Developing High-Impact Artificial Intelligence Papers in Higher Education

Unlock the secrets to publishing powerful, future-focused AI research in academia. This dynamic event is designed for scholars, researchers, and educators eager to lead the way in AI integration across higher education. Learn how to frame impactful research questions, align with top-tier journals, and leverage cutting-edge tools. Whether you're starting your first paper or refining your next big idea, this session will equip you with the strategies to stand out in a fast-evolving field.

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Dr Marios Kremantzis is a decision scientist and Senior Lecturer in Business Analytics at the University of Bristol, where he serves as Programme Director of the MSc Management (and pathways) and as Education Lead for the Technology & Operations Academic Group. He is also Co‑Editor‑in‑Chief of Intelligent Technologies in Education (ITEd), an Open Access Publishing Association journal.

Funded by EPSRC & BAE Systems, Marios earned a PhD in Management Science from the University of Southampton, specialising in optimisation, Data Envelopment Analysis, efficiency measurement and multi-criteria decision analysis. Since joining Bristol he has expanded this quantitative toolkit to employability analytics, Generative and Agentic AI, student engagement and higher-education innovation, fusing analytics with pedagogical research.

His work centres on mathematical and AI-enabled models that deliver actionable insights, benchmark performance and guide complex decisions. He has published in Studies in Higher Education, Expert Systems with Applications, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Operational Research, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, Journal of Air Transport Management, RAIRO-Operations Research, Precision Agriculture and Supply Chain Analytics, and writes for Times Higher Education.

Marios currently leads the Bristol Institute for Learning & Teaching project “Enhancing Teaching and Learning through AI Chatbots in Higher Education”, evaluating how chatbots can enrich curricula and personalise support. He founded and chairs the OR Society Special Interest Group “OR, Analytics & Education”, serves on its General Council and Education Sub-Committee, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Associate Fellow of the OR Society.

A multi-award-winning educator, he received the BS’s Outstanding Lecturer (2025) & Personal Tutor Awards (2024) and the university’s Inspiring & Innovative Teaching Award (2023); his MSc Business Analytics team was shortlisted for the 2025 teaching-team award. Southampton earlier honoured him with the Doctoral College Director’s Award (2021).

He guest-edited special issues on AI-enhanced student engagement for Studies in Higher Education and the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, and is editing Evaluation Review’s forthcoming issue “Evaluation and Assessment for Teaching and Training in the Era of AI”.

Dr Aniekan Essien is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Business Analytics at the University of Bristol School of Management. As an academic, Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) and Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA), he demonstrates an exemplary link between teaching and engagement with industry and society stakeholders, being a Data Scientist and Business Intelligence professional with demonstrated experience and project implementation success. Dr Essien’s achievements have been recognised through numerous awards, voted by students and nominations by peers who have acknowledged his skill towards creating and delivering academic courses by adopting innovative and technology-enhance approaches that have fostered student engagement and academic performance.

With a PhD in data science, which saw the development of a predictive algorithm selection framework applying deep learning towards urban traffic management, Aniekan has sound practical and academic knowledge of big data, machine learning and predictive analytics. His multi-sector experience in the higher education, retail, financial, management, transport, as well as business sectors emphasises his ability to ‘think outside of the box’ and his innovative/creative skills.