Associate Professor Ir Dr Sami Salama Hussen Hajjaj
- Associate Professor
Biography
Dr. Sami Hajjaj has over 20 years of experience in higher education and R&D, with extensive international and professional recognition. He is a Professional Engineer (Malaysia), Chartered Engineer (UK), Senior Fellow (Advance HE, UK), Senior Member of IEEE (SMIEEE, US), and an Accredited Trainer (HRDCorp, Malaysia).
Before joining Sunway University, he was the Program Director at the School of Robotics, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China. Prior to that, he spent over 18 years at various Malaysian institutions.
Dr. Hajjaj specializes in Robotics, IoT, and AI, with recent projects in Generative AI in Robotics, Factories of Tomorrow, and Collaborative Robots (CoBots). He is also actively involved in STEAM education and research (STEM + Art), with projects such as Robotic Cameras for TV & Film, Creative Robotics, and Generative AI for Education.
He has led and completed numerous high-impact projects across various sectors, securing research funding and earning international gold awards for engineering innovation. His work includes authoring engineering books with Routledge and Taylor & Francis, publishing in Q1 journals, presenting at international events, and registering intellectual properties.
Coming from a family of teachers, Dr. Hajjaj is passionate about student mentorship. He has supervised postgraduate students to graduation, guided them in winning prestigious engineering awards, and supported others in launching successful startups.
Academic & Professional Qualifications
- PhD in Engineering (Robotics), UNITEN (2018)
- MSc in Engineering (Manufacturing), IIUM (2007)
- BEng in Engineering (Manufacturing), IIUM (2003)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, University of Liverpool (2024)
- Professional Engineer (PEng), Board of Engineers Malaysia (2019)
- Chartered Engineer (CEng), Engineering Council, UK (2018)
- Accredited Trainer, HRD Corp, Ministry of Human Resources (2025)
- Senior Fellow, Advance Higher Education, UK (SFHEA), 2024
Research Interests
- Generative AI in Robotics: Creative Robotics, Social Robots, CoBots
- AI and Learning Algorithms: Machine Learning, Deep Learning
- The Internet of Things: Data Science, Embedded Systems, Cloud Solutions
- Automation & Robotics: Industrial Robots, IR4.0, Intelligent Manufacturing Solutions
- Engineering Education, Impact of Technology on Society, Creative Robotics
Teaching Areas
- Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, Neural Networks
- Programming and Software: Python, C++, MATLAB, The Robot Operating System, ROS 2.0, ROS-I
- Generative AI, Prompt Engineering, GenAI for Developers, GenAI API
- IR.0, Connected Factories, Digital Twins, Cloud Robotics
Courses Taught
- Intelligent Control: Neural Networks, Fuzzy Controller, expert Systems
- Embedded Systems: for IoT applications
- Programming: Python, C++, Linux for engineers
- Robotics & Automated Systems: the Robot Operating System ROS
- Data Science, Cloud Solutions, R for Data Science, Big Data
Notable Publications
Hajjaj, S. (2024). Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for Industrial Parts Recognition: Advancing Manufacturing Digitalization. In The 2024 International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics (ICiMR 2024)
Hajjaj, S. (2024). Dynamic Music-Responsive Robotics: Development of a Humanoid Dancing Robot Responsive to Music. In The 2024 International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics (ICiMR 2024) [Best Paper Award]
Hajjaj, S. (2024). Vision-Based Robotic Grasping: Integrating YOLOv8 and GRCNN for Dynamic Object Handling. In The 2024 International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics (ICiMR 2024)
Alqaraleh, D.A., Hajjaj, S., Mohamed, H. (2024). Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Trends and Challenges in Applying Industry 4.0 to Enhance Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing, Specifically Mining. In: Robot Intelligence Technology and Applications 8. RiTA 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 1132. Springer, Cham.
Hajjaj, S. (2024). ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND ROBOTICS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE. In Creative Industry International Conference (CIIC) 2024 [Best Paper Award]
Sun, Y., Selig, T., Li, S., Hajjaj, S., & Hu, X. (2023). Generative AI in Higher Education - Opportunities and Challenges. Digital, Visual or Audio-visual Creative Work https://www.ximalaya.com/sound/636079672
Hajjaj, S. (2022). The Robot Operating System (ROS) for Agriculture Robots and Automated Systems. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press. [Book]
Hajjaj, S.S.H., & Gsangaya, K.R. (2022). The Internet of Mechanical Things: The IoT Framework for Mechanical Engineers. CRC Press, Routledge. [Book]
S. S. H. Hajjaj and N. K. A. Karim, "Adoption of Robotics in the TV & Film Industry: The IoT-enabled Robotic Camera Dolly," 2021 30th IEEE International Conference on Robot & Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)
Gsangaya, K.R., Hajjaj, S.S.H., Sultan, M.T.H. et al. Portable, wireless, and effective internet of things-based sensors for precision agriculture. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 17, 3901–3916 (2020). [Q1]
Achievements & Accolades
International Design Innovation Awards
- Gold medal, The Farm Blockchain Manager: Data Gathering Framework for Agriculture Blockchain Applications. The Seoul International Invention Fair 2021 (SIIF 2021). 4th Dec 2021
- Gold medal, Auto-Select IoT Vehicle Management System for reliable Fleet Management and Utilization. The Seoul International Invention Fair 2020 (SIIF 2020). 4th Dec 2020
- Gold medal, Vehicle Performance & Location Monitoring System for Resources Management and Effective Utilization, Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE 2020), 22nd Feb 2020
- Gold medal, A Centralized Flood Monitoring and Mitigation System through IoT, Int. innovation & Technology Exhibition Malaysia, 2018 (ITEX 2018), 12th May 2018
Industrial Collaboration
2024 3S Robotics (China) – Developing experience-based AI-enabled Industrial Welding Robotics, System and practical applications.
2020 Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) – Large-scale solar power systems, IoT-based renewable energy systems, remote monitoring of solar farms.
2019 TV Al-Hijrah - Robotic Camera systems, IoT-based broadcast frameworks, Human-Robot-Interaction, Social Robotics, Technology acceptance
2018 Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI) - Agriculture robotics and automated systems, Precision agriculture with IoT, Agriculture drones redesigns, IoT Greenhouses, centralized water management systems through IoT.
Invited Speaker / Judge / Assessor
2023 Invited Speaker (podcast) – Generative AI in Higher Education, Opportunities and Challenges, XJTLU, China
2023 Invited Speaker (IMechE) – Design for Entrepreneurship. Innovative Engineering Design with a special focus on Entrepreneurship.
2022 Invited Speaker (IEM) – Webinar Series on Industrial Automation, AI for Mechanical Engineering (CPD points)
2021 Invited Speaker, IoT for Effective Practical Engineering Applications, Minghsin University of Science and Technology (MUST), Hsinchu County, Taiwan
2020 Invited Speaker and Judge, Engineering Science & Technology Exhibition,
Mahasa University, Malaysia.
2020 Assessor (8 sessions), Professional Review for Chartered Engineer, IMechE Malaysia Chapter, (eight candidates, from Jul 2019 to Jan 2020)
2018 Judge, MMU Research Innovation Commercialization & Entrepreneurship Showcase 2018, (RICES 2018). Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia.
External Supervisor / Examiner
2023 External Supervisor (PhD) - Utilizing Data-driven Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) framework to enhance Predictive Maintenance Procedures in the Mining Industry in Jordan
2023 External Supervisor (PhD) - IoT-enabled Covid-19 Medical Waste Sorting and Disposal Robot Powered Through Advanced Learning Algorithms for Effective Post Pandemic Recovery
2021 External Examiner - MSc, IoT based Smart Helmet for Real-time Monitoring hazardous parameters for the Mining Industry. Management & Science University (MSU), Malaysia
2021 External Examiner - MSc, Towards a Smart Motorcycle Helmet: Design and effective implementation, Management & Science University (MSU), Malaysia
2018 External PhD Supervisor, Application of Natural-Synthetic Fiber Laminate Composite in Aircraft Structure Using Finite Element Analysis. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Verified Paper Reviewer (for Q1 Journals & IEEE conferences)
2021 Assessment on the impact of an automated remote water quality Management system , designed for a biofloc aquaculture Production in the shrimp’s mortality. Automatika, Journal for Control, Measurement, Electronics, Computing and Communications (Q1, ISI Journal)
2021 Precision and Intelligent Agricultural Decision Support System based on Big Data Analysis. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science (Q1, ISI Journal)
2020 An Improved Robotic Control System Using Wireless Fidelity Network, International Journal of Communication Systems (Q1, ISI Journal)
2018 Active Object Search in an Unknown Large-scale Environment using Commonsense Knowledge and Spatial Relations. Intelligent Service Robotics (ISI, Q1 Journal)
2018 The Robot Skin Placement Problem: a New Technique to Place Triangular Modules inside Polygon. Intelligent Service Robotics (ISI, Q1 Journal)
Professional Associations
- Professional Engineer (PEng), BEM Malaysia (2019) - P120837
- Chartered Engineer (CEng), Engineering Council, UK (2018) - 80325412
- HRDCorp Accredited Trainer (2025) – Trainer ID: 43337
- Senior Fellow, Advance Higher Education (SFHEA), UK (2024) - PR28058
- Senior Member of IEEE (SMIEEE) (2017) - 94071153
- Certified IoT Specialist (MIMOS Malaysia) (2019) – 94071153
- Member, Institute of Engineers Malaysia (MIEM) - 104183
