AAAI 2026 in Singapore

Attending the AAAI 2026 conference in Singapore.

In January 2026, I traveled to Singapore to attend the AAAI 2026 conference. The experience was incredibly inspiring and provided a fresh perspective for my PhD research. I spent the first two days in the bridging sessions, specifically focusing on “AI for Medicine and Healthcare” and “Knowledge-guided AI,” where I had a great conversation with Yan Liu.

Connecting with people was the absolute highlight of the trip. I was thrilled to meet Antoine Bordes after his AAAI classic paper award talk, and having the opportunity to speak with past AAAI president Manuela Veloso after her inspirational keynote was the most valuable takeaway from the week. During the poster sessions, I engaged with an amazing mix of students, postdocs, and senior researchers. I was particularly grateful to meet Ayesha Ali, who generously shared her expertise in causal inference to help me work through one of my research questions.

Beyond the technical knowledge, I walked away with practical insights for my PhD journey—learning the value of redefining problems, failing fast, keeping solutions simple, and embracing the contagious enthusiasm of the research community. It was a fantastic experience that re-energized me for the rest of the year. A huge thank you to my supervisor, Saman Halgamuge, for the continuous guidance and support!

Chathura met Professor Manuela Veloso at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura met Professor Ayesha Ali at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura met Antoine Bordes at AAAI Singapore 2026, after his talk on Classic Paper Award

Chathura during lunch time at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura met Hasnain Ali, A postdoctoral researcher at NTU, at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura met Onie, CEO of AltruMed LLC, at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura met Suwon Yoon, A professor from South Korea, at AAAI Singapore 2026

Chathura and Roshana at Marina Bay, Singapore 2026