Monica Pereira

Dr. Monica Pereira serves as a full-time Lecturer in Computer Science at Brunel University London within the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences. Holding a PhD in Affective Computing from Brunel and an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience from UCL, she transitioned from psychology departments at London Metropolitan University, Westminster, and Birkbeck to her current role as a Chartered Cyberpsychologist. She leads the Employability initiative and co-chairs the Human-Computer Interaction research group while teaching core modules including Usability Engineering.

Educational Background:

• PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (Distinction)
• PhD in Affective Computing, Brunel University London
• MSc in Clinical Neuroscience, University College London
• BSc (Hons) in Psychology, London Metropolitan University (awarded British Psychology Society Undergraduate Award)

Her research centers on leveraging technology to decode non-verbal communication for social interaction enhancement, spanning affective computing, intelligent data analysis, and cyberpsychology. Recent work integrates AI with educational frameworks to develop soft skills training systems and VR-based human-agent interaction platforms, emphasizing real-world applications in communication effectiveness and mental health contexts.

Publication trends (2021-2025) reveal a strategic pivot toward education-technology intersections, with systematic reviews on employability skills and qualitative studies addressing asylum seeker barriers in higher education. Her technical publications maintain focus on non-verbal signal recognition systems while expanding into conversational AI ethics and ethnic minority mental health analytics through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Scientific Recognition:

• British Psychology Society Undergraduate Award

Monica actively supervises PhD candidate Gerard Doran's EEG/VR human-agent interaction research and oversees final-year projects across Business Computing and Computer Science programs. As Employability Lead, she directs the department's placement pipeline (CS2555) and graduate development curriculum (CS2554), forging industry partnerships while serving on the Athena Swan equality committee and SIGCHI conference committees since 2019.

She co-leads Brunel's Human-Computer Interaction Research Group, driving community engagement through collaborative showcases and interdisciplinary projects. Her Athena Swan involvement supports outreach initiatives and data-driven equality strategies within the Computer Science Department.