Michael Winikoff

Professor Michael Winikoff is a prominent academic at Victoria University of Wellington's School of Information Management, where he joined in June 2019 and served as Head of School from early 2021 to early 2025. Previously, he was Head of Department at University of Otago's Department of Information Science (February 2011 to December 2016) and Associate Professor at RMIT University's School of Computer Science and IT. His career spans over two decades of research in autonomous systems and agent-oriented software engineering.

His educational background includes a PhD from the University of Melbourne (1994-1997). His research focuses on improving software creation methodologies, particularly for intelligent agents that exhibit robust and flexible behavior. He is best known for developing the Prometheus methodology for agent-based systems design. More recently, his work has expanded to address societal consequences of autonomous systems and trust issues, with significant contributions to explainable AI (XAI).

His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to autonomous systems research, with recent work focusing on explainability frameworks, trust calibration, and certification of reliable autonomous systems. His 15 most recent publications (2018-2025) show a clear evolution from technical agent design toward broader societal implications, particularly the intersection of technical design and human trust in autonomous systems. The publications span journals like Artificial Intelligence and IEEE Internet Computing, as well as major conferences including AAMAS.

• Past President of International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS)
• Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (JAAMAS)
• Chair of ICORE rankings management committee
• Editor-in-Chief for International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (IJAOSE)
• Vice President of Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia (CORE)

Professor Winikoff has led significant research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, including work on adaptive personae for interactive toys, service-oriented negotiation in multi-agent systems, and advanced software engineering for intelligent agent systems. His current research continues this trajectory, focusing on making autonomous systems more explainable and trustworthy through engineering approaches that consider both technical and human factors. He maintains active collaborations across institutions, with recent work involving researchers from RMIT University and other international partners.