Advancing Air Quality Monitoring and AI-Driven Research: FTMC Researcher Abdullah Khan on Secondment at MegaSense Oy, Finland

As part of the NextAIRE project (Next Generation AI Researchers for Air Quality Excellence), Dr Abdullah Khan, a scientific researcher in the FTMC Department of Environmental Research, Lithuania, is undertaking a three-month secondment at the University of Helsinki’s Kumpula Campus in Finland.

NextAIRE aims to strengthen European research and innovation capacity in air-quality monitoring by combining low-cost sensor technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and interdisciplinary collaboration. Bringing together 16 partners across academic and non-academic sectors, the project promotes international knowledge exchange, practical training, and expertise development through 40 planned secondments.

The host organisation, MegaSense Oy, is a Finnish deep-tech spinout from the University of Helsinki, specializing in software development, air-quality data, and multi-sensor calibration technologies. Its research and technical expertise provide a valuable environment to develop practical skills in low-cost sensor systems, environmental data analysis, and AI-driven monitoring approaches.

“During the secondment, I am working with the MegaSense and RadonNET sensing systems to investigate sensor connectivity, data transmission, and data quality, including missing measurements and other potential sources of data loss. A key component of the work involves contributing to the calibration and validation of low-cost sensors by comparing them with reference measurements, analysing sensor response behavior, and assessing measurement uncertainty,” explains Khan.

(MegaSense air quality sensor. Photo: Dr Abdullah Khan)

According to the scientist, this visit also provides an opportunity to expand expertise in programming and AI/ML methods. Planned activities include developing machine-learning approaches using a people-flow dataset from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and exploring their application to the university campus by integrating building information, timetables, occupancy-related observations, and environmental data. These activities will support the development of reproducible analytical workflows and ML predictive modelling approaches.

“The secondment represents an important opportunity for knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary research, connecting FTMC's expertise in environmental measurements, spatiotemporal analysis, and exposure science with the host environment’s capabilities in sensing technologies, data science, and AI/ML. Expected outcomes include validated analytical workflows and reproducible research outputs that advance data-driven environmental monitoring and cross-sectoral research capacity within NextAIRE,” says Dr Steigvilė Byčenkienė, Head of the FTMC Department of Environmental Research.

This secondment is supported through the NextAIRE project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under Grant Agreement No. 101217310.

Source: FTMC