José A. Ruipérez Valiente

José is currently an Associate Professor (Profesor Titular de Universidad) at the University of Murcia, within the department of Information and Communication Engineering, and co-founder and R&D Director of the university spin-off SCORPION Cybertechnologies. He was previously an Associate Professor at Complutense University of Madrid, a Juan de la Cierva fellow at the University of Murcia and a postdoc with the MIT Teaching Systems Lab and MIT Playful Journey Lab. He is an expert in educational technologies and his work lies within the intersection of data and human-computer interaction, where he has worked mainly in online learning and serious games, and more recently in artificial intelligence applied to training, cyber defence, cyber ranges and disinformation. He is passionate about how learning occurs, solving data-based problems, teaching and sharing knowledge, yoga, nature and photography.

Appointments

  • Present 02-2025

    R&D Director and Co-founder

    SCORPION Cybertechnologies, spin-off of the University of Murcia

  • Present 10-2026

    Associate Professor (Profesor Titular de Universidad)

    University of Murcia, Information and Communications Engineering Department

  • 09-2026 12-2022

    Associate Professor (Profesor Contratado Doctor / Permanente Laboral)

    University of Murcia, Information and Communications Engineering Department

  • 12-2022 02-2022

    Assistant Professor (Profesor Ayudante Doctor)

    University of Murcia, Information and Communications Engineering Department

  • 03-2022 07-2021

    Associate Professor (Profesor Contratado Doctor)

    Complutense University of Madrid, Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Department

  • 07-2021 07-2019

    Juan de la Cierva Researcher

    University of Murcia, Information and Communications Engineering Department

  • 06-2019 04-2018

    Postdoctoral Associate

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Comparative Media Studies Department

  • 05-2017 04-2018

    Data Scientist

    ExoClick, Business Intelligence Department

  • 01-2014 05-2017

    Research Assistant

    Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA), Networks Department

  • 06-2012 01-2014

    Research Assistant

    Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, Telematics Department

  • 02-2011 09-2011

    Software Engineer

    Accenture, Technology Solutions

Honorary & Visiting Positions

  • 09-2025 07-2025

    Visiting Researcher

    University of South Australia, Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L)

  • 06-2021 07-2019

    Research Affiliate

    MIT, Teaching Systems Lab and Playful Journey Lab

  • 09-2016 12-2016

    Visiting Researcher

    University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics

  • 06-2015 09-2015

    Visiting Researcher

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Physics Department

Education & Training

  • P.D. 2019

    Postdoctorate in Learning Analytics
    MOOCs and Serious Games

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Ph.D. 2017

    Doctor of Philosophy in Telematics
    Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining

    Universidad Carlos III of Madrid

  • M.Sc.2014

    Master of Science in Telematics

    Universidad Carlos III of Madrid

  • M.Eng.2013

    Master of Engineering in Telecommunications

    Universidad Carlos III of Madrid

  • B.Eng.2011

    Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications Systems

    Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

Selected Honors & Awards

  • 2023
    Stanford World's Top 2% Scientists
    Included in the Stanford–Elsevier list of the world's top 2% most cited scientists (single-year impact 2022, October 2023 update).
  • 2021
    IEEE Senior Member
    Elevated to the grade of Senior Member of the IEEE in February 2021.
  • 2021
    Juan de la Cierva 'Incorporación' Fellowship
    image
    Juan de la Cierva 'Incorporación' competitive fellowship from the Ministry of Science and Innovation within the area of Computation and Informatics (acceptance rate of 15%).
  • 2021
    Humboldt competitive Research Fellowship
    image
    Humboldt Research Fellowship granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (acceptance rate below 25%).
  • 2019
    Juan de la Cierva 'Formación' Fellowship
    image
    Juan de la Cierva 'Formación' competitive fellowship from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities within the area of Computation and Informatics (acceptance rate of 15%).
  • 2018
    Person from Murcia of the Year
    image
    The newspaper La Verdad de Murcia recognizes me as one of the 20 most noteworthy persons from Murcia in 2018 due to my accomplishments during the year.
  • 2018
    Outstanding Young Researcher in Computer Science
    image
    Selected as Outstanding Computer Science Young Researcher for my contributions to artificial intelligence and data analytics to understand human behavior in online educational environments issued by the Spanish Computer Science Association (SCIE) and BBVA Foundation [country-wide].
  • 2018
    Four Awards to the Best PhD Thesis
    image
    • Best PhD thesis award in "Technology and Education" sponsored by Telefonica Foundation, granted by the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers [country-wide]
    • Extraordinary Doctoral Award from Universidad Carlos III of Madrid to one of the best Ph.D. Thesis in Telematics Engineering during years 2016-2018 [degree-wide]
    • Award of the Spanish Chapter of the IEEE Education Society for Best doctoral thesis in technological applications in the field of education [country-wide]
    • eMadrid 2018 award to the best PhD thesis in research or development of educational technologies [country-wide]
  • 2018
    Excellent Alumni Award
    image
    Received an award for my excellent career development as Excellent Alumni issued by the Social Council of Universidad Carlos III of Madrid [university-wide].
  • 2014
    Four Awards to the Best Master Thesis
    image
    • Best final degree or MT Award "in new services, applications and digital business models" sponsored by Accenture, granted by COIT-AEIT[country-wide]
    • Award of the Spanish Chapter of the IEEE Education Society for Best final degree project or MT in technological applications in the field of education [country-wide]
    • eMadrid 2015 Award for Best final degree project or MT on research or development of educational technologies [country-wide]
    • Accenture Award for best MT in Telecommunications Engineering in the academic year 2012/2013 at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid [degree-wide].
  • 2014 - 2017
    Full Scholarship for MSc and PhD from Institute IMDEA Networks
    image
    I earned a full scholarship (all fees and salary included) from Institute IMDEA Networks to conduct my MSc and PhD in Telematics Engineering. These are international scholarships and very competitive with acceptance rates of around 5% and a total package of around 150,000 euros over 5 years [world-wide].
  • 2013
    M.Eng. Telecommunications Engineering - Outstanding Graduate of the Year Award
    image
    Starred First in the graduating class (2011-2013) issued by Universidad Carlos III of Madrid [degree-wide].
  • 2009
    B.Eng. in Telecommunication Systems - Outstanding Graduate of the Year Award
    image
    Starred First in the graduating class (2006-2010) issued by Universidad Católica de San Antonio [degree-wide].