About Me
Tuga Yousif is a Sudanese Software Engineer with a strong passion for computational neuroscience and AI. Her research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning and neuroscience. Currently, she is pursuing her master’s degree in Computer Engineering at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Turkey. For her thesis, she is working on assessing cognitive load in virtual reality (VR) cognitive training games using machine learning, under the supervision of Prof. Abdullah Bulbul.
Tuga earned her bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering at Al-Neelain University in Sudan, then she worked in the software development industry for over five years as a Python/ERP developer. Tuga is passionate about advancing computational neuroscience in Africa, believing in its significant growth potential. She aims to inspire more African researchers and contribute to global developments in the field
Education
🎓 Master’s degree in Computer Engineering
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University - Turkey | GPA: 4.0/4.0
🎓 B.Sc Honours in Software Engineering
Al-Neelain University - Sudan | CGPA 90.15 / 100
Research Interests
- Machine learning
- Deep Learning
- Computational Neurosceince
- Virtual Reality
Work Experience
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics - Germany
Research Intern | July, 2023 - September , 2023Quantum Space , Remote
Senior Software Developer | March, 2021 - September ,2022Digital Wave Solutions , Sudan
Senior Software Developer | July,2020 - July,2021IATL International , Sudan
Senior Software Developer - Technical Team Lead| September 2019 - September 2020
The Journey So Far
2025
- 2025-03-19 My submission, “Understanding Cognitive Load in Virtual Reality (VR) Environments: A Machine Learning Approach”, has been accepted for presentation at the 7th International Conference Digital Culture & AudioVisual Challenges (DCAC 2025).
- 2025-02-01 Successfully completed the 2025 Simons Computational Neuroscience Imbizo Summer School.
2024
2024-12-20 Completed the Africa to Silicon Valley (A2SV) remote Software Engineering Training program.
2024-03-20 I’m thrilled to share that our team ECoGers won first place in the BR41N.IO hackathon during The BCI & Neurotech Spring School 2024
2023
2023-07-20 I am pleased to be starting a position as a Research Intern at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany, where I will be contributing to the development and implementation of decision-making models using Reinforcement Learning.
2023-06-10 I have successfully received my Turkish Language Certificate at the C1 proficiency level as part of the Türkiye Scholarships International Turkish Scholars Language Program.
2022
2022-09-16 I’m thrilled to announce that my abstract titled “Motor Imagery ECoG Signal Classification With Optimal Selection Of Minimum Electrodes” has been accepted for presentation at the Women in Machine Learning (WiML) Workshop 2022, co-located with NeurIPS conference.
2022-08-11 I’m honored to announce that I’ve been awarded a Türkiye Scholarship for graduate studies in Turkey (2023-2025), with an acceptance rate of 5-10%.