Rafaqat Ali is a Research Assistant in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University, working under Dr. Hai Jiang. His research focuses on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) and Deep Inverse Reinforcement Learning (DIRL), with application in optimizing the ride-hailing experience in autonomous taxi systems. His research interests include machine learning, data science, business analytics, mathematical modeling, and operations research, particularly in transportation & logistics. 

Rafaqat was awarded a Visiting Researcher fellowship by the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic under SAIA program. He worked in the Department of Mathematical Methods and Operations Research at the University of Zilina (Slovakia) with Prof. Dr. Lubos Bunza, where he worked on optimization models and solution algorithms for cross-border and inter-regional multimodal journey planning.

He received his M.Eng in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology - Beijing, where he worked with Dr. Zhenyu Liu on Spectrum sensing techniques in cooperative cognitive radio networks. He successfully conducted a research study on advanced technology in the field of cooperating cognitive radios. He received his B.Sc in Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, Pakistan in 2012.