in children with autism, Entertainment Computing, Volume 38, 2021,100417, ISSN 1875-9521,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2021.100417.
- Hassan, A., & Pinkwart, N. (2020). Zirkus Empathico 2.0: A serious mobile game for empathy enhancement in children with Autism. In DELFI 2020–Die 18. Fachtagung Bildungstechnologien der Gesellschaft für Informatik eV (pp. 379-380). Gesellschaft für Informatik eV.Multi-touch UI for behavioral interventions – Reviews and studies on collaborative gesture-based UI, early alert systems, and assistive technologies.
- Hassan, A., & Pinkwart, N. (2019). On the Adaptability and Applicability of Multi-touch User Interfaces Addressing Behavioral Interventions for Children with Autism. IETE Technical Review, 37(2), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/02564602.2019.1590164
- An early alert system for traffic congestion based on social messages on smartphones. Abdullah Abdullah, Manzoor Ali, Ahmed Hassan, 2016/1 International Journal of Computer Applications
- Hassan, A., Shafi, M., & Khattak, M. I. (2016). Multi-touch collaborative gesture recognition-based user interfaces as behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder: A review. Mehran University Research Journal Of Engineering & Technology, 35(4), 543–560. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.941932406804462
Conferences, Talks and Speaking Engagements
- European Conference on Games Based Learning (ECGBL) – Presenter of Zirkus Empathico 2.0.
- IEEE International Conferences – Presenter of multiple works on serious games and deep learning applications.
- DELFI 2020 (Germany) – Presenter on mobile game design for empathy in ASD children.
- Humboldt University Colloquiums – Guest speaker on emotional intelligence through interactive systems.
- Academic Supervision Talks – Graduate thesis mentorship sessions at Humboldt University.
- Public Seminar Participation – Engaged in interdisciplinary workshops on EdTech, Game Design, and Autism support tools.