Iftikhar is a CONNECT PhD researcher at South East Technological University under the supervision of Bernard Butler and Co Supervision of Aisling O’Driscoll and Steven Davy.

He received his B.E Degree in Telecommunication from Mehran UET Jamshoro, Pakistan in 2012 and MS Degree in Telecommunication from National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan in 2017.

Iftikhar joined SETU as a PhD researcher, part of SFI (Science Foundation Ireland) CONNECT Project, in March 2023. Before this, Iftikhar worked as a Lecturer in the department of Computer Science at SZABIST University Pakistan.

His research is primarily focused on improving the efficiency and reliability of UAV operations while minimizing the potential threats by employing Deep Learning based security measures. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, FANETs and UAV Security.