ETSI 6G Monday

10:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee

10.30 Session 1: European 6G Landscape – Maximizing the Output of EU Research into the Global 6G Standard

This initial session will present the numerous European initiatives and platforms that seek to accelerate 6G research and promote European leadership in 6G. We will hear from the European Commission, 6G-IA and SNS-JU on the numerous opportunities for 6G research in Europe.
Moderated by David Boswarthick, Director of Strategy & Innovation, ETSI 

• Welcome to ETSI 6G Monday
  Jan Ellsberger, Director-General, ETSI
• How 6G is Shaping Europe's Digital Future
  Thibaut Kleiner, Director for Future Networks at European Commission, DG CONNECT
• Insights from the Vision and Roadmap of the European SNS Research Program
  Erzsebet Fitori, Executive Director of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking, SNS-JU
• The Future of Connected World: Europe's Vision for Smart Networks and Services
  Colin Willcock, Chair of the Board, 6G-IA (Nokia)
• Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) a Networld Europe Initiative to Guide Innovation in Europe
  Rui L. Aguiar, Steering Board Chair, Networld Europe (University of Aveiro)
• Panel Discussion: How will Europe Take Action to Become a Leader in 6G?

12:00: Lunch Break

13:30 Session 2:  From Research to Standards – The Way Forward on 6G in 3GPP and Interactions with Major 6G Projects

The session will examine the interplay between global standards in 3GPP and the activities of several large EU projects. It will include an exchange of experiences and best practices when contributing to the global 6G standard.
Moderated by Colin Willcock, Chair of the ETSI Board, 6G-IA

• Status of 6G Work in 3GPP
  Jose Luis Almodovar Chico, 3GPP SA 1 Chair, 3GPP (KPN N.V.)
• Update from Hexa-X-II and Global Alignment
  Mauro Renato Boldi, Leader of Impact Creation, HEXA-X-II (Telecom Italia)
• Sustainability at the Heart of 6G Innovation
  Marja Matinmikko-Blue, Director of Sustainability and Regulation, 6G Flagship (University of Oulu)
• Tools for Accelerating Research into Standards
  David Boswarthick, Director of Strategy & Innovation, ETSI
• Panel Discussion: Is Research Making it onto Global Standards, if not What Needs to be Done?

15:00: Coffee / Tea break

15:30 Session 3: From Research to Standards - EU Projects Making Real Impact in ETSI

 By examining real examples of how EU funded projects have contributed successfully to ETSI pre-standards groups we will explore both the technical aspects, and the recommended best practices for researchers to contribute to standards.
Moderated by David Boswarthick, Director of Strategy & Innovation, ETSI 

1) Deep-dive on sensing for 6G

• Integrated Sensing and Communications - a 6G Building Block Technology
  Javier Lorca Hernando, Expert, ETSI ISG ISAC (InterDigital)
• Project CONVERGE "Communicate to See and See to Communicate"
  Luis Pessoa, Project Coordinator, CONVERGE (INESC TEC Porto)
• Distributed Intelligent Sensing and Communications for 6G
  Emilio Calvanese Strinati, Project Coordinator, 6G-DISAV (CEA-LETI)

2) The role of Open Source in 6G

• Overview of the ETSI Software Development Groups (SDGs)
  Silvia Almagia, Director of Software and Standards, ETSI
• OpenCAPIF, from EU Research to ETSI SDG to Efficient Collaboration in 3GPP
  David Artuñedo, Chair, ETSI SDG OpenCAPIF (Telefonica)
• 6G SANDBOX Leveraging OpenCAPIF to Channel Feedback / Input into 3GPP
  Dimitris Tsolkas, Vice Chair, ETSI SDG OpenCAPIF (FOGUS)

3/ Panel discussion: What More Needs to be Done in ETSI to Accelerate Research Input into Standards?

17:00 Concluding Panel: What is Next for 6G?

The concluding panel will welcome subject experts to openly discuss the potential future directions for 6G and exchange in lively debate with the audience on their questions and concerns
Moderated by Alex Lawrence, Managing Director, TelcoForge

• Multiple Access Techniques and the UK 6G Hubs
  Bruno Clerckx, Vice Chair, ETSI ISG MAT (Imperial College London)
• How the UK is Accelerating 6G Research (project TUDOR)
  Rahim Tafazolli, Regius Professor, 5/6GIC, ICS, University of Surrey
• Eurecom's Ongoing Research Areas for 5G / 6G
  David Gesbert, Director & Dean, EURECOM
• Panel discussion: What is Next for 6G?

 18:00 Networking Cocktail 

Rui L. Aguiar, Steering Board Chair, Networld Europe (University of Aveiro)
Rui L. Aguiar is currently a Full Professor at the University of Aveiro, responsible by the area of Networks and Systems. He has been previously an adjunct professor at the INI, Carnegie Mellon University, a Visiting Research Scholar at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil and an advisor for the Portuguese Government. He is currently coordinating a research line in Instituto de Telecomunicações, on the area of Networks and Services. He is also the current Steering Board Chair of Networld Europe. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for topics associated with novel communication systems. He has more than 500 papers published in journals and conferences He was involved in multiple groups of R&D and in the evaluation of networks and computation programmes in multiple countries. He has participated in more than two dozens of R&D european projects, in the areas of networks and distributed computing.

Silvia Almagia, Director of Software and Standards, ETSI
Silvia Almagia is Director of Software and Standards at ETSI, where she is responsible for Software Development Groups and open source initiatives in support of standardization. Among others, she has helped setup projects such as Open Source MANO, TeraFlowSDN, OpenSlice and OpenCAPIF. Before that, she was Technical Expert in the ETSI Centre for Testing and Interoperability where she provided technical expertise on open source, interoperability testing and proofs of concept (PoC) to standardization groups working on network transformation (NFV, MEC, ZSM). Prior to this position, Silvia was Lead Member of the Technical Staff at Ulticom, where she was responsible for the design and development of software based carrier grade solutions enabling mobile services. Before that, she worked in the domain of Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Network Management for HP and Thales.

Jose Luis Almodovar Chico, 3GPP SA 1 Chair, 3GPP (KPN N.V.)
José Luis Almodóvar Chico is a senior R&D Consultant, having joined TNO in 2013. José holds a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands and a Bachelor’s Degree in Telematics Engineering from the Carlos III University, Spain. His work focuses primarily on network aspects of mobile communications. José is currently 3GPP SA WG1 chairperson since May 2019. José has been KPN's SA1 delegate since 2015 and had the opportunity to contribute to a number of topics, including being the rapporteur of 5GLAN and REFEC. Apart from standardization work, José is also involved in 5G/6G activities in the Netherlands (e.g. “5Groningen”, “Future Network and Services”). He has also been actively involved in several European R&D projects in the areas of IoT (iCore project), Wi-Fi (Wi5), satellite (Sat5G) and more recently 6G (Hexa-X II, where he leaded WP1 T1.4 on Use Cases and Requirements).

David Artuñedo, Chair, ETSI SDG OpenCAPIF, Telefonica
David Artuñedo Guillén is the Head of Future Networks Lab inside Chief Digital Office in Telefónica exploring how apply new network technologies to Products and Solutions to deliver best user experience to TEF customers. Future Networks Lab team has developed the first Open Source version of Common API Framework specified by 3GPP Technical Specifications 23.222, 29.222 and 33.122. Prior to joining Future Networks Lab, he worked in Telefónica at several business units, including CTO for TU Go Communications Product (launched in O2 UK, Movistar Argentina, Perú, Colombia and Mexico, and VIVO Brazil), Technology Liasion Manager at Jajah in Israel, and Senior Manager on Communication Services at Telefónica Research and Development. David Artuñedo received Computer Science Engineer of the Year in Castilla y León (Spain) from Computer Science Engineering Professional Association in 2010, and has been associate professor in Computer Science Engineering at Universidad de Valladolid.

Mauro Renato Boldi, Leader of Impact Creation, HEXA-X-II (Telecom Italia)
Mauro Renato Boldi graduated at Politecnico di Torino in 1997, and after graduation with full marks joined CSELT, the research center of Telecom Italia. Afterwards, CSELT was included in TIM/Telecom Italia. Mauro has worked on topics of radio access since then, being the author of many patents, papers and books. Mauro has led European projects in Horizon context, and currently is the Impact Creation leader in Hexa-X-II, as well as in Sustain-6G, flagship/lighthouse projects in JU SNS.

David Boswarthick, Director of Strategy and Innovation, ETSI
David Boswarthick is the ETSI Director of Strategy and Innovation, where he is responsible for tracking and capturing ICT research & development activities that are ripe for standardization. He devotes himself to new business / technology development and the creation of strong links and enablers towards R&D, academia, National, EU, global research projects and the creation of new or enhanced/evolving standards groups in ETSI. David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 25 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical groups as well as Board level strategic initiatives.

Bruno Clerckx, Vice Chair, ETSI ISG MAT (Imperial College London) 
Bruno Clerckx is a Full Professor, the Head of the Communications and Signal Processing Group, and the Head of the Wireless Communications and Signal Processing Lab, within the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Imperial College London, London, U.K. He spent many years in industry with Silicon Austria Labs (SAL), Austria, where he was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) responsible for all research areas of Austria's top research center for electronic based systems and with Samsung Electronics, South Korea, where he actively contributed to 4G (3GPP LTE/LTE-A and IEEE 802.16m). He has authored two books on “MIMO Wireless Communications” and “MIMO Wireless Networks”, over 300 peer-reviewed international research papers, and 150 standards contributions, and is the inventor of 80 issued or pending patents among which several have been adopted in the specifications of 4G standards and are used by billions of devices worldwide. His research spans the general area of wireless communications and signal processing for wireless networks. He received the prestigious Blondel Medal 2021 from France for exceptional work contributing to the progress of Science and Electrical and Electronic Industries, the 2021 Adolphe Wetrems Prize in mathematical and physical sciences from Royal Academy of Belgium, multiple awards from Samsung, IEEE best student paper award, and the EURASIP (European Association for Signal Processing) best paper award 2022. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the IET. He is the vice-chair of ETSI ISG MAT.

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.

David Gesbert, Director & Dean, EURECOM
Prof. David Gesbert (Fellow, IEEE) is serving as Director of EURECOM, Sophia Antipolis, France (www.eurecom.fr). He received the Ph.D. degree from TelecomParis, France, in 1997. From 1997 to 1999, he was with the Information Systems Laboratory, Stanford University. He was a founding engineer of Iospan Wireless Inc., a Stanford spin off pioneering MIMO-OFDM (currently Intel). Before joining EURECOM in 2004, he was with the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. He has published about 350 articles and 25 patents, 7 of them winning IEEE Best paper awards. He has been the Technical Program Co-Chair for ICC2017 and has been named a Thomson-Reuters Highly Cited Researchers in computer science. He is a Board Member for the OpenAirInterface (OAI) Software Alliance. He was a previous awardee of an ERC Advanced Grant in the area of future networks. In 2020, he was also awarded funding by the French Interdisciplinary Institute on Artificial Intelligence for a Chair in the area of AI for the future IoT. In 2021, he received the Grand Prix in Research jointly from IMT and the French Academy of Sciences.

Javier Lorca Hernando, Expert, ETSI ISG ISAC (InterDigital)
Javier Lorca Hernando is a Consultant within the Wireless Lab Europe team at InterDigital, He is currently secretary and an active contributor in ETSI ISG ISAC, and was secretary of ETSI ISG THz between 2022 and 2024. In his 25 years’ experience he has occupied different positions in the wireless industry and research ecosystem, from research and development of wireless solutions across international teams to being in charge of Radio Innovation, Open RAN and Standards at Telefónica Global CTIO. He received his MSc degree on Telecommunications in 1998 from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

Alex Lawrence, Managing Director, TelcoForge
Alex Lawrence leads TelcoForge’s work to bring about positive change in the telecoms industry. He has spent around 20 years around the telecoms industry writing content and arranging events with companies including Informa, GSMA and 6GWorld, with brief diversions through marketing and industrial maintenance. He knows enough to ask useful questions on almost anything in the field, but not enough so it’s humdrum yet. Alex graduated from Oxford University in 2001.

Marja Matinmikko-Blue, Director of Sustainability and Regulation, 6G Flagship (University of Oulu)
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is Research Director at Infotech Oulu and Director of Sustainability and Regulation at 6G Flagship research program at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds the position of adjunct professor in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. Most recently she has been studying sustainability topics related to ICTs. She has published 210+ scientific publications and prepared 200+ contributions and statements to regulatory bodies at national, European, and international levels. She represents Finland in global IMT-2030 work in ITU-R WP5D.

Rahim Tafazolli, Regius Professor, 5/6GIC, ICS, University of Surrey
Regius Rahim Tafazolli, CBE, is the only Regius Professor in Electronic Engineering. He is Fellow of Royal Academy (FREng), FIEEE, FIET, FCIC, Fellow of WWRF (Wireless World Research Forum). He is a professor of Mobile and Satellite Communications at the Surrey University in the UK and is the founder/director of the world’s first 5G Centre, 5G Innovation Center in 2012 and director of UK’s first Centre on 6G, 6GIC in 2020. He advises many international industries and governments including UK Governments and local council. He represents UKSA in ESA 5JAC and also Chair of ESA 5JAC. 5GIC was winner of the 2021 Royal Academy of Engineering for the best research centre in the UK for working with industry. Also was winner of ITP (Institute of Telecom Professionals) for “Outstanding Contributions to Industry” in 2023. He has more than 30 years of experience in wireless communications since 2G and since first generation of Satellite PCN (Personal Communication Systems).  

Colin Willcock, Chair of the Board, 6G-IA (Nokia)
Colin is currently chairman of the board of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA), the vice-chairman of the board of the European Smart Networks and Services Joint undertaking (SNS-JU) and vice-chairman of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) board. He has detailed knowledge and experience of the telecommunications industry having worked directly or indirectly with many of the major players over a 30-year period. The roles have included software developer, technical consultant, technical marketing, standardization and management. In addition to line manager roles, he has participated extensively in standardization activities at ETSI, ITU-T and 3GPP, including instrumental work in creating and developing the TTCN-3 testing language. Colin has also been very active in the European research ecosystem, including leading a number of award winning European projects such as TT-Medal, D-MINT and SEMAFOUR. Colin is currently head of Research Alliances at Nokia.