Hello, I’m Marko Horvat. I’m a tenured Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Computing, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb.

My primary expertise is in computer science and artificial intelligence (AI).

My research focuses on the development and innovative application of AI technology in various practical scenarios and areas, such as personalized education, e-learning, medicine, psychotherapy and emotion regulation, cognitive training, non-technical survey, and humanitarian demining. In this context, I’m especially interested in knowledge representation formalisms like ontologies, knowledge graphs, and linked data, as well as automated reasoning services and large language models (LLMs) for information and document retrieval, decision-making, affective computing, and the semantic web. In addition, as a physics buff, I work on microsat satellite projects, quantum communications and the impact of quantum computing on cybersecurity.

Concerning scientific research, I have published 103 science papers, including book chapters, journal and conference articles, and I’ve given more than 60 presentations at international conferences and workshops.

I’m a editor, guest editor, program committee member and reviewer for many respected science journals and international conferences, as well as study programs and project proposals for foreign science foundations.

I’m a Senior Member of IEEE, and Chair of Technology Management Chapter (TEMS) in IEEE Croatia Section. In addition, I serve as the Communication Activities Officer on the IEEE Croatia Section Executive Committee.

Currently, I’m serving as president of the Scientific Council of the Croatian Mine Action Center—Testing Center for Development and Training d.o.o. (HCR-CTRO). Previously, I was a member of the Thematic Innovation Council for Health and Quality of Life of the Republic of Croatia (TIV).

I have participated in a number of open panels and panel discussions where I have shared my thoughts and experiences on the impact of AI in education and science, as well as the future of AI, its ethical implications, and its potential to transform various industries.

I’ve also had the opportunity to give numerous interviews and invited lectures, and I enjoy actively contributing to the popularization of STEM, particularly AI.

Currently (May 2025), I am working in parallel on several smaller and three major science projects:

  1. RANMI – The aim of the project RANMI (Reprezentacija i analiza minskih podataka metodama umjetne inteligencije, engl. Representation and analysis of mining data using artificial intelligence methods) project is to create innovative cloud-based data platform architectures for the consolidation of minefield information obtained in the non-technical survey using data observatories, description logic, ontologies, expert systems, and blockchain.

  2. Virtual teaching assistant – Personalized education chatbot as a tutor in computer science fundamentals based on open-source chatbot intelligent agents utilizing generative AI LLMs.

  3. CroQCI – The CroQCI project aims to implement experimental quantum communication systems and networks, which will be supplemented and integrated with a range of classical secure communication technologies. This includes developing and testing devices and systems that combine the best of quantum, post-quantum classical, and quantum-enhanced techniques. My focus is on quantum machine learning.

Futhermore, as part of my multi-year ongoing research effort, I’m investigating novel approaches based on ontologies and knowledge graphs for the improvement of affective multimedia databases with different applications in mental health and wellbeing. Also, over the years, I worked on a number of other scientific challenges and thought-provoking problems, such as AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).

Previously, I have participated in many national and EU-funded research projects (H2020, COST, ESF, Erasmus+) and a great number of development projects with industry and government. The research projects were concerned with the management of emotion and stress using intelligent computer systems, data mining of EEG time series data, linking of semantic and affective knowledge, and development of affective multimedia databases with tools for multifaceted document retrieval.

Before joining academia, for more than 10 years I worked for domestic and international ICT companies as a software engineer, project manager, and finally, department manager.

Overall, I’ve acquired over 25 years of professional experience in computer science and engineering in higher education and industry.

Before my current position at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, I served as the Vice Dean for Science, International Collaboration, and New Study Programs and held the title of Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Zagreb University of Applied Sciences (TVZ). Further, I was the head of the undergraduate 3-year part-time course of computing at TVZ, and I also founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (TVZ AI Lab).

References to the selected papers in APA format (complete list):

2024

  1. Džanko, E., Kozina, K., Cero, L., Marijić, A., & Horvat, M. (2024). Rethinking Data Democratization: Holistic Approaches Versus Universal Frameworks. Electronics, 13(21), 4170. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13214170
  2. Hanić, S., Bagić Babac, M., Gledec, G., & Horvat, M. (2024). Comparing Machine Learning Models for Sentiment Analysis and Rating Prediction of Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurant Reviews. Computers, 13(10), 248. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13100248
  3. Dončević, J., Ćaleta, K., Horvat, M., & Botički, I. (2024). Mine Action Data Observatory: Tackling Uncertainty and System Longevity with Evolutionary Architecture. In 35th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2024), pp. 403-408. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin
  4. Holenko Dlab, M., Đurović, G., & Horvat, M. (2024). Perception and Use of GenAI Chatbots in Education by Students at the University of Rijeka. In 35th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2024), pp. 293-301. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin
  5. Božić, M., & Horvat, M. (2024). A survey of deep learning audio generation methods. arXiv.org. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2406.00146
  6. Horvat, M., Gledec, G., & Leontić, F. (2024). Hybrid Natural Language Processing Model for Sentiment Analysis during Natural Crisis. Electronics, 13(10), 1991. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13101991
  7. Šarčević, A., Tomičić, I., Merlin, A., & Horvat, M. (2024). Enhancing programming education with open-source generative AI chatbots. In 2024 47th ICT and Electronics Convention (MIPRO) (pp. 2367-2372). Rijeka, Croatia: Croatian Society for Information, Communication and Electronic Technology – MIPRO.
  8. Ćelić, J., Bronzin, T., Horvat, M., Jović, A., Stipić, A., Prole, B., Maričević, M., Pavlović, I., Pap, K., & Mikota, M., et al. (2024). Generative AI in e-maintenance: Myth or reality? In 2024 47th ICT and Electronics Convention (MIPRO) (pp. 2219-2227). Rijeka, Croatia: Croatian Society for Information, Communication and Electronic Technology – MIPRO.
  9. Katović, D., Bronzin, T., Horvat, M., Prole, B., Stipić, A., Jelača, N., Pavlović, I., & Pap, K. (2024). The use of AI in human pose estimation applications in kinesiology: Taxonomy of algorithms, models, and evaluation methods. In 2024 47th ICT and Electronics Convention (MIPRO) (pp. 1398-1401). Rijeka, Croatia: Croatian Society for Information, Communication and Electronic Technology – MIPRO.
  10. Smolić, E., Boras, B., Horvat, M., & Jagušt, T. (2024). Smartphone-Enabled Interaction on Large Displays—A Web-Technology-Based Approach. Electronics, 13(5), 929. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13050929
  11. Horvat, M., Krtalić, A., Akagić, A., & Mekterović, I. (2024). Ontology-Based Data Observatory for Formal Knowledge Representation of UXO Using Advanced Semantic Web Technologies. Electronics, 13(5), 814. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13050814
  12. Šimun, Š., Tomažin, N., Matečić, J., & Horvat, M. (2024). Building Advanced Web Applications Using Data Ingestion and Data Processing Tools. Electronics, 13(4), 709. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13040709
  13. Gledec, G., Sokele, M., Horvat, M., & Mikuc, M. (2024). Error Pattern Discovery in Spellchecking Using Multi-Class Confusion Matrix Analysis for the Croatian Language. Computers, 13(2), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13020039

2023

  1. Horvat, M., Gledec, G., Jagušt, T., & Kalafatić, Z. (2023). Knowledge Graph Dataset for Semantic Enrichment of Picture Description in NAPS Database. Data, 8(9), 136. https://doi.org/10.3390/data8090136
  2. Horvat, M., Jelečević, L., & Gledec, G. (2023). Comparative Analysis of YOLOv5 and YOLOv6 Models Performance for Object Classification on Open Infrastructure: Insights and Recommendations. In 34th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2023), pp. 317-324. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  3. Akagic, A., Buza, E., & Horvat, M. Mapping RGB-to-NIR with Pix2Pix Image-to-Image Translation for Fire Detection Applications. In 34th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2023), pp. 317-324. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  4. Horvat, M., Krmpotić, K., Krtalić, A., & Akagić, A. (2023). Bridging Blockchain Technology and Humanitarian Demining: A Novel Concept for Decentralized Storage of Landmine and UXO Locations. In 34th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2023), pp. 369-375. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  5. Horvat, M., & Jerčić, P. (2023). A Survey on Usage of Multimedia Databases for Emotion Elicitation: A Quantitative Report on How Content Diversity Can Improve Performance. In 2023 46th MIPRO ICT and Electronics Convention (MIPRO) (pp. 1148-1154). IEEE.
  6. Gledec, G., Horvat, M., Mikuc, M., & Blašković, B. (2023). A Comprehensive Dataset of Spelling Errors and Users’ Corrections in Croatian Language. Data, 8(5), 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/data8050089
  7. Horvat, M., Krtalić, A., Akagić, A., Krmpotić, K., & Skender, S. Humanitarian Demining Using Data Observatories and Data Lakes. 19th International Symposium “Mine Action 2023”, 31-35.
  8. Mekterović, I., Brkić, L., & Horvat, M. (2023). Scaling Automated Programming Assessment Systems. Electronics, 12(4), 942. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12040942

2022

  1. Horvat, M., Jelečević, Lj., & Gledec, G. (2022). A comparative study of YOLOv5 models performance for image localization and classification. In 33th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2022), pp. 349-356. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  2. Horvat, M., Doljanin, D., & Jagušt, T. (2022). Quantitative measures for classification of human upper body posture in video signal to improve online learning. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 2570, No. 1). AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0100044
  3. Horvat, M., Jović, A., & Burnik, K. (2022). Investigation of relationships between discrete and dimensional emotion models in affective picture databases using unsupervised machine learning. Applied Sciences, 12(15), 7864. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157864
  4. Horvat, M., Stojanović, A., & Kovačević, Ž. (2022). An overview of common emotion models in computer systems. In 45th Jubilee International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2022), pp. 1152-1157. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO55190.2022.9803498
  5. Stojanović, A., Horvat, M., & Kovačević, Ž. (2022). An overview of data integration principles for heterogeneous databases. In 45th Jubilee International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2022), pp. 1264-1269. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO55190.2022.9803579
  6. Horvat, M., Jagušt, T., Prce Veseli, Z., Malnar, K., & Čižmar, Ž. (2022). An Overview of Digital Game-Based Learning Development and Evaluation Models. In 45th Jubilee International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2022), pp. 781-786. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO55190.2022.9803333
  7. Horvat, M., Krtalić, A., Bajić, M., Muštra, M., Laura, D., & Gold, H. (2022). MINEONT: A proposal for a core ontology in the aerial non-technical survey domain. In Book of Papers of 18th International Symposium Mine Action 2022, pp. 47-52.

2021

  1. Vasilj, M., Skender, S., & Horvat, M. (2021). Model for improvement of nonprofit student organizations funding by machine learning and digital transition to blockchain. In 32nd Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2021), pp. 229-236. Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  2. Horvat, M., Jović, A., & Burnik, K. Assessing the Robustness of Cluster Solutions in Emotionally-Annotated Pictures Using Monte-Carlo Simulation Stabilized K-Means Algorithm. Mach. Learn. Knowl. Extr. 2021, 3, 435-452. https://doi.org/10.3390/make3020022
  3. Bajić, M., Gold, H., Horvat, M., Krtalić, A., Laura, D., & Muštra, M. (2021). The novel paradigm for a decision support system of the aerial non-technical survey. In Book of Papers of 17th International Symposium Mine Action 2021, pp. 62-68.
  4. Doljanin, D., Pranjić, L., Jelečević, Lj., & Horvat, M. (2021). Adaptive Intelligent Agent for e-Learning: First Report on Enabling Technology Solutions. In 44th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2021), pp. 1945-1949. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO52101.2021.9596869
  5. Vasilj, M., Skender, S., Jurdana, M., & Horvat, M. (2021). DESPRO: Decentralized Business Platform for Student Non-profit Organizations. In 44th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2021), pp. 1934-1938. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO52101.2021.9596865

2020

  1. Horvat, M., & Jagušt, T. (2020). Emerging opportunities for education in the time of COVID-19: Adaptive e-learning intelligent agent based on assessment of emotion and attention. In 31st Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2020). Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  2. Horvat, M. (2020). StimSeqOnt: An ontology for formal description of multimedia stimuli sequences. In 43rd International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2020), pp. 1378-1383. https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO48935.2020.9245268
  3. Horvat, M., Jović, A., & Ivošević, D. (2020). Lift Charts-Based Binary Classification in Unsupervised Setting for Concept-Based Retrieval of Emotionally Annotated Images from Affective Multimedia Databases. Information, 11(9), 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/info11090429
  4. Filjar, R., Sklebar, I., & Horvat, M. (2020). A Comparison of Machine Learning-Based Individual Mobility Classification Models Developed on Sensor Readings from Loosely Attached Smartphones. Communications-Scientific letters of the University of Zilina, 22(4), 153-162. https://doi.org/10.26552/com.C.2020.4.153-162

2019 and older

  1. Fuzul, E., & Horvat, M. (2019). Formal model of student competencies in higher education and required skills in the job market. In 30th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2019) (pp. 43-49). Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  2. Horvat, M., Dobrinić, M., Novosel, M., & Jerčić, P. (2018). Assessing emotional responses induced in virtual reality using a consumer EEG headset: A preliminary report. In 41st International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2018) (pp. 1175-1179). https://doi.org/10.23919/MIPRO.2018.8400184
  3. Horvat, M. (2017). A Brief Overview of Affective Multimedia Databases. In 28th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2017) (pp. 3-11). Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
  4. Dunđer, I., Horvat, M., & Lugović, S. (2017). Exploratory study of words and emotions in tweets of UK startup founders. In Communication Management Forum 2017 (CMF2017).
  5. Horvat, M., Vuković, M., & Car, Ž. (2016). Evaluation of keyword search in affective multimedia databases. In Transactions on Computational Collective Intelligence XXI (pp. 50-68). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49521-6_3
  6. Horvat, M., Jednoróg, K., & Marchewka, A. (2016). Clustering of Affective Dimensions in Pictures: An exploratory analysis of the NAPS database. In 39th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2016) (pp. 1496-1501).
  7. Dunđer, I., Horvat, M., & Lugović, S. (2016). Word occurrences and emotions in social media: Case study on a Twitter corpus. In 2016 39th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2016) (pp. 1284-1287). https://doi.org/10.1109/MIPRO.2016.7522337
  8. Horvat, M., Kukolja, D., & Ivanec, D. (2015). Retrieval of multimedia stimuli with semantic and emotional cues: Suggestions from a controlled study. In 38th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2015), 1399-1402.
  9. Horvat, M., Kukolja, D., & Ivanec, D. (2015). Comparing affective responses to standardized pictures and videos: A study report. In 38th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2015), 1394-1398.
  10. Horvat, M., Bogunović, N., & Ćosić, K. (2014). STIMONT: a core ontology for multimedia stimuli description. Multimedia tools and applications, 73(3), 1103-1127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-013-1624-4
  11. Kukolja, D., Popović, S., Horvat, M., Kovač, B., & Ćosić, K. (2014). Comparative analysis of emotion estimation methods based on physiological measurements for real-time applications. International journal of human-computer studies, 72(10-11), 717-727.
  12. Horvat, M., Popović, S., & Cosić, K. (2013). Multimedia stimuli databases usage patterns: a survey report. In 36th International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2013), 993-997. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6596401
  13. Horvat, M., Grbin, A., & Gledec, G. (2013). Labeling and retrieval of emotionally-annotated images using WordNet. International Journal of Knowledge-based and Intelligent Engineering Systems, 17(2), 157-166.
  14. Horvat, M., Popović, S., & Ćosić, K. (2012). Towards semantic and affective coupling in emotionally annotated databases. In 2012 Proceedings of the 35th International Convention MIPRO (pp. 1003-1008). IEEE.
  15. Horvat, M., Nakić, A., & Otočan, I. (2012). Impact of technological synchronicity on prospects for CETI. International Journal of Astrobiology, 11(1), 51-59.
  16. Ćosić, K., Popović, S., Kukolja, D., Horvat, M., & Dropuljić, B. (2010). Physiology-driven adaptive virtual reality stimulation for prevention and treatment of stress related disorders. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13(1), 73-78.
  17. Horvat, M., Popovic, S., Bogunovic, N., & Cosic, K. (2009). Tagging multimedia stimuli with ontologies. In 32nd International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO 2009) (pp. 203-208).
  18. Horvat, M. (2006). Calculating the probability of detecting radio signals from alien civilizations. International Journal of Astrobiology, 5(2), 143-149.

Please feel free to contact me regarding research cooperation, project opportunities, and other common professional topics.

Last update: July 2024