Dr. Tomaso de Cola received the ”Laurea” degree (with honors) in telecommunication engineering, in 2001, the Qualification degree as a Professional Engineer in 2002, and the Ph. D. degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering, Robotics, and Telecommunications in 2010 from the University of Genoa, Italy. Since 2008, he has been with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), where he is leading the Integrated Satellite Systems group in the Institute of Communications and Navigation. He has been involved in different European Projects focusing on various aspects of DVB standards, CCSDS protocols, and testbed design and he is a co-author of more than 100 papers, including international conferences and journals. He was the chair of the Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) technical committee within ComSoc and of the SatCom working group within the ETP NetworldEurope platform. Currently he serves as area director of the Space-Internetworking Services (SIS) within the CCSDS standardization body. He has been involved in many editorial initiatives in IEEE journals and magazine as guest and associate editor.

Dr. Babak Mafakheri is a Senior Research Engineer at Rave Aerospace (formerly Safran Passenger Innovations), specializing in 5G-Advanced and emerging 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) for the aviation vertical. With over ten years of experience, he has coordinated European and German-funded projects focused on next-generation inflight connectivity, including multi-orbit satellite systems and integrated TN/NTN architectures. He holds a PhD in Telecommunications from the University of Bologna. His work aims to enable seamless, high-capacity global connectivity and support the evolution of next-generation aeronautical communication services.

Dr. Antonios Lalas is a postdoctoral researcher in Centre for Research and Technology – Hellas / Information Technologies Institute (CERTH/ITI). He has authored forty (40) papers in international scientific peer review journals and more than seventy-three (73) papers in international conferences and events. He has also been involved in several research projects, such as AUTOTRUST, NATWORK, SWARMCATCHER (FIDAL OC1), ARROW (6G-SANDBOX OC1), where he serves as the deputy-coordinator, as well as ULTIMO, PROTECDOME, GUARDAI, FOCAL, SAFEKIBO, SANCUS, SHOW, NEoteRIC, TeamAware, INCISIVE, ENFLATE, SINNOGENES, DAIMON, CRANE, AVENUE, ALADDIN, myAirCoach, BADGER, ACMIMS funded by the EC, the Greek secretariat of Research and Technology, and industry..

    Dr. Dhouha Ayed is an expert in 5G and systems security with over 18 years of experience at Thales. Her academic background includes a PhD from Telecom Sud-Paris, an M.Sc., and an engineering degree in Computer Science. Prior to Thales, her research experience at Katholieke University of Leuven further solidified her foundation. As the technical coordinator of numerous European research projects, Dhouha has honed her expertise in designing cutting-edge security solutions for systems and future networks. She actively participates in shaping the field through European working groups and standardization bodies where she delves into the critical challenges facing future networks with the power of AI. Dhouha’s commitment to innovation continues at cortAIx Labs, where she delves into the challenges facing systems with the power of AI.

Dr. Konstantinos V. Katsaros, Ph.D., is leading the Intelligent Networks & Services sector at I-SENSE / ICCS NTUA (Greece). His R&I agenda includes B5G/6G networks, with a focus on management & orchestration (M&O) of Split/Federated Learning workloads, Extreme Edge Computing, Predictive QoS, and multi-connectivity in Automotive Environments and Beyond. Previously, he held a Senior Researcher position at Intracom S.A. Telecom Solutions (Greece), and Research Associate positions at University College London (UK) and Telecom ParisTech (France), as well as Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece). Currently, Dr. Katsaros is the acting/deputy coordinator of the SNS JU Call 2 project ENVELOPE. Since March 2025 Dr. Katsaros serves as the vice-chair of the 6G-IA 5G/6G for Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Working Group.

Themistoklis Charalambous, University of Cyprus, 6G-LEADER project (Talk on “Toward Goal-Oriented Communication in Multi-Agent Systems: An overview”)
Prof.  Themistoklis Charalambous is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Cyprus and a Visiting Professor at the FinEst Centre for Smart Cities and Aalto University. He previously served on the faculty of Aalto University, where he led the Distributed Systems Control Group. He earned his BA and MEng from the University of Cambridge and completed his PhD there. He has held research positions at Imperial College London, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Chalmers University of Technology. His work has been recognized with a European Research Council Consolidator Grant for the MINERVA project on cooperative autonomous systems.

Riku Jantti, Aalto University, 6G-ARROW project (Talk on “Architectural Implications of Semantic and Goal-Oriented Communications in AI-Native 6G: A 6GARROW Perspective”)
Dr. Riku Jäntti is a Full Professor of Communications Engineering at the School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland. He received the M.Sc. (with distinction) in Electrical Engineering in 1997 and the D.Sc. (with distinction) in Automation and Systems Technology in 2001, both from Helsinki University of Technology (TKK). Prior to joining Aalto University in August 2006, he held the position of Professor pro tem in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Vaasa. His current research interests include machine-type communications, disaggregated radio access networks, backscatter communications, quantum communications, and sensor systems.

Luis Blanco, CTTC, UNITY-6G project (Talk on “Semantic aware ORAN UNITY-6G Architecture framework for integrated TN-NTN networks”)
Dr. Luis Blanco is Senior Researcher at CTTC with expertise in AI-driven optimization for beyond 5G and 6G. He holds a PhD and MSc in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), along with an MSc in Research on ICT (MERIT) and an MBA. Additionally, he has completed two postgraduate degrees in Data Science and Quantitative Finance. With experience in 30+ research projects, including EC, ESA-funded, national, and industrial collaborations, currently, is the Scientific Coordinator of the SNS-JU UNITY-6G project. He has also led multiple projects with European industry. His research interests focus on AI and optimization for wireless communications, with special emphasis in the RAN, shaping the future of next-generation networks.

Francesca Costanzo, CEA Leti, 6G-GOALS project (Talk on “Semantic and Goal-Oriented O-RAN for 6G: From Architecture to Evaluation and Network-Level Insights”)
Dr. Francesca Costanzo is a Research Engineer in Wireless Communication Systems at CEA Leti, France. She received the M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering and the D.Sc. in Information and Communication Technologies in 2017 and 2021, respectively, from Sapienza University of Rome, where she held a three-years postdoctoral position working in several European projects. She currently serves as deputy coordinator in the SNS JU projects 6G-GOALS and 6G-DISAC. Her current research interests lie in the area of B5G/6G systems, goal-oriented communications, edge intelligence and ISAC.

Dr. Christos Oikonomopoulos-Zachos received his diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) and his doctoral (Dr.-Ing.) degrees in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen in 2003 and 2010 respectively. Since 2009 he works at IMST GmbH in the department of Antennas and EM-Modelling. His interests are as well in the fields of antenna design for V2X, drones, mmWave and sub-THz applications as in the radar systems and in the radio channel modelling. Currently he is project manager in numerous industry and public funded projects. He is the project coordinator in the 6G-SNS project iSEE-6G.

Dr. Andreas Gavrielides is a postdoctoral researcher at the IMEC research center in Belgium, and at the University of Antwerp. His area of expertise spans network programmability towards 6G. In 2014, he obtained his diploma in Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. His current research focuses on management and orchestration for the 6G network-of-networks era using high-performance computing as an enabling technology and the development of vertical services in service of 5G and 6G networks.

Dr. Konstantinos Maliatsos is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering (ICSD), University of the Aegean, and co-founder of FERON TECHNOLOGIES. He graduated in 2003 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NTUA and earned an MBA in Technoeconomic Systems in 2005 (NTUA, NKUA, and University of Piraeus). He received his PhD in 2011 in wireless communications and signal processing, focusing on cognitive radio systems. Since 2003, he has collaborated with the Mobile Radio Communications Laboratory at NTUA as a research engineer. From 2013 onward, he has worked as a senior researcher with the Telecommunication Systems Laboratory at UPRC, mainly in EU-funded projects. In 2015, he co-founded FERON TECHNOLOGIES, serving as Director of R&I Programs.He has participated in more than 20 European research projects, holding key management and technical roles.In 2020, he was elected Assistant Professor at ICSD. His expertise includes advanced wireless system design and innovation management. His research interests cover MIMO, joint communications and sensing, beamforming, 6G physical layer design, cognitive radio, security, vehicular communications, and risk analysis.

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Professor Wilhelm Keusgen received the Dipl.-Ing. (M.S.E.E.) and Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D.E.E.) degrees from the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, in 1999 and 2005, respectively. From 1999 to 2004, he was with the Institute of High Frequency Technology, RWTH Aachen University, where he worked on microwave frontend technologies, millimeter wave antennas and the reciprocity of multiple antenna systems. From 2004 to 2021 he was heading a research group for millimeter-waves and advanced transceiver technologies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute, located in Berlin, Germany. The group focused on the implementation of future broadband wireless communication systems. Since 2021 he is a full professor at Technical University Berlin and heading the chair for Microwave Systems. His main research areas are millimeter wave and THz communications for 5G and beyond, measurement and modeling of wireless propagation channels, intelligent reflecting surfaces, multiple antenna systems, and full duplex communication. Wilhelm Keusgen is author or co-author of more than 140 scientific papers.

Dr. Konstantinos V. Katsaros is leading the Intelligent Networks & Services sector at I-SENSE / ICCS NTUA (Greece). His R&I agenda includes B5G/6G networks, with a focus on management & orchestration (M&O) of Split/Federated Learning workloads, Extreme Edge Computing, Predictive QoS, and multi-connectivity in Automotive Environments and Beyond. Previously, he held Senior Researcher positions at Intracom S.A. Telecom Solutions (Greece),  University College London (UK) and Telecom ParisTech (France). Currently, Dr. Katsaros is the acting/deputy coordinator of the SNS JU Call 2 project ENVELOPE. Since March 2025 Dr. Katsaros serves as the vice-chair of the 6G-IA 5G/6G for Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Working Group.

Dr. Rreze Halili currently holds the position of Principal Research Fellow at the University of Antwerp and IMEC. She received her PhD from the University of Antwerp in 2022. Prior to that, she served as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Prishtina, worked in industry, and completed a research stay at Robert Bosch Research in Germany. Her expertise and research interests focus on sensing, localization, and navigation using wireless communication and satellite technologies, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), smart mobility solutions, radio-wave propagation, and reliable and secure wireless cellular communications. She has contributed to numerous national and international research projects and has authored and co-authored several scientific publications. She recently contributed to the chapter “Integrated Sensing and Communication” in the book 6G to Build a Sustainable Future, published by Wiley.

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