PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Faisal Shafait

Also known as F Shafait, F. Shafait, Faisal Shafait A, Faisal Shafait B

Faisal Shafait is a researcher in document image analysis whose work includes Arabic-script layout, robust reading and deep learning for image sets. He earned a PhD in computer engineering with highest distinction at TU Kaiserslautern in 2008. His work received the IAPR/ICDAR Young Investigator Award in 2019, Pakistan's Pride of Performance Award in 2023 and an IAPR Fellowship in 2026. Today, he is a Professor at NUST SEECS and an Adjunct Professor at UWA.

Timeline

  1. 2008

    A PhD in computer engineering

    He earns a PhD in computer engineering at TU Kaiserslautern with highest distinction in 2008.

  2. 2012–2013

    Arabic-script layout and robust reading

    In 2012, he coauthors the chapter ‘Layout Analysis of Arabic Script Documents’ for Guide to OCR for Arabic Scripts. In 2013, he coauthors the conference paper ‘ICDAR 2013 robust reading competition’ in the proceedings of the International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition.

  3. 2015

    Deep extreme learning machines

    In 2015, he coauthors ‘Representation Learning with Deep Extreme Learning Machines for Efficient Image Set Classification’; the paper learns non-linear structure in image sets with Deep Extreme Learning Machines.

  4. 2019

    An IAPR/ICDAR Young Investigator Award

    He receives the IAPR/ICDAR Young Investigator Award in 2019.

  5. 2023

    Pakistan's Pride of Performance Award

    Pakistan's President confers the Pride of Performance Award on him in 2023 and schedules the investiture for March 2024.

  6. October 2024

    Leading NUST's computing department

    In October 2024, he is Professor and Head of the Department of Computing at NUST's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) and leads the Deep Learning Lab under the National Center of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI).

  7. 2026

    An IAPR Fellowship

    IAPR names him a Fellow in 2026 for contributions in document image analysis and service through its Technical Committees and conferences.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at NUST

    He is a Professor at NUST SEECS and an Adjunct Professor at UWA. In 2026, he chairs the DAS workshop; earlier roles include Senior Researcher at DFKI and Adjunct Lecturer at TUKL.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

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  1. Faisal Shafait | TUKL NUST tukl.seecs.nust.edu.pk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Layout Analysis of Arabic Script Documents - the UWA Profiles and Research Repository research-repository.uwa.edu.au. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. ICDAR 2013 robust reading competition - the UWA Profiles and Research Repository research-repository.uwa.edu.au. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. [1503.02445] Representation Learning with Deep Extreme Learning Machines for Efficient Image Set Classification arxiv.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Workshop on Digital Forestry – DLL-NCAI dll.seecs.nust.edu.pk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Conferment of Pakistan Civil Awards - 14th August, 2023 pid.gov.pk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Chronological List of IAPR Fellows – International Association for Pattern Recognition iapr.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  8. INSC insc.ncp.edu.pk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  9. Faisal Shafait - the UWA Profiles and Research Repository research-repository.uwa.edu.au. Checked 19 October 2026.
  10. DAS 2026 das2026.seecs.edu.pk. Checked 19 October 2026.