Biography

Academic biography

A career that combines computer science scholarship, research leadership, higher education project management, and long-term international cooperation.

Portrait of Dhiah el Diehn I. Abou-Tair

Professional profile

Full Professor of Computer Science at the German Jordanian University with research expertise in privacy-enhancing technologies, cybersecurity, distributed systems, blockchain, distributed ledger technologies, Internet of Things, and systems of systems. Extensive experience in EU- and DAAD-funded higher education projects, including grant acquisition, international academic cooperation, scholarship management, capacity building, and institutional development. Principal Investigator, Grant Holder, and Co-Principal Investigator in externally funded projects exceeding EUR 38 million, including EDU-SYRIA and SyrIA - Syrian Innovation in Academia.

Research interests

Research areas Privacy-enhancing technologies, cybersecurity, systems of systems, distributed ledger technologies, blockchain, Internet of Things, distributed and secure information systems, self-sovereign identity, and access control.

His research trajectory spans privacy engineering, cybersecurity, distributed systems, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, the Internet of Things, self-sovereign identity, and access-control architectures for trustworthy digital environments.

2008Doctorate in Computer Science, University of Siegen
2010–presentFaculty member at the German Jordanian University
2015–presentLong-term leadership of externally funded higher-education initiatives

Academic positions

Academic career timeline

June 2024–present

Full Professor, Computer Science Department, School of Computing

German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan

March 2015–June 2024

Associate Professor, Computer Science Department, School of Computing

German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan

February 2010–March 2015

Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department, School of Computing

German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan

June 2008–February 2010

Postdoctoral Researcher, Security and Privacy Group

University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany

October 2002–March 2008

Full-time Research Assistant and Lecturer, Database and Software Engineering Group

University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany

February 2000–June 2002

Software Developer, Institute for Software and Systems Engineering

Fraunhofer Institute, Dortmund, Germany

Part-time position.

Leadership

Project management and academic coordination

December 2015–present

Project Manager / Principal Investigator / Grant Holder

EDU-SYRIA Project

Management of large-scale EU-funded higher education scholarship and capacity-building programmes supporting Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian youth. Project website: edu-syria.eu.

2026–present

Co-Principal Investigator

SyrIA - Syrian Innovation in Academia

DAAD-funded €800,000 pilot project implemented by the German Jordanian University to support evidence-based renewal, strategic dialogue, capacity building, digitalization, and international connectivity in Syrian higher education. Project website: syria.edu-all.org.

February 2017–present

Exchange Coordinator

School of Computing, German Jordanian University

Coordination of student mobility, German Year preparation, partner-university communication, and academic exchange processes for the School of Computing.

Education

Academic formation

August 2008

Dr. rer. nat. in Computer Science

University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany

Dissertation: An Ontology-Based Approach for Managing and Maintaining Privacy in Information Systems. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

July 2002

Diplom in Computer Science

Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany

German graduate degree.

June 1998

B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science

Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

Major: Mathematics; Minor: Computer Science.