Professor Maria Fasli

Maria Fasli is the acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex until July 2025, and is a Professor of Computer Science specialising in Artificial Intelligence (AI). She took over the role of Vice-Chancellor on 1st August 2024. Maria obtained her BSc in Informatics from the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Department of Informatics, Greece in 1996. She obtained her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Essex in 2000 working on logics for AI under the supervision of Professor Ray Turner.

Maria started as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Essex in January 2000 and she has held a range of roles within the University. She was the Head of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (2009-14) and the founding Director of the Institute for Analytics and Data Science (IADS) (2014-19). Prior to her current role, Maria was the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health.

Maria’s research interests lie in AI and she has published extensively in conferences and journals in the field. Her research has been funded by Research Councils and other organisations and she has worked with companies and public sector organisations in data analytics and AI related projects. She has been the Director of the ESRC funded Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) since 2018 and has worked with multidisciplinary teams and a range of stakeholders on developing and applying AI techniques in different settings.

In 2016, she was awarded the first UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science to support the development of skills and research capacity in data science, analytics and AI across the world. She is passionate about education and in 2005, she was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) by the Higher Education Academy UK for her novel approaches to education and supporting the student experience.