CV
Education, research and teaching experience, publications, grants and talks.
Contact Information
| Name | Dominik Bittner |
| Professional Title | PhD Researcher, Environmental Sustainability |
| dominikbittner2023@gmail.com | |
| Location | Aberdeen, UK |
Professional Summary
My bond with nature began at an early age, growing up on a farm with its woodlands. I have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by farmers due to deteriorating soil health, leading to a strong motivation to advance sustainable agricultural practices. Fully in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals, I am particularly invested in helping regions where support is urgently needed, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, where farmers heavily depend on the health of their soils.
Experience
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2026 - Present Aberdeen, UK
Research Assistant
University of Aberdeen
- Leading the deployment of an agricultural advisory software for African farmers.
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2025 - Present Remote
Freelance Consultant
Independent Computational Consultant
- Provision of AI expertise for one startup in the agricultural sector.
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2024 - Present Aberdeen, UK
Demonstrator & Project Supervisor
University of Aberdeen
- Courses: Artificial Intelligence, Evaluation of AI Systems, Statistical Analysis of Biological Data.
- Supervisees: Jeanne Biegel, Adam Ponting, Daniel Eze, Olubusuyi Omowaye.
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2022 - 2024 Regensburg, GER
Research Associate
Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
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2022 - 2022 Erlangen, GER
Research Intern
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
- Analysis of subjects’ physiological data to draw conclusions about their affective states.
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2021 - 2022 Nottingham, UK
Research Intern
Nottingham Trent University
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2021 - 2022 Coimbra, POR
Research Intern
University of Coimbra
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2020 - 2021 Regensburg, GER
Engineering Intern
Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen
- Exploration of fibre-optic sensor technology for position detection of vacuum tap-changers.
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2013 - 2017 Nuremberg, GER
Mechatronics Technician
Siemens AG
- Apprenticeship and full-time employment in the production of high voltage converters.
Education
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2024 - Present Aberdeen, UK
PhD
University of Aberdeen
Environmental Sustainability
- Thesis: Supporting Ethiopian farmers to assess soil and use nature-based solutions with hybrid AI
- Coursework: Soil science, sustainability, computer vision, interdisciplinary research.
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2022 - 2024 Regensburg, GER
M.Sc.
Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
Applied Research in Engineering Sciences
- Thesis: Investigation into supporting students in learning through eye tracking and deep learning
- Coursework: Machine learning, deep learning.
- Grade: 1.2 (with distinction)
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2018 - 2022 Regensburg, GER
B.Eng.
Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
Mechatronics
- Thesis: Data augmentation to improve CNN-based semantic segmentation to prevent forest fires
- Coursework: Software engineering, statistics & optimization.
- Grade: 2.0 (upper second-class)
Publications
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2026 Assessing the impact of nature-based solutions on soil health in sub-Saharan Africa through farmer-centred methods
Environmental Research Letters, 21(4), 043004
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2024 Towards use of AI-Powered Hybrid Soil Health Assessment to Design Nature-Based Solutions for Restoration of Degraded Soils in Sub-Saharan Africa
AI4SoilHealth Conference Proceedings
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2024 Uncovering Learning Styles through Eye Tracking and Artificial Intelligence
ETRA 2024 Proceedings
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2023 Unveiling the Secrets of Learning Styles: Decoding Eye Movements via Machine Learning
ICERI 2023 Proceedings
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2023 In-depth Benchmarking of Transfer Learning Techniques for Improved Bottle Recognition
ICPRS 2023 Proceedings
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2023 Towards Eye Tracking based Learning Style Identification
ECSEE 2023 Proceedings
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2022 Generating synthetic multispectral images for semantic segmentation in forestry applications
ICRA 2022 Workshop Proceedings
Awards
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2026 ISMC Travel Award
International Soil Modeling Consortium
Travel grant to attend the International Soil Modeling Consortium conference (520 GBP).
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2024 SUSTAIN CDT Doctoral Stipend
SUSTAIN Centre for Doctoral Training
Full research funding and maintenance, Sep 2024 - Aug 2028 (94,000 GBP).
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2024 Bavarian State Ministry Grant
Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Art
PI of the Eye Movement Modelling Examples project, No. L.1-H2493.0/15, Apr 2024 - Apr 2025 (52,000 GBP).
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2021 DAAD HAW.International Stipend
DAAD
International scholarship for thesis completion abroad, Dec 2021 - Mar 2022 (4,300 GBP).
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2021 DAAD RISE Programme Stipend
DAAD
International research scholarship for a science internship, Aug 2021 - Nov 2021 (3,500 GBP).
Skills
Languages
Conferences & Invited Talks
- Dec 2025 — Poster, “Hybrid Soil Engine”, BSSS Annual Conference, Manchester, UK
- Dec 2025 — Oral, “Hybrid Soil Engine”, BSSS Early Career Conference, Manchester, UK
- Oct 2025 — Oral, “Hybrid Soil Engine”, NESEN Conference, Aberdeen, UK
- Oct 2025 — Poster, “Hybrid Soil Engine”, Interdisciplinary Symposium, Aberdeen, UK
- Dec 2024 — Poster, “Hybrid Soil Engine”, AI4SoilHealth Conference, Budapest, Hungary
- Jun 2024 — Oral, “Deep Learning in Eye Tracking”, ETRA Conference, Glasgow, UK
- Dec 2023 — Invited lecture, “Deep Learning in Education”, University of Vienna, Austria
- Nov 2023 — Oral, “Deep Learning in Eye Tracking”, ICERI Conference, Seville, Spain
- Jul 2023 — Oral, “Deep Learning Benchmarking”, ICPRS Conference, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Jun 2023 — Oral, “Deep Learning in Education”, ECSEE Conference, Seeon, Germany
- May 2022 — Oral, “Deep Learning in Forestry”, ICRA Conference, Philadelphia, USA
Extracurricular, Service & Memberships
- Board member: Network coordinator at the Aberdeen-Africa Research Network.
- Student representative: The students’ voice in the SUSTAIN-CDT programme.
- Smoke diver: Trained in high-stress rescue operations at the local voluntary fire brigade.
- Coach and board member: Support and guidance for the local youth football club.
- Memberships: British Society of Soil Science, International Soil Modeling Consortium.
Personal Interests
- Run the farm: The family farm is a lifelong, shared commitment and a round-the-clock passion.
- In the orchestra: Playing solo is great; in a band, it’s all about listening and connecting.
References
- Professor Jo Smith
University of Aberdeen — jo.smith@abdn.ac.uk
- Professor Jürgen Mottok
Regensburg University of Applied Sciences — juergen.mottok@oth-regensburg.de
- Dr. David Portugal
University of Coimbra — davidbsp@isr.uc.pt