6G IA

WiTaR Lunch Salon #3 - Building Inclusive 6G Through Technical Leadership, Research Collaboration and Contributions to Standardisation
2026-02-03 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Berlin)
Date & Time:

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (CET)
The recording is online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoLe3BEB8CE

WiTaR Lunch Salon #3 – Building Inclusive 6G Through Technical Leadership, Research Collaboration and Contributions to Standardisation
Speaker: Dr. Albena Mihovska, CTO SmartAvatar B.V., WG3 Chair one6G, IEEE R8 Member Conference Coordination Committee (CoCC)
Topic: How do women shape the technologies that will define our future? This talk aimed to demonstrate that technical excellence and diversity are complementary forces driving innovation. In particular, the talk outlined the path from cutting-edge 6G research to real-world standardisation impact, showcasing how technical expertise combined with a commitment to inclusion can drive meaningful change in telecommunications.
Drawing from the personal experience in previous wireless generations, 6G research and participation in international collaborative and standardisation initiatives, the talk explored how diverse perspectives improve technical solutions, including robust security and sustainability-focused designs that serve broader populations and how inclusion within technical forums and research projects can drive the 6G ecosystem.
Teaser: What does it take to build credibility as a woman in highly technical 6G spaces? How can we leverage our own expertise to open doors for others? What specific technical contributions have made the biggest impact?
About the speaker:
Chief Technology Officer at SmartAvatar

Dr. Albena Mihovska has been actively contributing to ITU-R, ITU-T and ETSI standardisation since 2006. Most recently, she has been active within the IEEE SA P1955 for 6G Empowering Robotics.
In addition to her active role as a WG3 Chair of One6G Association, she has been appointed as a 2026 Member of the IEEE R8 Conference Coordination Committee (CoCC) and as a Vice-Chair of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, IEEE Nanotechnology Council Joint Section Chapter, Denmark.
She is Founding member of the CTIF Global Capsule (CGC) network organisation, and a Board Member of Euromersive. Further, she has been serving as a Steering Committee member of IEEE WCNC (until 2017), IEEE BlackSeaCom (currently), and on the OC of IEEE GLOBECOM (’15, ’19), IEEE ICC’20, and other major conferences and workshops.
With her extensive experience and expertise, Dr. Albena Mihovska is a highly respected figure in the field of communication technologies, and her contributions have helped shape the future of 6G and beyond.

About WiTaR:
The Women in Telecommunications and Research (WiTaR) Working Group (WG) focuses on promoting gender equality, inclusion, and empowerment within the 6G Research & Innovation (R&I) community. Established as part of the European flagship project Hexa-X in February 2021 and expanded to the broader 5G Infrastructure PPP community in June 2021, the WiTaR WG continues to grow its influence. Launched in Fall 2023, WiTaR is dedicated to closing gender gaps and increasing the participation of women in the 6G R&I community.
Our mission:
WiTaR seeks to close the gender gap by fostering an inclusive environment, breaking down barriers, and inspiring the next generation of women leaders in telecommunications and research. The group’s efforts are focused on creating a more equitable and diverse workforce in these essential sectors, ensuring women have equal opportunities and recognition for their contributions.
More information: https://6g-ia.eu/witar/

Recording:

WiTaR Lunch Salon #4 - inTRUSTED: Cultivating Trust and Inclusivity in 6G-Era Digital Ecosystems through Artistic Intelligence
2026-04-30 13:00 - 14:00
Date & Time:

Thursday 30 April 2026
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (CEST)
The recording is available here: https://youtu.be/BDnF_EZb5Mw

WiTaR Lunch Salon #4 – inTRUSTED: Cultivating Trust and Inclusivity in 6G-Era Digital Ecosystems through Artistic Intelligence
Speaker: Dr. Susan Rea is Director of the Nimbus Research Centre at Munster Technological University
Overview:
As new technologies like advanced AI and future 6G networks become part of everyday life, we rely on them more and more – in communication, work, healthcare, transport, and public services. But for these technologies to truly benefit society, people need to understand them, feel included in their development, and trust that they are fair and safe. Traditional approaches to trust often focus only on technical safety and security. However, this is no longer enough. Trust is also about transparency, understanding, values, and inclusion.
The inTRUSTED project brings together researchers, artists, engineers, and communities to explore how we can build digital systems that people not only use but genuinely trust. By combining technology, creativity, and public engagement, inTRUSTED aims to help shape a digital future that people understand, feel confident in, and actively participate in.
About the speaker:
Dr. Susan Rea is Director of the Nimbus Research Centre at Munster Technological University, where she leads strategic research programmes in trusted and distributed infrastructure management, cyber-physical systems, and secure digital transformation. Her work focuses on the design, orchestration, and governance of large-scale, distributed and networked systems, with particular emphasis on resilience, security, and trust in next-generation digital ecosystems.
She is a Principal Investigator within the Research Ireland CONNECT Centre for Future Networks and the Research Ireland ADVANCE Centre for Doctoral Training, contributing to nationally coordinated research in advanced networking, distributed intelligence, and future communications infrastructures. Dr. Rea also serves on the board of the European Technology Platform for Software, Services and Data (NESSI), supporting European research and innovation strategy in software and digital services.
Dr. Rea holds a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from Cork Institute of Technology. Her research interests span Internet of Things (IoT) architectures, edge–cloud integration, distributed systems management, cybersecurity for large-scale networked environments, and the socio-technical dimensions of digital trust. Her work integrates engineering innovation with human-centred and design-led methodologies to address complex technical and societal challenges.
In parallel with her research leadership, Dr. Rea is an advocate for women in STEAM and actively advances gender equality initiatives within higher education and research environments.

About WiTaR:
The Women in Telecommunications and Research (WiTaR) Working Group (WG) focuses on promoting gender equality, inclusion, and empowerment within the 6G Research & Innovation (R&I) community. Established as part of the European flagship project Hexa-X in February 2021 and expanded to the broader 5G Infrastructure PPP community in June 2021, the WiTaR WG continues to grow its influence. Launched in Fall 2023, WiTaR is dedicated to closing gender gaps and increasing the participation of women in the 6G R&I community.
Our mission:
WiTaR seeks to close the gender gap by fostering an inclusive environment, breaking down barriers, and inspiring the next generation of women leaders in telecommunications and research. The group’s efforts are focused on creating a more equitable and diverse workforce in these essential sectors, ensuring women have equal opportunities and recognition for their contributions.
More information: https://6g-ia.eu/witar/

Test and Measurement Forum
2026-05-19 15:00 - 21:05
RCR Wireless News’ 2026 edition of Test & Measurement Forum zeroes in on a critical shift: how testing must evolve as operators move toward fully autonomous, AI-native networks and begin preparing for 6G.
How will the industry manage rising network complexity while maintaining resilience in the AI era? What full-stack, integrated test solutions are emerging? What must change in today’s test strategies to support intelligent, software-driven operations?
On May 19th, the agenda tackles these questions head-on. From traditional telco network testing to digital infrastructure, data centres and AI compute environments, the discussions will examine what it takes to validate performance across optical, transport and cloud-driven architectures. Make sure you register now: https://hubs.ly/Q04dl10j0
The 6G-IA supports the event and Michael Dieudonne, Chairman of the TMV SNS JU Working Group and Governing Board Member of the 6G-IA, will be moderating the panel discussion 6G: what needs testing today to prepare for tomorrow. Please find here the details of this panel https://www.testandmeasurementforum.com/agenda/session/1873914

EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026 - Malaga, Spain
2026-06-02 - 2026-06-05
The 2026 EuCNC & 6G Summit builds on two successful conferences in the area of telecommunications: EuCNC, in its 35th edition of a series, supported by the European Commission, and the 6G Summit, in its 8th edition, originated from the 6G Flagship programme in Finland, one of the very first in its area.
The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), the European Association for Signal Processing (EURASIP) and the European Association on Antennas and Propagation (EurAAP) and supported by the European Commission.
The conference addresses various aspects of Beyond 5G/6G communications systems and networks. It brings together cutting-edge research and world-renown industries and businesses, globally attracting in the last years close to 1000 delegates from more than 40 countries all over the world, to present and discuss the latest results, and an exhibition with more than 50 exhibitors, for demonstrating the technology developed in the area, namely within research projects from EU R&I programmes.
The conference program will include:

Keynotes
Panels
Regular sessions (papers from open call, to be submitted for uploading to IEEE Xplore)
Special and Convened sessions, with papers on specific topics
Workshops, with papers and presentations on specific topics
Poster sessions
Tutorials
Demos and exhibitions, with pitches
Awards in several categories (paper, poster, booth, demo, startup, thesis)

KEY DATES

23 Jan. 2026 – Deadline for submission of Papers for Regular Oral Sessions
23 Jan. 2026 – Deadline for submission of proposals for Workshops, Special Sessions and Tutorials
06 Mar. 2026 – Deadline for submission of Extended Abstracts for Posters
09 Mar. 2026 – Notification of acceptance of Workshops, Special Sessions and Tutorials
27 Mar. 2026 – Deadline for submission of proposals for Exhibitions, Demos and Booths
27 Mar. 2026 – Deadline for submission of applications for Ph.D. Theses and Startups
30 Mar. 2026 – Notification of acceptance of Papers and Extended Abstracts
10 Apr. 2026 – Deadline for final Papers for all sessions and Workshops
13 Apr. 2026 – Notification of acceptance of proposals for Exhibitions, Demos and Booths
17 Apr. 2026 – Deadline for Authors registration
27 Apr. 2026 – Draft Programme available

Steering Committee Chairs
Luis M. Correia, IST – U. Lisbon, PT (Chair)
Pavlos Fournogerakis, SNS JU, BE (Vice-Chair)
Matti Latva-aho, U. Oulu – 6G Flagship, FI (Vice-Chair)
Technical Programme Co-Chairs
Pedro Merino-Gómez, U. Malaga, ES
Ivan Seskar, Rutgers U., US
Ari Pouttu, U. Oulu – 6G Flagship, FI
Track Co-Chairs
PHY – Physical Layer and Fundamentals
Mikko Uusitalo, NOKIA, FI
Mari Carmen Aguayo-Torres, U. Malaga, ES
Aggelos Bletsas, Rutgers U., US
WOS – Wireless, Optical and Satellite Networks
David Larrabeiti, UC3M, ES
Alessandro Vanelli, U. Bologna, IT
Chia-Pang Yen, ITRI, TW
NET – Network Softwarisation
Anna Brunstrom, Karlstad U., SE
Johann Marquez-Barja, imec-UAntwerp, BE
Paul Ruth, U. North Carolina, US
AIU – Applications, IoT, Use cases
Marc Emmelmann, Fraunhofer FOKUS, DE
Almudena Díaz, U. Malaga, ES
Tingjun Chen, Duke U., US
OPE – Operational & Experimental Insights
Spyros Denazis, U. Patras, GR
David Gomez-Barquero, U.P. Valencia, ES
Aloizio Da Silva, Virginia Tech, US
AI4C – AI/ML Solutions for Communications
Daniel Kilper, Trinity College Dublin, IE
Valerio Frascolla, Intel Deutschland GmbH, DE,
Jongwon Kim, GIST, KR
SAQ – Security Aspects and Quantum Communications
John Preuß Mattsson, Ericsson, SE
Javier Lopez, U. Malaga, ES
Vuk Marojevic, Mass. State U., US
NVS – Next-Generation Visions & Sustainability
Marja Matinmikko-Blue, U. Oulu – 6G Flagship, FI
Christoph Schmelz, NOKIA, DE
Carlos E. Caicedo Bastidas – Syracuse U., US
CMA – Components, Microelectronics, Photonics & Antennas
Luís Manuel Pessoa, U. Porto – INESC TEC, PT
Nuutti Tervo, U. Oulu – 6G Flagship, FI
Ashutosh Dutta, U. Johns Hopkins, US
Panels Co-Chairs
Håkon Lønsethagen, Telenor, NO
Özgü Alay, U. Oslo, NO
Special Sessions Co-Chairs
Čedomir Stefanović, AAU, DK
Nurul Huda Mahmood, U. Oulu – 6G Flagship, FI
Filipe Cardoso, Polytech. Inst. Setubal, PT
Workshops Co-Chairs
Diego López, Telefonica, ES
Germán Madueño, Keysight Technologies, ES
Beatriz Lorenzo, U. Mass. Amherst, US
Tutorials Co-Chairs
Paweł Sroka, PUT, PL
Mir Ghoraishi, Gigasys Solutions, UK
George Sklivanitis, Florida Atlantic U., US
Exhibitions Co-Chairs
David Artuñedo, Telefonica, ES
Michael Dieudonne, Keysight Technologies, BE
Pablo Herrera, U. Malaga, ES
IEEE ComSoc Liaison
Stefano Bregni, POLIMI, IT
COST Liaison
Ralph Stübner, COST, BE
URSI Liaison
Sana Salous, Durham U., UK
EurAAP Liaison
Jose Molina Garcia Pardo, U. Cartagena, ES
EURASIP Liaison
Eva Lagunas, U. Luxembourg, LU
