Dr. Samane Abdi is Chair of the Computer Science Programs at Sofia University, with expertise in cybersecurity, computer networks, and applied artificial intelligence. She brings over 15 years of combined academic and industry experience, leading initiatives in program development, curriculum modernization, and accreditation alignment (ABET), with a focus on preparing students for real-world, industry-aligned careers.
Dr. Abdi oversees graduate and certificate programs, guiding curriculum design, assessment, and continuous improvement. She has taught a broad range of courses, including Cybersecurity, Cloud Security, Network Engineering, Operating Systems, Database Systems, and Applied AI, and has mentored more than 2,000 students across diverse international higher education environments.
Her research focuses on network and cloud security, AI-driven threat detection, privacy-preserving systems, and secure distributed computing. She has published in leading peer-reviewed venues such as IEEE and ACM conferences, contributing to advancements in trustworthy computing and modern cyber defense.
Prior to Sofia, Dr. Abdi held academic leadership roles in Ireland and completed postdoctoral research in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. She also brings industry experience in fraud analytics and machine learning-based security systems. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Cybersecurity) from University College Cork and is committed to advancing innovative, secure, and globally relevant computing education.
