Dr Antoun YAACOUB

Head of the MSc in Generative Artificial Intelligence programme
Dr. Antoun YAACOUB

Biography

Dr Antoun Yaacoub (email: yaacoub@aivancity.ai) is an Associate Professor and Head of the MSc in Generative Artificial Intelligence programme at aivancity. An expert in generative artificial intelligence and large-scale language models (LLMs), he develops innovative approaches combining automatic generation, cognitive reasoning and linguistic analysis. His research lies at the intersection of AI, cognition and pedagogy, and aims to design intelligent learning environments capable of dynamically adapting educational content to the learner’s profile.

He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Paul Sabatier University – Toulouse (IRIT Laboratory), his thesis, entitled ‘Information Flows in Logic Programming’, paved the way for his research into the modelling of formal reasoning and the control of information flows in symbolic systems. His career has led him to explore the convergence between symbolic and generative approaches, notably through hybrid architectures combining Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), cognitive taxonomies and semantic analysis.

Before joining aivancity, Dr Yaacoub served as Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of the MSc in Artificial Intelligence for Business Transformation (AIBT) at ESIEA. There, he designed and led programmes integrating AI, data science and digital transformation, whilst also leading international collaborations with Google Cloud France and KMUTT (Thailand). He is also the author of OneClickQuiz, a Moodle plugin based on generative AI for the instant creation of adaptive quizzes.

An active researcher, he has published more than twenty articles in renowned international conferences and journals (IJCNN, RCIS, ICCSIT, ICMV, KES, Springer LNNS, IJCAI Workshop). He is currently co-supervising a PhD thesis at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne on the personalisation of learning pathways through intelligent and affective tutoring systems.

Education & Qualifications

YearUniversityQualification/Position
2009–2012Paul Sabatier University – Toulouse, FrancePhD in Computer Science: Thesis: Information flows in logic programming
2007–2008University of Toulouse / Lebanese UniversityMaster’s degree in Computer Science and Telecommunications – First Class Honours
2004–2006Lebanese UniversityBachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics – First Class Honours

Work experience

YearRole
Since 2025Associate Professor, Head of the MSc in Generative Artificial Intelligence, aivancity Paris-Villejuif
2022–2025Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of the MSc in Artificial Intelligence for Business Transformation, ESIEA, Paris
2012–2022Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Lebanese University
2017–2019Coordinator of the Master’s in Game Design and Development, Lebanese University

Publications

Selected publications

  • Yaacoub, A., Tarnpradab, S., Khumprom, P., Assaghir, Z., Prevost, L., & Da Rugna, J. (2025). Enhancing AI-Driven Education: Integrating Cognitive Frameworks, Linguistic Feedback Analysis, and Ethical Considerations for Improved Content Generation. International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN), Rome, Italy.
  • Laborde, S., Cousseau, M., Yaacoub, A., & Prevost, L. (2025). Semantic Retention and Extreme Compression in LLMs: Can We Have Both? IJCNN 2025, Rome, Italy.
  • Yaacoub, A., Assaghir, Z., & Da Rugna, J. (2025). Cognitive Depth Enhancement in AI-Driven Educational Tools via the SOLO Taxonomy. Advances in Computing Research (ACR 2025), Springer LNNS, Nice, France.
  • Yaacoub, A., Assaghir, Z., LeGrand, B., & Prevost, L. (2025). Analysing Feedback Mechanisms in AI-Generated Multiple-Choice Questions: Insights into Readability, Lexical Properties, and Levels of Challenge. ICCSM 2025, Rome, Italy.
  • Nadaud, E., Yaacoub, A., LeGrand, B., & Prevost, L. (2025). SEPT: Uncovering Student Difficulties through Emotional and Physical Trajectories during Online Assessments. KES 2025, Osaka, Japan.
  • Yaacoub, A., Haidar, S., & Da Rugna, J. (2024). OneClickQuiz: Instant GENAI-Driven Quiz Generation in Moodle. SEED 2024, Valencia, Spain.
  • Yaacoub, A., Da Rugna, J., & Assaghir, Z. (2024). Assessing AI-Generated Questions’ Alignment with Cognitive Frameworks in Educational Assessment. ICCSIT 2024, Dubai, UAE.
  • Al Zein, H., Yaacoub, A., & Haidar, S. (2024). Beehive State and Events Recognition Through Sound Analysis Using TinyML. ICMV 2024, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Desplanche, M., Haidar, S., Yaacoub, A., & Barrois, B. (2024). Protecting Beehive Health: Varroa Mite Detection Using Gen-AI. ICMV 2024, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Pajon, Q., Serre, S., Wissocq, H., Rabaud, L., Haidar, S., & Yaacoub, A. (2024). Balancing Accuracy and Training Time in Federated Learning for Violence Detection in Surveillance Videos. Journal of Computer Science and Technology.
  • Haidar, S., Yaacoub, A., & Ionascu, F. (2023). Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Programming Teaching Methodology Using CodeRunner. The Learning Ideas Conference 2023, New York.
  • Yaacoub, A., Assaghir, Z., Makki, S., & Almokdad, R. (2019). Diagnosing Clinical Manifestations of Apathy Using Machine Learning and Micro-Facial Expression Detection. ISCSIC 2019, Netherlands.
  • Yaacoub, A., & Assaghir, Z. (2017). Bottom-Up Bisimilar Datalog Goals. American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER).
  • Yaacoub, A., & Safwan, H. (2017). On the decidability of information flow in Datalog using magic sets. IJSDR.
  • Yaacoub, A., & Awada, A. (2015). Inference Control on Information Flow in Logic Programming. International Journal of Computer Science: Theory and Application.
  • Balbiani, P., & Yaacoub, A. (2012). Deciding the Bisimilarity Relation between Datalog Goals. European Conference on Logics in Artificial Intelligence (JELIA 2012), Springer.