Keynotes

Keynote #1: Intent Based Networking and Network Assurance in Next Generation Networks

Abstract: Current and future network services and applications are expected to revolutionize our society and lifestyle. At the same time, the abundant possibilities that new network technologies offer to end users, network operators and administrators have created a cumbersome network configuration process to accommodate all different stakeholders and applications. Thus, lately, there is a need to simplify the management and configuration of the network, through possibly an autonomic and automatic way. Intent Based Networking (IBN) is such a paradigm that envisions flexible, agile, and simplified network configuration with minimal external intervention. This keynote will provide details of how the IBN concept works and what are the main components to guarantee a fully autonomous IBN system (IBNS). Particular emphasis will be given in network assurance, which has as a goal to autonomously trigger corrective actions, whenever the conditions of the network do not allow to fulfill the performance requirements of its users. Finally, light will be shed on the open challenges and future directions of this novel but unexplored research area.

Bio: Aris Leivadeas is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Software and Information Technology Engineering at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada. From 2015 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, at Carleton University, Ottawa Canada. In parallel, Aris worked as an intern at Ericsson and collaborated with Cisco in Ottawa, Canada. He received his diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece, in 2008, the M.Sc. degree in Engineering from King’s College London, UK in 2009, and the Ph.D degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 2015. He has received the best paper award in ACM ICPE 2018 & 2023, the best paper award in IEEE iThings 21 and the best presentation award in IEEE HPSR 2020. Aris is a Senior IEEE member and associate editor in IEEE Networking Letters, IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, IEEE IT Professional, and IEEE Transactions on Green Communications and Networking. His research interests include Network Function Virtualization, Intent Based Networking, Cloud and Edge Computing, IoT, and network automation.

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Keynote #2 The Life of a Token: from Words to Bits on the Wire

Abstract: This talk will demystify the way we go from Generative Ai interactive chat to actual traffic across Processing Units clusters, for both training and inference workloads, possibly involving multiple agents. It will overview challenges and existing approaches in transformer chain performance modeling and control, request routing to distributed agents, hyperparamenter sizing, showcasing some preliminary experimental results from an academic distributed LLM testbed.

Bio: Professor and researcher specializing in communication networks, with expertise spanning routing, switching, virtualization, cloud networking, and advanced network protocols. He is currently leading and participating in multiple European and national research projects on 5G/6G, AI, edge computing, and network resilience, and has held roles as principal investigator, coordinator, and committee member on numerous initiatives. Prof. Secci teaches advanced courses at Cnam Paris and has served as the director of its Computer Science Department, contributing to several graduate programmes on computer networks and IoT systems.

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Keynote #3 Telco Cloud evolution for ubiquitous intelligence in softwarised networks

Abstract: The rapid evolution of network softwarisation and Cloud technologies is redefining the role of the Telco Cloud as a foundational platform for ubiquitous intelligence functions beyond the deployment and operation of telecom networks. This keynote explores the role of Telco Cloud for AI around three key areas: infrastructure, platform and orchestration. Telco Cloud is no longer only about infrastructure; advanced processing and virtualisation technologies are envisioned to underpin a continuum of platform and orchestration capabilities for AI applications deployed together with telecom applications, hence catalysing intelligence across all network layers. As a focal theme for 6G, the keynote exposes key trends about AI and network softwarisation under consideration in ongoing standardization activities which are envisioned to build the foundation for 6G beyond 2030’s.

Bio: Joan Triay is deputy director and network architect at DOCOMO Euro-Labs, in Munich, Germany, which he joined in 2012, and where he is currently leading standardization and development activities spanning different areas such as network virtualization, cloudification, and 5G/6G network management and orchestration. Joan joined the ETSI NFV from the very beginning (2013) and has been participating actively in developing the NFV and cloud-native concepts and related standards since then. In the ETSI NFV, Joan served in various roles such as work item Rapporteur and as ISG’s (Assistant) Technical Manager between 2014 and 2022. Before joining DOCOMO Euro-Labs, Joan was a visiting fellow at the University of Essex, UK (2009-2010) and a visiting researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (2010-2011) sponsored by a Fulbright fellowship. Joan holds a Ph.D. in Telematics Engineering (Computer Networks) (2011) from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain.

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Keynote #4 Towards Secure 6G Networks

Abstract: Current 5G network deployments face a range of security risks that are expected to be significantly amplified with the transition towards 6G. The increasing adoption of open and disaggregated solutions, such as O-RAN, highlights the need for enhanced interoperability and standardisation driven by well-defined security objectives. At the same time, advanced 6G capabilities—including highly flexible network configurations and emerging service models such as Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)—introduce new and more complex security challenges. Future 6G infrastructures will therefore require security-oriented architectures that embrace zero-trust principles. Moreover, their inherent complexity will necessitate AI-enabled automation to manage vast volumes of operational data while ensuring strong guarantees for data privacy, security, and trust. In this context, AI/ML techniques will play a central role not only in performance optimisation, but also in enabling secure and resilient operation, supported by advanced monitoring capabilities and effective cybersecurity threat intelligence sharing across multi-vendor and multi-operator environments.

Bio: Anna Tzanakaki is a Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece where she is leading the “Systems and Networks” Research Group. Previously she was an Associate Professor at the Athens Information Technology (AIT) Center, Greece and an adjunct faculty member of the Information Networking Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Her research interests include network architectures and design and over the past 10 years has focused on 5G and 6G infrastructures. She has been and is actively participating in a number of EU research projects, has served as the technical coordinator of the 5G PPP projects 5G-PICTURE and 5G-VICTORI, and is currently the Project and Technical coordinator of the EU DEP projects 5G-TACTIC and CTIS4NIS focusing on 5G Security. She is a co-author of over 250 publications and co-inventor of several granted and published patents. She is the recipient of the OPTICA Jane Simmons speakership award 2024 for her contribution to optical and converged network research.