Ayush Dabra

a.dabra.1@research.gla.ac.uk

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0009-0005-5496-8396

Research title: Title: The Dynamics of Cities – enabling minority representation in urban environments

Research Summary

I am a PhD candidate in the Geospatial Data Science Group at the University of Glasgow. My research focuses on developing multi-modal generative AI models for understanding urban spaces.

I earned a BS-MS dual degree in Data Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India. My past research involves using very high resolution satellite images, multi-spectral UAV data, digital surface models, and street view imagery to understand dense and complex urban landscapes in Indian cities and suggest policy recommendations.

My primary research objective is to address urban planning challenges by developing empirically derived data-driven policy tools using machine learning and deep learning techniques.

 

Publications

Journal

  • A. Dabra, P. L. Chauhan, and V. Kumar, ‘Deep Learning and Multi Source 2D and 3D Geospatial Data for Urban Quality of Life Assessment’, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, vol. 144, p. 104838, Nov. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.jag.2025.104838.
  • A. Dabra, V. Kumar, and J. Aryal, ‘Road extraction in diverse urban environments using UAV data and nDSM perturbations: A case of Bhopal, India’, Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, vol. 37, p. 101465, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101465.
  • A. Dabra and V. Kumar, ‘Evaluating green cover and open spaces in informal settlements of Mumbai using deep learning’, Neural Comput & Applic, vol. 35, no. 16, pp. 11773–11788, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1007/s00521-023-08320-7.

Data

  • A. Dabra and V. Upadhyay, Manually Annotated High Resolution Satellite Image Dataset of Mumbai for Semantic Segmentation, Publisher: Mendeley Data, Feb. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17632/xj2v49zt26.1.

Supervisors

Grants

  • 2025 University of Glasgow, College of Science and Engineering School Scholarship for pursuing my doctoral studies, covering full international tuition fees and living expenses at the research council rate for 3.5 years.
  • 2025 Japanese Government MEXT Scholarship (Embassy Recommended) to pursue a fully-funded PhD at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Also, selected as a candidate for the Japan-Based Fellowship in the Japan-US-Australia-India QUAD Fellowship Program by the Institute of International Education (IIE), besides being selected as a MEXT Scholar. [Both scholarships not taken]
  • 2023 Mitacs Globalink Research Fellowship, Canada (~£4800)
  • 2023 CHANAKYA Undergraduate Fellowship, IIT Tirupati Navavishkar I-Hub Foundation (IITTNiF), India (~£1000)