Course Director
Ajit is a dedicated leader and teacher in Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a strong background in AI for Cyber-Physical Systems, research, entrepreneurship, and academia.
Currently, he serves as the Course Director for several AI programs at the University of Oxford and is a Visiting Fellow in Engineering Sciences at the University of Oxford. His work is rooted in the interdisciplinary aspects of AI, such as AI integration with Digital Twins and Cybersecurity.
His courses have also been delivered at prestigious institutions, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), and as part of The Future Society at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
As an Advisory AI Engineer, Ajit specialises in developing innovative, early-stage AI prototypes for complex applications. His work focuses on leveraging interdisciplinary approaches to solve real-world challenges using AI technologies.
Ajit has shared his expertise on technology and AI with several high-profile platforms, including the World Economic Forum, Capitol Hill/White House, and the European Parliament.
Ajit is currently writing a book aimed at teaching AI through mathematical foundations at the high school level.
Ajit resides in London, UK, and holds British citizenship. He is actively engaged in advancing AI education and innovation both locally and globally. He is neurodiverse - being on the high functioning autism spectrum.
Ajit's work in teaching, consulting, and entrepreneurship is grounded in methodologies and frameworks he developed through his AI teaching experience. These methodologies help to rapidly develop complex, interdisciplinary AI solutions in a relatively short time. These include:
1. The Jigsaw Methodology for low-code data science to non-developers.
2. The AI Product Manager framework and AI product market fit framework
3. Software engineering with the LLM stack
4. Agentic RAG for cyber-physical systems.
5. AI for Engineering sciences:
6. The ability of AI to reason using large language models
He also consults at senior advisory levels to companies.
His newsletter on AI in Linkedin has a wide following
Tutor
Jesus is an accomplished digital industry professional with 25 years of experience, including the last 16 years at Microsoft.
He specialises in digital transformation, innovation, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and user experience, while also maintaining a strong technical background as a software engineer.
He is a leader in emerging forms of interaction such as extended reality, voice, and biometric interfaces.
In 2014, he was the inventor of one of Microsoft's protected patents for a virtual experience applied to public events, long before the term "metaverse" became popular.
Throughout his career, Jesus has been involved in a wide range of industries, including retail (Zara, IKEA), banking (Santander), insurance (Reale), media (Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox), and telecommunications (Ooredoo).
He has also led the Sports and Entertainment Innovation team, managing 180 sports organisations in 35 countries and 23 sports (Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Laliga, FIFA, FIVB, IAAF, Toyota WRC, WWE, Russia World Cup 2018, Qatar World Cup 2022 etc.).
He has led the development of several successful consumer apps for iOS, Android, Windows and HoloLens, which have received millions of downloads.
He is a top Microsoft speaker, having delivered over 100 sessions and keynotes at global events, achieving the Microsoft Speaker Grand Slam (speaking at the five largest Microsoft global events). He is also an Associate Professor in various Master's programmes and a frequent collaborator with business schools, universities and bootcamps.
Jesus' favourite quote is "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Guest Speaker
Muge Ozkaptan is a Senior Product Lead at BBC Media Action. She is a digital product expert with over 20 years of experience, specialising in developing innovative digital products, including AI-driven solutions, for journalists, media professionals, and broader audiences. Her work spans Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, delivering impactful solutions tailored to the media industry. She supports digital and product teams in creating meaningful programmes and products designed for diverse audiences. Muge leads AI initiatives at BBC Media Action and is also part of the BBC’s Responsible AI team, where she helps shape strategies for the responsible use of AI. Her thematic focuses include media development, combating misinformation and disinformation, promoting gender equality, and addressing climate change.
Guest Speaker
Claudia Saleh is an AI Product Leader at Disney with over 20 years of IT experience. She traded the laid-back beaches and sunny Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she worked for media companies like Globo.com and ADVPress, for the dynamic international scene of Washington, DC. There, she contributed her expertise to international organisations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations.
She works in the media and entertainment industry, driving innovation at the intersection of technology and creativity. As a graduate student in Artificial Intelligence, she combines academic insights with hands-on expertise, focusing on AI strategies and their transformative potential for knowledge and creative professionals.
An experienced speaker and mentor, Claudia has guided enterprises in adopting technology effectively and strives to empower professionals to see AI as a collaborator. Her diverse background includes a decade as a travel journalist and graphic designer, which adds a unique perspective to her work, enabling her to simplify complex ideas and inspire diverse audiences.
When she’s not exploring the latest AI trends, Claudia can be found writing, travelling, or immersing herself in the magic of Disney. She brings a unique voice to conversations about AI, blending technical insights with a deep appreciation for the creative spark that drives innovation.
Guest Speaker
Anne-Marie Verdin-Mulot brings a wealth of expertise in brand strategy, luxury, fashion and lifestyle marketing, together with digital innovation to her role as an instructor in this course. With a career spanning leadership positions at iconic brands including Disney, Yahoo!, Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, Bicester Village and Mulberry, Anne-Marie has a deep understanding of how to blend data-driven insights with creative storytelling to elevate brand engagement on a global scale. Her work has driven high-impact initiatives across digital, content, and guest experience, often pioneering the integration of AI and emerging technologies to shape brand narratives and customer connections.
In a world of increasingly tech-savvy customers it is important to speak their language and communicate in the new codes of future generations .
In this course, Anne-Marie will draw on her unique background in luxury, fashion and lifestyle sectors to guide participants through the evolving landscape of AI in creative fields. Her sessions will focus on the collaborative potential of AI, its applications in branding, and the art of balancing AI-generated insights with human intuition inviting you to become a leader in creative first AI.
Guest Speaker
Professor in the Surgery Department at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL. Chief Architect of the School’s AI/XR Simulation Facility.
Former Director of the Center for Virtual Expression at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, specializing in AI, VR, gamification, and narrative game development.
Short story writer, novelist, screenwriter.
Guest Speaker
Marinda Botha is a voice-over artist and performer based in Cape Town, South Africa.
She is part of two international ensembles that create and perform live, immersive theatre in Virtual Reality. She has been performing in VR for six years.
Marinda has 25 years of professional voice-over experience, recording for brands such as the BBC, CNN Africa, and Hallmark Entertainment, among many others.
She also taught Acting, Puppetry, Creativity, and Visual Literacy at the tertiary level for 14 years.
She holds a Master’s degree in English, with a research focus on storytelling in Virtual Reality, and is currently exploring the use of AI as a tool for storytelling in XR technologies.
Guest Speaker
Mike Cheong is a Technical Architect for AI at Adobe and a creative technologist passionate about the intersection of creativity and technology.
With deep expertise in enterprise creative transformation, Mike collaborates with leading brands, agencies, and marketers to harness AI to empower creatives, scale content production, and democratize creativity across organizations.
Bringing insights from Adobe’s global customer and partner ecosystem, including retail, creative agencies, and automotive industries, Mike bridges the gap between cutting-edge AI tools and real-world creative workflows. He also led the technical implementation of Adobe’s first AI co-innovation partnership in Europe, working with Henkel to develop an AI-enhanced, hyper-personalized marketing campaign that showcased the power of AI-driven customer experiences.
In this course, he will provide industry perspectives, practical strategies, and hands-on sessions on enhancing content ideation and creation using Adobe Firefly and AI-driven creative tools. He will also explore Adobe’s vision for the future of creativity, the role of ethical AI in creative industries, and how Adobe approaches AI development responsibly, ensuring AI enhances human creativity rather than replacing it.
Guest Speaker
Liam is a passionate advocate for human-centered design, with over a decade of experience leading technology-driven product and service initiatives across organisations ranging from startups to global enterprises like Adobe, where he currently serves as Global Experience Strategist.
He specialises in digital transformation, experience design, change management and innovation, with a focus on making sure technology is accessible and valuable for customers and internal teams.
He regularly leads research, workshops, requirement gathering, experimentation and innovation sessions with strategic customers and stakeholders - helping them understand and leverage the potential of emerging technology while maintaining focus on meaningful outcomes through experience/service blueprints, measurements frameworks and value mapping.
At Adobe, he works with strategic customers and internal teams to identify opportunities and co-create innovative solutions that enhance business outcomes. Throughout his career, Liam has worked with major brands across entertainment, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and technology sectors, helping them navigate digital transformation and embrace new technologies. His experience includes developing experimentation strategies, product/service proposition development, leading cross-functional teams, and building innovative solutions that bridge the gap between technical capabilities and creative needs.
He holds a Master’s degree in management of information systems and digital innovation from the London School of Economics, along with certifications in User Experience from Nielsen Norman Group. This unique combination of technical understanding and user-centred design principles allows him to effectively translate complex AI concepts into practical applications for creative professionals.
Liam believes that 'innovation is not about technology alone, but about empowering human creativity through thoughtful application of new tools'.
