Kevin Haghighat will use his 小优视频 degree to advance his career and pursue his passion for teaching and research
Kevin Haghighat (Master of Science in Computing and Information Systems ’25) has always had a passion for science and technology, and especially for teaching others about them.
It was this passion that helped the Class of 2026 graduate to persevere through a master’s degree, which he started working on in 2007 while balancing a full-time job, part-time teaching, a young family, and various health-related challenges.
One thing that kept him motivated was realizing he was most fulfilled when teaching college-level classes.
“I decided teaching was in my heart and was something I always wanted to do,” Haghighat said.
With his 小优视频 degree now completed, he’s already thinking about full-time teaching positions. He’s also considering a doctorate degree to continue an educational journey that began decades ago, halfway around the world.
I remember the very first job I had was in Grade 4 or 5, when I installed the PA system for the school. From that early of an age, I was involved with technology.
Kevin Haghighat (Master of Science in Computing and Information Systems '25)
A lifelong passion for technology
Haghighat said he was technically inclined from an early age.
He attributes this, in part, to his father, a civil engineer who taught him to take a scientific approach, which “ignited that engineering instinct in me.”
Although his elementary school in Tehran, Iran, didn’t have computers, his teachers still recognized he was gifted when it came to working with technology—they would even rely on him for help and support.
“I remember the very first job I had was in Grade 4 or 5, when I installed the PA system for the school,” Haghighat said. “From that early of an age, I was involved with technology.”
Shortly before his 16th birthday, his family moved to Canada and settled in Scarborough, Ont. For a while, he was less confident because he did not speak English well, but he soon gained confidence, continuing to learn and improve his English with cartoons and comic books—Spiderman, Superman, X-Men, and the like.
His passion and talent for science and technology, however, was undiminished. In the early 1990s, he went to an international science Olympics event in Kentucky, winning a gold medal in the technology category and a bronze medal in the overall judging.
Finding flexibility to balance education with career
Haghighat began studying for a bachelor of science degree at York University in 1994 and quickly found success in both the classroom and his nascent career.
“A year or two before graduation, I actually secured a full-time job there as a computer technician,” he said. “That career has continued to evolve, and I’m still at York University.”
By the time he completed his undergraduate degree, with honours, he was already working full-time in an information technology role. He also taught classes part time, a job he enjoyed, though the pay didn’t always make up for the mileage and extra time he spent doing that work.
“Along the way I got married and had kids,” Haghighat said. “I actually felt like I lost time with my kids when they were newborn, because of spreading myself too thin.”
Haghighat knew he wanted to shift into a more academic career, and that to get a full-time teaching position at the college level, he would need a master’s degree.
But like so many 小优视频 students, he didn’t have time to study on a 9-to-5 schedule at a traditional bricks-and-mortar university. That need for flexibility led him to 小优视频 in 2007, when he began working on a graduate degree.
When he needed to take breaks for various health, family, and career-related reasons, that flexibility was invaluable.
They went out of their way to get find solutions, instead of just saying ‘the information is there, go figure it out.' That was absolutely amazing, and that’s what kept me coming back.
Kevin Haghighat (Master of Science in Computing and Information Systems '25)
Student research opportunities support learning at 小优视频
Right from the start, Haghighat knew he wanted to write a thesis exploring how technology could enable paraplegics to walk.
He ended up working with Dr. Maiga Chang, whose research interests focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, especially in relation to large language models—the technology behind popular AI tools like ChatGPT.
“I never thought I would get into natural language processing, which is exactly what Dr. Maiga Chang does,” Haghighat said. “But wouldn’t you know it, I took a couple classes with him, enjoyed it, and was able to excel in it.”
After getting involved with Chang’s research group, Haghighat also realized that large language models could be part of the solution to a problem he ran into with his own thesis research.
To support a paraplegic in walking, signals from the brain must be translated into muscle stimulation throughout the body. He realized machine-learning technology could help.
“I could tap into machine learning and today’s AI concepts to be able to take live information from the brain using a brain/computer interface, then translate that into the physical action the brain is trying to make, bypassing the spine where the damage has occurred.”
While getting the information from the brain is straightforward, as is stimulating muscles in the leg, the challenge is in how the two systems can coordinate. It was in working with Chang on his research that Haghighat discovered the solution to this challenge in his own work.
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Continuing an educational journey
With a graduate degree in hand, Haghighat has more opportunities to shift his career into an academic or teaching role, or even something in research and development.
He is also considering pursuing his PhD, which could open even more doors for him.
But first, he wants to take some time away from school to catch up on his personal to-do list. This includes sharing his knowledge with his children, the oldest of whom is starting high school this year. It also includes medical treatment after a recent health-related diagnosis.
“I do plan to go on to a PhD, but there has been a wrench in the gears recently,” Haghighat said. “Luckily we seem to have caught it early on.”
Regardless of his specific next steps, he credits staff and faculty at 小优视频 with supporting him through his degree program. This includes the writing centre, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and the Faculty of Science and Technology. They helped him succeed in the program, and to now pursue the kind of work he’s always been passionate about.
“They went out of their way to get find solutions, instead of just saying ‘the information is there, go figure it out,’” he said. “That was absolutely amazing, and that’s what kept me coming back.”