The ETSI Artificial Intelligence Conference - How Standardization is Shaping the Future of AI will take place face-to-face on 10-12 February 2025, in ETSI premises, Sophia Antipolis, France.
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) and related technologies continue to be at the forefront of research, industrial and business developments and have become the key enablers for new and innovative products and services that are transforming business and society.
Europe, as with many other Nations and regions, is currently developing the required policies and legislation to ensure the deployment of artificial intelligence according to relevant values and fundamental rights.
The complex standards and regulatory landscape is shifting rapidly, the technologies are developing exponentially, and businesses are attempting to integrate AI into services and products.
Now more than ever clarity is needed! It is time to engage into standardization to lay the groundworks of an AI enabled future full of opportunities.
The ETSI AI Conference has been designed to provide attendees with the unique opportunity to exchange with AI subject-experts and learn about the state of the art work that is being done in AI-related standardization, regulation and service deployments.
This face-to-face event will provide exclusive insights into the most relevant applications of AI, the related challenges and key enablers that need to be put in place to ensure the deployment of ‘trustworthy’ AI-enabled products and services. Attendees will also learn about current and future opportunities to contribute to standardization, and therefore play a role in actively shaping the future of the technology.
Register now! The event is open to all upon mandatory registration.
Demos and posters will complement the conference agenda.
This is the agenda of the ETSI AI Conference.
The ETSI AI Conference will start at 14:00 on Monday 10 February and end on Wednesday 12 February afternoon.
- Day 1: Monday 10 February
14:00 - 14:20 Welcome Address and Opening Remarks
- Jan Ellsberger, Director General, ETSI
- Markus Mueck, ETSI OCG-AI and Board Chair, Programme Committee Chair
14:20 - 15:50 SESSION 1: How AI/ML will drive Europe’s Business and Societal Evolution
Moderated by Markus Mueck, ETSI OCG-AI and Board Chair, Programme Committee ChairSession Objectives: Frame the role of AI/ML in driving Europe's business and societal needs and provide an overview of the potential for highly innovative work in ETSI designed to serve the needs of all relevant stakeholders.
- 14:20 Keynote: Outlining the Tremendous Potential for AI/ML Work according to Industry Needs
Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI - 14:40 Keynote: The Impact of AI Regulations on Telecommunications and Society
Rafia Inam, Ericsson Research - 15:00 Keynote: Harnessing AI for Digital Advancement of SMEs
George Sharkov, Digital SME Alliance / SBS - 15:20 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
15:50 - 16:20 Networking Coffee with Demos and Posters Visits
16:20 - 18:10 SESSION 2: Policy and Research Initiatives Accelerating AI Developments: Balancing the Hype with Circumspection
Moderated by Marinos Charalambides, European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU)Session Objectives: Building upon the directions given by European policy makers, the session will provide a broad outlook (including and beyond the AI Act) whilst illustrating the potential standards related activities serving the needs of all relevant stakeholders in the context outlined by the European Commission and the ESOs. The session will provide a forward looking and positive outlook on the amazing potential of AI/ML, outline the benefits that have been demonstrated by AI/ML to date and examine potential future developments.
- 16:20 Status of AI related EU Policy Initiatives
Carlos Lopez Rodriguez, DG CNECT, European Commission - 16:40 The Emerging European AI Standardisation Ecosystem
Sebastian Hallensleben, CEN CENELEC - 17:00 Emerging and Transformative Trends in AI/ML Applications for 6G Networks and Services: Insights from Academia
Emilio Calvanese Strinati, CEA LETI - 17:20 Overview of EC Funded Projects and Initiatives working in the area of AI/ML
Marinos Charalambides, SNSJU - 17:40 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
18:10 Networking Cocktail and End of Day 1
- Day 2: Tuesday 11 February
09:00 - 10:00 SESSION 3: Overview of the Conference Demos and Posters
Moderated by David Boswarthick, ETSI Director of Strategy and InnovationThis session will include an overview of the demos and posters that are available in the ETSI Lobby during the networking breaks.
10:00 - 10:30 Networking Coffee with Demos and Posters Visits
10:30 - 12:00 SESSION 4: ETSI Support of Innovation through the Use of AI/ML
Moderated by Ray Forbes, ETSI OCG-AI Vice Chair, ETSI ISG ENI ChairSession Objectives: Provide a positive and forward looking view on AI/ML technologies including an overview of ETSI's activities and future plans for work on AI/ML technologies.
- 10:30 AI and Autonomous Networks: Coordination across ETSI
Markus Mueck, OCG-AI & Luigi Licciardi, OCG-AN - 10:50 Standards in Support of Innovation
Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC Securing Artificial Intelligence (SAI) - 11:10 AI Agents and Policy, an AI Architecture
Ray Forbes, ETSI ISG Experiential Networked Intelligence (ENI) - 11:30 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
12:00 - 13:30 Networking Lunch with Demos and Posters Visits
13:30 - 15:20 SESSION 5: Upcoming Work by ETSI on Data for AI/ML, and Related Activities in Partnership Projects
Moderated by François Ortolan, ETSI Board Member, ETSI OCG-AI Vice ChairSession Objectives: Complementing the previous session that presents ongoing ETSI activities, this session will introduce new ETSI initiatives and showcase opportunities in ETSI's Partnership projects to drive innovation for AI/ML and Data.
- 13:30 Overview of AI/ML related Work in 3GPP
Juan Montojo, 3GPP RAN (Radio Access Networks) - 13:50 Drilling the Oil for AI Engines. The role of Open Data Infrastructures
Diego Lopez, Telefonica - 14:10 ETSI SmartM2M / OneM2M / SAREF and Future Data Plans
Enrico Scarrone, ETSI SmartM2M / oneM2M - 14:30 NGSI-LD for Interoperable Data Exchange and How it Supports AI/ML
Martin Bauer, ETSI ISG CIM - 14:50 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
15:20 - 15:50 Networking Coffee with Demos and Posters Visits
15:50 - 18:15 SESSION 6: A Guide to What Needs to be done for Conformity Assessment of Products
Moderated by Markus Mueck, ETSI OCG-AI and Board ChairSession Objectives: Provide a guide to what needs to be done for conformity assessment of products. Stakeholders in the conformity assessment chain (notified bodies, notifying authorities, market surveillance, etc.) will comment on the solutions developed by ETSI and outline a vision on how market access is achieved in this new field.
- 15:50 Building Trust in AI-enabled Systems Through Standardized Testing, Conformity Assessment and Documentation
Taras Holoyad, ETSI MTS AI - 16:10 Metrology for AI/ML: Related Metrics
Paul Duncan, The National Physical Laboratory UK - 16:30 Notification according to the EU AI Act
Michael Julius Schwarz, Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency of Germany) - 16:50 The role of Notified Bodies in the Context of AI/ML Products - How Notified Bodies Deal with Upcoming Requirements
Holger Bentje, RED CA - 17:10 Lifecycle Monitoring of AI Systems and Models: Governance Tools at the Heart of Conformity Assessment
Martijn Wiertz / Jochen Friedrich, IBM - 17:30 Industrial view from an SME (Title TBC)
George Sharkov, Digital SME Alliance / SBS - 17:50 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
18:15 Networking Cocktail and End of Day 2
- 10:30 AI and Autonomous Networks: Coordination across ETSI
- Day 3: Wednesday 12 February
09:00 - 10:30 SESSION 7: Exploring the wider AI/ML Ecosystem
Moderated by Julien Boudani, Orange Innovation NetworksSession Objectives: Provide a holistic overview of the wider AI/ML ecosystem and examine some recent technology trends and evolution in the domain of AI/ML.
- 09:00 Overview of ORAN AI/ML Specifications with special focus on RAN Intelligent Controllers (RIC)
Linghang Fan, NEC / Lead of AI/ML work item for the RIC - 09:20 ITU-T SG13 AI Activities and Focus Groups
Marco Carugi, ITU-T SG13 - 09:40 Building Future Ready Radio Networks
Pertti Lukander, Nokia - 10:00 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
10:30 - 11:00 Networking Coffee with Demos and Posters Visits
11:00 - 12:30 SESSION 8: An Industry Perspective on applying AI/ML
Moderated by Jochen Friedrich, ETSI Board Member, IBMSession Objectives: Building on the summary of activities and future opportunity in standards, representatives of the industry and SMEs will give a positive and forward looking overview on i) how AI is used by industry to do things in a novel and innovative way ; ii) how will the future look like from an industrial perspective ; iii) what is needed from ESOs/SDOs.
- 11:00 Industry Perspective as seen by the SMEs
Speaker name TBC - 11:20 Roadmap towards an AI-native 6G Architecture
Abdelrahman Abdelkader, NOKIA - 11:40 Potential AI/ML Implementations from the Perspective of a Network Operator
Julien Boudani, Orange Innovation Networks - 12:00 Panel Discussion with the session speakers
12:30 - 14:00 Networking Lunch with Demos and Posters Visits
14:00 - 15:30 SESSION 9 - Panel Discussion: Making AI a Reality: Next Steps and Opportunities
Moderated by David Boswarthick, ETSI Director of Strategy and InnovationSession Objectives: Standards support for AI/ML is already underway in ETSI and we now seek to identify further innovation prospects in this domain. Here we consider innovation in terms of fundamental technologies, business concepts and processes, but also including the all-important area of innovative approaches to the ethical and societal dimensions.
Featuring:
- Maxime Flament, 5GAA
- Oli B, UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
- ETSI TC eHealth Leadership Team (Speaker tbd)
- Piotr Zuraniewski, ETSI TC SAI, TNO
15:30 - 16:00 SESSION 10: Concluding Remarks
Presented by Markus Mueck16:00 End of the ETSI AI Conference 2025
- 09:00 Overview of ORAN AI/ML Specifications with special focus on RAN Intelligent Controllers (RIC)
The following demos and posters, located next to the networking area in ETSI Lobby, will complement the conference programme. Attendees will have the opportunity to visit these during the conference coffee and lunch breaks.
Demos:
- AI-assisted Invention for 3GPP Standards - Harry Cronin, Iprova
Iprova is pioneering AI-assisted invention: using the power of AI and related technologies to aid the human ability to invent the next generation of technologies and solutions. By providing users with the latest, real-time inventive advances, from wherever they may occur, our software can increase the speed and breadth of an individual or team’s inventive capacity. There are few sectors where this technology is of more relevance than in wireless standardization, particularly 3GPP. A combination of the ever-broadening scope of the standardization process, along with an ever-increasing number of documents facing delegates and engineers motivates an AI-assisted solution. Iprova recently launched its 3GPP Standards tool within its broader Invention Studio evo+ platform. Targeted at standards engineers and 3GPP delegates, this is the world’s first software to bring the power of AI-assisted invention to standardization in 3GPP.
The demo will showcase the usage of the 3GPP Standards tool in a complete workflow, enabling users to: (i) explore the TDocs and other inputs to 3GPP to surface the latest use cases and problems; (ii) connect these problems to the broader literature to discover the most relevant new technical solutions, and (iii) save huge amounts of time and effort by setting up persistent monitoring in 3GPP for invention ideas or topics of interest. - Transforming the Network into AI-based services for customers - Rodrigo Sanz, Telefónica Innovacion Digital
The NAAS6G project is an advanced data analytics and network prediction platform that enhances network performance and customer experience through AI models and standardized 3GPP API frameworks (CAPIF, NWDAF, SEAL, NEF). Focused on use cases in Valencia, the platform integrates Open Gateway APIs and a interface for seamless network management. Key features include the prediction of congestion scenarios using AI to proactively optimize user experience and the management of sudden high-traffic events (e.g., concerts or football matches) through NWDAF AI predictions and OpenGateway Service activations. - RDI AI Safety & Security Lab: How the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure Builds Expert Knowledge on the New Risks of Today's AI - Thomas Adrian, Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure)
The RDI AI Safety & Security Lab invites you to an interactive demonstration highlighting the potential risks posed by modern AI chatbots. Participants will engage with two distinct AI models: one that has been deliberately "poisoned" and another that operates without ethical guardrails. This hands-on experience allows attendees to ask questions and witness firsthand how these AI systems can generate malicious or unethical responses.
A Lab researcher will guide the session, providing insights into how these AI models are developed and explaining the underlying mechanisms that lead to their risky behaviors. The demonstration will also explore the broader implications for cybersecurity and other critical sectors, emphasizing the importance of implementing safety and security measures in AI technologies. - GENSHIELD-AI: Mitigating Adversarial Threats from AI and Proactive Fraud Prevention for Next-Generation Machine Learning Applications - Chamara Prabhash Sandeepa Abeysinghe Mudiyanselage, University College Dublin
Adversarial testing of AI systems and services has become increasingly essential as AI technologies grow more complex and integrated into critical domains like Beyond 5G/6G intelligent networks and advanced AI models. These next-generation AI-based systems, while powerful, bring significant risks that can go undetected under standard testing procedures, exposing them to threats like backdoors, inference attacks, and model manipulations. This demo provides a comprehensive AI adversarial testing framework, GENSHIELD-AI, developed to automatically test the robustness of Machine Learning (ML) models against various adversarial threats. The framework is aimed to address a range of potential attacks, including evasion, inference, model inversion, model extraction, and data poisoning. It empowers developers to detect, analyse, and mitigate vulnerabilities in AI systems, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and enhancing the security and privacy of ML applications. - The New Paradigm for Next Generation of Mobile Communication Networks enabled by AI - Xueli An, Huawei Technologies Duesseldorf GmbH
By leveraging the generative-AI breakthrough especially on the Large Language Model (LLM), this prototype demonstrates the fundamental capabilities of Agentic AI enabled network architecture design via two use case scenarios: (1) Road traffic monitoring for Smart City (2) Telecom operator service deployment efficiency improvement . - AI Enhanced 3D Modeling and Pre-surgery Planning based on Multimodal Patient Record Data - Hans Christiaan de Raad, OpenNovations
The demonstration showcases the integration of AI and machine learning (AI/ML). This integration focuses on enhancing patient-specific healthcare outcomes by leveraging AI/ML technologies for image segmentation, data encoding, and interoperability between clinical and manufacturing systems. The demo features AI-driven algorithms for precise image segmentation, integration of surface scanning technologies for real-time analysis, conversion of segmented images into DICOM format, and automated storage in PACS. Additionally, it highlights the establishment of an "health bridge" for data transfer and direct communication with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems for managing patient-specific surgical aids and implants. - Using an Intelligent Chatbot for Intent-Driven Management of Autonomous 6G Networks (SNS-JU 6GINTENSE & SUNRISE-6G projects) - Christos Verikoukis ISI/ATH
In the evolving landscape of distributed computing, managing heterogeneous testbeds across various workstations presents significant resource allocation and user interaction challenges. To address this, we introduced Intent-Driven Experiment Management (IDEM), a novel framework for managing distributed testbeds using declarative intents and natural language to simplify user interactions and resource allocation. At its core, an intelligent chatbot, powered by a large language model (LLM), facilitates seamless communication between users and diverse testbeds. The Chatbot has been trained via context learning with detailed information about each testbed's functionality. This centralized Chatbot then interprets user requests, routes them to specific testbeds equipped with specialized and fine-tuned LLMs, manages resource-aware deployment and experimentation workflows. The intelligent routing within the chatbot ensures optimal use of testbeds and simplifies user interaction without requiring detailed knowledge of the testbeds.
Posters:
- Securing the Digital Age: AI/ML for Robust Media Broadcast and VoIP
Rajesh Mahato, International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore - Synthetic Traffic Data Generation Through Network Digital Twin for ML-Based Detection of Benign and Malicious Flows
Javier Nunez Fuente, Telefónica - 6G-DALI: 6G Data and ML Operations Automation via an End-to-end AI Framework
Takai Eddine Kennouche, VIAVI Solutions - DRAAMS - A Model-follow-data Paradigm Enabler
Hesham Moussa, Huawei Technologies Canada - Regulatory Sandboxes in the AI Act - An Accessible Way to Regulatory Dialogue
Tim van den Belt, Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure - Collaborative Intelligence Sharing in Energy Communities via Federated Learning
Luís Pisco, CNET-CENTRE NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES/ National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - AI in ICT Infrastructures – The Good, The Bad and The Good Again
Piotr Zuraniewski, TNO
- Markus Mueck, Programme Commitee Chair, ETSI OCG-AI Chair, ETSI Board Chair, Intel Deutschland GmbH
- David Boswarthick, Director Strategy and Innovation, ETSI
- Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI Chair, Cadzow Communications
- Ray Forbes, ETSI OCG-AI Vice Chair, ETSI ISG ENI Chair, Huawei
- Jochen Friedrich, ETSI Board Member, IBM Europe
- François Ortolan, ETSI Board Member, ETSI OCG-AI Vice Chair, NEC Europe Ltd
- Helene Schmidt, ETSI OCG-AI Support Coordinator, ETSI
Abdelrahman Abdelkader is part of Nokia Standards as a Senior Staff Research Specialist with a strong focus on network automation and the use of AI/ML in network management and resource optimization. He was also the rapporteur of the published ETSI ZSM012 specification on AI enablers. Before joining Nokia, he worked as a Research Associate at The Technical University of Dresden (TUD), where he acquired his PhD in Electrical Engineering.
Thomas Adrian has a background in Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience and Tech consultancy, which he applies to his position as a researcher at the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure's AI Safety & Security lab. Thomas is involved in researching emergent risks of AI, with a focus on modeling the threat space for consumer-grade hardware and manipulative AI.
Dr. Xueli An is the Head of 6G Network Architecture Research Group at Huawei Technologies Duesseldorf GmbH, Munich Research Center, Germany. Within Huawei, she leads the next generation mobile communication enabled vertical industry related research and corresponding industry development related activities. She has long experience in mobile communication system design research and deep engagement with the 5G enabled Industry 4.0 ecosystem. She serves as 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) working group “Use cases and Requirements” vice chair since 2018. She is the vice chair of NetworldEurope Enabling Technologies for Future Vertical Ecosystem Transformation Working Group since 2020. Her current research focuses on 6G network architecture design and she also takes the role as working group “Communication and Dissemination” chair position in one6G Association since 2021. She has many peer-reviewed international journal/conference publications and filed/granted patent applications in the field of wireless communication, networking, etc. She received her Master and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), The Netherlands.
Dr. Martin Bauer is a Principal Standardization Engineer in the Data Ecosystems and Standards group at the NEC Laboratories Europe (NLE) in Heidelberg, Germany. He studied Computer Science at the University of Stuttgart and the University of Oregon and received his doctorate degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 2007. In 2005 he joined the NEC Laboratories Europe (NLE), where he has been working on context and IoT related research projects as well as standardization activities in the same areas. He is currently working on data space and digital twin related activities and is active in standardization. In particular, he is driving the standardization of NGSI-LD in ETSI ISG CIM and is a vice-chair of the group. He is active in FIWARE and is a member and vice-chair of the FIWARE Technical Steering Committee. In addition, he is active in the data space area.
Holger Bentje graduated from University Hannover in Germany with a Diplom-Ingenieur degree in Electrical Engineering in 1994. He started his professional career as an EMC and telecom project engineer in an accredited laboratory in the South of Germany. He continued his career as Laboratory Manager for EMC, Telecom and Safety. He joined Phoenix Testlab in 1998 where he established one of the first privately owned Notified Bodies to certify radio and telecom equipment in Germany. Currently he is Master Specialist EMC & Radio Technologies, Director Notified Body Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and Telecom Certification Body (TCB) USA, Canada, Japan at Phoenix Testlab. He is a lecturer in EMC at Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (TH OWL) in Lemgo, Germany since 2004. Holger Bentje is the Chairperson of the Radio Equipment Directive Compliance Association (REDCA), the association of RED Notified Bodies since 2020.
Julien Boudani is an experienced Senior Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry and business development. Julien is working for Orange Innovation as a strategy manager for Standardization and Open Source. He is currently involved in many Programs/projects related to the evolution of mobile networks, platforming, Telco AI and Telco cloud. Julien is member of the O-RAN Alliance Open source Committee. He is coordinating Orange activities in many SDOs like TIP, 3GPP and the Linux foundation projects.
Having been awarded an ETSI Fellowship in 2023 Scott Cadzow has used that as a springboard for further involvement in developing and promoting standards. Across a number of fields, often underpinned by the keyword of security, Scott has attempted across his career to make standards clear, concise and simple to understand and apply. In many cases this has been to deconstruct difficult problems to remove the difficulty and to address the key issues that make the standard and its products work.
Dr. Emilio Calvanese Strinati obtained his Engineering Master degree in 2001 from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and his Ph.D in Engineering Science in 2005 from Paris Telecom. He then started working at Motorola Labs in Paris in 2002. Then in 2006 he joined CEA LETI as a research engineer. From 2007, he becomes a PhD supervisor. From 2010 to 2012, he has been the co-chair of the wireless working group in GreenTouch Initiative, which deals with design of future energy efficient communication networks. From 2011 to 2016 he was the Smart Devices & Telecommunications strategic programs Director, then, until January 2020 he was the Smart Devices & Telecommunications Scientific and Innovation Director. Since February 2020 he is the Nanotechnologies and Wireless for 6G (New-6G) Program Director focusing on future 6G technologies. He has published around 250 papers in journals, international conferences, and books chapters, and he has given more than 250 international invited talks, keynotes and tutorials. He is the main inventor of more than 100 patents. He has also a rather strong and successful experience in leading and coordinating research activities having been the main coordinator of successful projects such as 5G-CHAMPIONS, 5GAllstar or RISE-6G and he is the coordinator of 6G-GOALS, 6G-DISAC and 6G-ARROW. CEA has also coordinated other FP7/H2020 and national projects, and/or serving regularly as project’s Technical Manager, Work Package and Task leader in more than 40 European projects. His current research interests are on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces, Semantic communications, Goal-oriented communications AI-native technologies in the context of future 6G networks.
Marco Carugi is Senior consultant with Huawei Technologies on advanced ICTs and related standardization since 2018 and Rapporteur for ITU-T Q20 of SG13. Professional experience in R&D and technology strategy, with past positions in different roles within Solvay group, Orange Labs, Nortel Networks CTO division, ZTE R&D Technology Strategy, as well as consultant with various customers, including NEC (2015-2018). IMT-2020/5G and Future Networks, AI/ML for Networks and Autonomous Networks, IoT, Digital Twins and Smart Cities are the main technical areas he is currently involved in. Active in standardization for a long time, he has led specifications in different domains and held leadership positions in different SDOs (ITU-T, IETF, OIF). Among other positions (in ITU-T SG20 and more), he currently serves as Rapporteur for ITU-T Q20 of SG13 (“Networks beyond IMT-2020 and Machine Learning: Requirements and Architecture”) and Rapporteur for ITU-T Q2 of SG20 (“Requirements, capabilities and architectural frameworks across verticals enhanced by emerging digital technologies”). He also acts as Vice-Chair of the ITU-T Joint Coordination Activity on Machine Learning and co-Convener of the ITU-T Correspondence Group for datasets applicable for AI/ML in networks. Marco holds an Electronic Engineering degree in Telecommunications from University of Pisa (Italy), a M.S. in Engineering and Management of Telecommunication Networks from National Institute of Telecommunications (France), a Master in International Business Development from ESSEC Business School (France), and completed an Executive Program on Big Data Science at Ecole Centrale Supelec (France).
Marinos Charalambides is a Project Officer at the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking where he is responsible for the control and monitoring of several Horizon Europe projects. He holds a PhD degree in network and service management and since 2003 he has been working on key research challenges in this area. He has made significant scientific contributions through his involvement in several European research projects and has published many high-quality journal and conference papers. He was on the editorial board of IEEE TNSM, the general co-chair of IEEE CNSM 2022, the lead TPC co-chair of IM 2017, and he served as the vice-chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Network Operations and Management.
Dr Harry Cronin is currently Head of Standards at Iprova, where he leads the development of AI-based software to help users invent for and contribute to 3GPP and other technical standards faster and more diversely than previously possible. Harry also leads on Invention-as-a-Service projects for a range of clients in telecoms, semiconductors and other high tech industries. Harry is an accomplished inventor with over 90 patents and patent applications to date. Prior to Iprova, Harry worked in R&D in printed electronics and defense electronics. He obtained his doctoral degree in Advanced Materials from the University of Surrey and his masters degree in Physics from Imperial College London.
Hans de Raad is the owner and founder of OpenNovations, a consultancy and software development firm specializing in data management systems for the pharma, healthcare, and energy sectors. With a strong foundation in IT management within the Dutch government, Hans transitioned into the pharma industry, where he developed expertise in laboratory IT management. His extensive consultancy work led to the creation of Aranei, a versatile data management platform built on open-source technologies like PostgreSQL, Nginx, and ReactJS. Hans is a recognized leader in integrating complex data systems, focusing on enhancing regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, and AI-driven data analysis. A proactive speaker and contributor to discussions on medical regulations and software development, Hans continues to push the boundaries of data integration and management in healthcare.
Jan Ellsberger, Director-General, ETSI. Jan Ellsberger is a globally recognised leader in the ICT industry with more than 30 years of experience with research and innovation, industry ecosystem development, standardisation, policy development & regulation, and strategy development in the telecommunications and automotive industries. From 2000-2012 he was leading Ericsson’s global standardisation operations. He has also served in leading positions in several industry associations such as 3GPP, 5GAA, ERTICO and the Horizon Europe CCAM Association.
Linghang Fan, Principal Standardisation Engineer, NEC Laboratories Europe and ORAN WG2 AI/ML Rapporteur. Linghang Fan brings over 20 years of extensive experience in mobile communications, encompassing software development, product management, and standardisation. He holds a B.Eng. in Automatic Control from Southeast University, China, and both an M.Sc. with distinction and a Ph.D. in Telecommunications from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. Throughout his career, he has contributed to eight EU-funded projects in communications and computing, authored over 50 papers in prestigious international journals and conferences, and served as an editor of a book. As an NEC delegate, he has been actively involved in standardisation efforts within IEEE 802.16, 3GPP SA2, and ORAN WG2/WG3. Currently, he serves as the AI/ML Rapporteur for ORAN WG2, driving innovation and advancements in the field of mobile network intelligence.
Dr. Flament represents 5GAA, the global cross-industry association for the development of connected and automated cars, where he works as Chief Technology Officer since 2018. Maxime has more than 20 years of experience in mobile networks, connected & automated vehicles, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, and Intelligent Transport Systems. Maxime holds a PhD and MSc in Mobile Communication Systems from Chalmers Technical University, Sweden. He was visiting researcher at Stanford University, CA, USA.
Ray Forbes, Huawei Technologies Co. LTD (UK). Educated at Loughborough University of Technology between 1977 and 1984, he joined Plessey Telecommunications where he worked on Software Engineering and Analysis. Since 1990 he has worked on network development in the area of Intelligent Networks and Standardisation. Working in many manufacturers. Currently, he is working for Huawei Technologies to lead and chair the ETSI ISG ENI (Experiential Networked intelligence) and ETSI ISG PDL (Permissioned Distributed Ledger) as Acting Chairman.
Jochen Friedrich leads IBM’s team for Standardisation and Technical Regulation in Europe and is part of the corporate IBM standards and open source strategy organisation. Jochen holds a number of positions in European standardisation. He is Vice-President of Ecma International, member of the ETSI Board, co-chair of DIN FOCUS.digital and chair of the Expert Panel of the Standardisation Council Industrie 4.0. Jochen also holds lead roles in European industry and trade associations: He chairs the standardisation task force in OpenForum Europe and the standardisation working group in BITKOM. As representative for OpenForum Europe in the EU Commission's advisory group “ICT Multi-Stakeholder Platform” Jochen chairs the Task Force on the Rolling Plan for ICT standardisation. He is also a member of the German government’s Advisory Council for ICT Technologies BSIKT and a sherpa member of the German national Strategy Forum on Standardisation. Jochen is a Fellow of the OpenForum Academy.
Dr Sebastian Hallensleben is the Chair of CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 where European AI standards to underpin EU regulation are being developed, and co-chairs the AI risk and accountability work at OECD. Sebastian is the initiator and Programme Chair of the Digital Trust Convention and is Principal Advisor Digital Trust at KI Park. As Chief Trust Officer at resaro, he works towards drilling down to ground truths about capabilities of AI systems. - Previously, Sebastian Hallensleben headed Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies. He focuses in particular on operationalising AI ethics, on characterizing AI quality and on building privacy-preserving trust infrastructures for a more resilient digital space.
Taras Holoyad holds master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig (M.Sc.) and Sustainable Urban Transformation from the University of Nordhausen (M.Eng.). He gained valuable experience in the automotive industry, specializing in the calculation of electrical machines, before transitioning into the field of standardization. Currently, his work focuses on Artificial Intelligence at the German Federal Network Agency, contributing both nationally (DIN/DKE) and worldwide (ETSI, CEN/CLC and ISO/IEC). In addition, Taras runs a business specializing in penetration testing of radio systems, combining his technical expertise with practical applications to enhance cybersecurity. His most influential activities are: Project leader of ISO/IEC 42102 "Taxonomy of AI system methods and capabilities; Vice-chair position at ETSI TC Methods for Testing and Specification (MTS); Evaluation of algorithm-based traffic classification using the example of the city of Wiesbaden; Co-author of the scheme "AI=MC2" and the corresponding book "Schmid, T., et al. (2023). Managing and understanding artificial intelligence: The practical guide for decision makers, developers and regulators. Germany: DIN Media GmbH"; Co-author of the online AI glossary "AI-Glossary.org".
Rafia Inam is a senior research manager at Ericsson Research and Adjunct Professor at KTH in research area Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, Sweden. She has conducted research for Ericsson since 2015 on 5G for industries, 5G network slices and management, using AI for automation of telecom. She is specialized in trustworthy AI, explainable AI, explainable RL, AI Regulations specially EU AI Act, risk assessment and mitigations using AI methods. Rafia has co-authored 50+ refereed scientific publications and 55+ patent families. She has won best paper awards on her two papers: “Towards automated service-oriented lifecycle management for 5G networks”, at IEEE SOCNE 2015, and “Support for Hierarchical Scheduling in FreeRTOS” at IEEE Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation 2011. She won Ericsson Top Performance Competition 2021 on her work on AI for 5G network slice assurance, and awarded Ericsson Key Impact Award 2020, and Key contributor award 2020, and 2023.
Luigi Licciardi is currently advisor in Huawei. His activity is now targeted to Digital Transformation, AI and Open Digital architecture. He is very active in the launch and evolution of Autonomous Networks (AN) in major Fora, in particular in ETSI and TM Forum. He is part of AN OCG and editor/ author of 3 ETSI White Paper on AN. He matured a 35 year experience in the Telecom domain with executive roles as VP in Telecom Italia/TIM in charge of different departments (Industry Relations, Mobile Handsets and Innovative solutions, Convergent Access Technologies, System on Chip, Network Management, Switching Technologies). As Head of the Standards and IPRs in TIM, he was Board director of ETSI, OPNFV and NGMN, chairman of NGMN IPR Forum, member of TMF Executive Committee. He was directly involved in 5G standardization and deployment, including the publication of the NGMN first 5G White Paper. He is author of several papers and named as inventor in many patents on the mentioned topics.
Carlos Lopez is a policy officer at DG CNECT working on ICT standardisation coordination of several digital topics. He is representing the Commission as counsellor to the ETSI Board and in governance bodies of other SDOs. Before joining the Commission, he worked as a research engineer in different topics related to the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. He has a background in engineering holding a PhD degree in civil engineering.
Dr Diego R. Lopez joined Telefonica in 2011 as a Senior Technology Expert, and he is currently in charge of the Technology Exploration activities within the GCTIO Unit. Before joining Telefónica he spent some years in the academic sector, dedicated to research on network services, and was appointed member of the High-Level Expert Group on Scientific Data Infrastructures by the European Commission.
Pertti Lukander heads Technology Leadership in Nokia Mobile Networks (MN) in MN Strategy and Technology unit. His focus is on 6G, both driving the industry 6G development as well as leading Nokia internally in 6G product R&D preparation, building the foundation for Nokia’s future 6G products. Pertti’s team works closely with Nokia corporate standards team as well as Nokia Bell Labs. Pertti is fascinated by the opportunities AI will bring into the radio interface and RAN technology and business models overall. Pertti has been active in the foundation of AI RAN Alliance during the past year and serves in the board of the Alliance. Pertti is passionate about new technology, the opportunities it brings, and the impact technology can make. His mobile communications technology career started already with GSM, and he has stayed in the fore front of mobile technologies ever since.
Rajesh Kumar Mahato is a seasoned research engineer specializing in next-generation wireless networks. With a Master's degree in Digital Communications, he has a deep understanding of 5G, 6G, and beyond. His expertise lies in network optimization, machine learning, and AI, which he leverages to enhance communication systems. Currently at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, Rajesh has pioneered innovative frameworks for 5G/6G resource allocation and multimedia streaming. His work includes integrating Asterisk PBX with various networks for seamless VoIP and designing private 5G networks for efficient media streaming. Rajesh's industry experience with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung has further solidified his knowledge in network optimization. His research, encompassing 5G video stream analysis and dynamic VoIP mobility, has been published in leading journals and conferences. Passionate about advancing connectivity and security, Rajesh is committed to pushing the boundaries of wireless communication.
Juan Montojo is VP of Technical Standards at Qualcomm leading Cellular Standards and Industry Organizations. He has Telecommunications Engineering degrees from the Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain, and Institut Eurecom, Sophia Antipolis, France, as well as, MS and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and University of California San Diego, respectively.
Dr. Montojo joined Qualcomm in January 1997 and has worked in the system design and standardization of Globalstar, 3G, 4G, 5G, and WiFi as part of the corporate R&D and Standards groups. As of late, he has been focusing on AI/ML for NR air interface for which he was the rapporteur of the 3GPP Rel-18 study and continues serving as rapporteur for the on-going Rel-19 work item. He is also researching 6G areas focusing on identifying the benefits that 6G could offer over 5G/5G-Adavanced. Dr. Montojo is ETSI Board member from November ‘23.
Dr. Markus Mueck received the Dipl.-Ing. and ing. dipl. degrees from the University of Stuttgart, Germany and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST), Paris, France respectively in 1999. In 2006, he received the Doctorate degree of ENST in Communications. Dr. Mueck is a Principal Engineer with Intel Deutschland, Munich, Germany and an Engineering Director; he acts as Chair of the ETSI Board, he is Chair of ETSI OCG AI coordinating the overall effort of the organization on AI and Adj. Professor of University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Dr. Mueck was leading the effort on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning of the European funded research Flagship Project Hexa-X preparing the design of 6th Generation Mobile Networks (6G).
Javier Núñez received his B.Sc. in Telecommunication Technologies and Services Engineering from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and is currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Telecommunication Engineering at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja. He is part of the Technological Exploration Team in the CTIO Unit at Telefónica Innovación Digital, where he focuses on identifying and refining mechanisms for the intelligent management of networks based on Digital Twin technologies.
Francois Ortolan, ETSI AI Coordination Group (OCG AI) Vice-chair, ETSI Board Member, NEC Labs Europe. Francois Ortolan is a Senior Standardisation Engineer at NEC Labs Europe. He has over 15 years’ experience working with advanced mobile telecommunication and its industrial applications. He is a specialist in the interplay between AI and Telecommunication. He is currently Vice-chair of the ETSI AI coordination group (OCG AI) and an ETSI Board member.
Luis Pisco is R&D Engineer at EDP NEW. He holds a Master's Degree in Computer Science at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa and a Bachelor's Degree in Geospatial Engineering at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa.
Chamara Sandeepa is a PhD student in the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland. He is also a member of the Network Softwarization and Security Labs (NetsLab) at the UCD, a student research member at CONNECT Centre Ireland, a contributing research engineer in the projects EU ROBUST-6G and the EU H2020 SPATIAL. He is currently working in the field of privacy aspects of Distributed Machine Learning, with a focus on privacy vulnerabilities and attacks targeting Machine Learning clients and potential defenses against the threats. He contributed over 15 research publications in the domain of AI and security. He received his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Information Engineering from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka in 2020. He has professional experience in software engineering and working experience in the fields of Open RAN, IoT and explainable AI.
Rodrigo Sanz is a professional with a degree in Telecommunications and nearly 20 years of experience in the Telco industry. He has worked across various areas, including network deployment, optimization projects, and service experience improvement for Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and operators. Over the years, he has focused on using AI and big data analysis to enhance network quality and performance. He currently leads the NAAS6G project at Telefónica Innovación Digital, supported by UNICO I+D funds, within the Discovery division. The project is dedicated to integrating new network capabilities through AI-driven analytics and standardized APIs to address modern challenges and improve user experience.
Michael Julius Schwarz, born in 1973 is lawyer at the Bundesnetzagentur since 2002 and Head of Section "Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies".
Dr. Sharkov is Assoc. Professor at the Institute for ICT, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Since 2003, he has been Director of the European Software Institute (Sofia) and head of the Cybersecurity Lab at SofiaTechPark. He was a cyber defense adviser to the Bulgarian MoD (2014-2021) and National Cybersecurity Coordinator, leading the work on a national cybersecurity strategy “Cyber Resilient Bulgaria 2020” and the Cybersecurity Act. George was a member of EU AI High-Level Expert Group and is currently representing European Digital SMEs and SBS (Small Business Standards) in ETSI Technical Committees CYBER and Securing AI, and ENISA ad-hoc groups. He has more than 30 years of experience developing complex software systems-of-systems, software process quality (CMMI), cyber security and resilience (CERT RMM), and trustworthy AI. He holds a PhD in AI/expert systems and lectures at three leading universities in Bulgaria (software quality, cybersecurity and resilience, AI for Cybersecurity).
Tim van den Belt is part of (team) strategy at the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure. With a legal and software engineering background contributing to how we as a supervisory authority navigate the AI landscape. Currently contributing to: national AI supervisory governance, TSI through the EU with UNESCO to enhance capabilities of supervisory authorities, and with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Dutch DPA finishing a pilot for the AI regulatory sandboxes.
Prof. Christos Verikoukis is a collaborating faculty member with ISI/ATH and he is an associate professor with the University of Patras. He received his PhD from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in 2000. He has published 172 journal papers and over 250 conference papers. He is also the co-author of 5 books, 20 chapters of different books and of 5 patents. Since 2004, he has supervised 25 Ph.D. students (18 PhD graduations) and 10 Post Docs researchers. He has coordinated or currently coordinating several competitive projects in the area of AI/ML for 6G networks, like the SNS-JU SUNRISE-6G, 6G-INTENSE, 6G-DALI. He is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Networking Letters.
Martijn Wiertz is the Technical Sales Leader for IBM watsonx.governance in the EMEA region. In this role, he combines his technical, analytical and industry knowledge to help clients understand and validate the unique value that the solution can bring to help them enact responsible AI. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of advanced analytics, experiencing all major developments in the evolution of the industry first hand. Prior to his current role, Martijn was the global technical sales lead for IBM’s solution to combat financial crimes and he was Director, Enterprise Solutions at SPSS Inc. when that company was acquired by IBM."
Piotr Zuraniewski, PhD. Piotr received his MSc degree in mathematics (Best Graduate Award) in 2003 from AGH, Poland, where he further worked as a research assistant, involved in several EU FP6/FP7 research projects. In 2011 he defended his PhD thesis entitled ‘Stochastic modelling and control of communication networks' at the University of Amsterdam. He now works as Senior Research Scientist at TNO, frequently playing a technical leader role in both research- and business-oriented projects. His research interests are programmable cloud infrastructures and their orchestration using AI, AI security (delegate to ETSI) as well as autonomous security response. Piotr is a co-author of several refereed scientific papers and regularly serves as a reviewer. He is also a former Cisco Academy Instructor and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP).
Venue:
ETSI Headquarters
650 Route des Lucioles
06560 Valbonne - Sophia Antipolis
FRANCE
Tel: +33 4 92 94 42 00
Information on venue, travel, visa, local accommodation is available at www.etsi.org/events/find-us