About

The Digital Innovation Research Center (DIRC) is committed to advancing digital innovation across various sectors by (1) developing solutions and methodologies that drive digital transformation, and (2) training young talents with interdisciplinary skills to address challenges in a wide range of fields. Its critical mission is to leverage innovative digital tools and approaches to extract valuable insights, supporting the ongoing development of different fields.

DIRC engages faculty, staff and students in working towards this goal, playing a supportive role in academic research and student development at DKU. The interdisciplinary nature of DIRC aligns with DKU’s broader vision for future growth.

The director oversees all activities at DIRC. So far, DIRC has thirty-eight full-time faculty members, and two full-time staff members provide administrative support for all faculty, staff and students affiliated with the center. Any faculty member or student can join DIRC, if he/she has an active research project hosted by the center. DIRC is mostly funded by external research projects. These external research funds are used to recruit research staff members and student interns working on individual projects.

The major accomplishments in 2025 include:

• Published 2 books, 2 book chapters, 52 journal papers, and 64 conference papers.
• Filed 13 patent applications and received 7 granted patents.
• Delivered 35 invited presentations and received 10 academic honors and awards.
• Organized 2 academic workshops, hosted 10 technical seminars with a total attendance of 172 participants.
• Initiated 7 Data+X interdisciplinary research projects, involving 8 faculty members and 13 students, covering areas such as medical AI, federated learning, sustainability, public policy analytics, renewable energy, and edge intelligence systems.