Name: Ms. Panagiota Xepapadakou (DC08)
Host Institution: FOGUS Innovations & Services, Athens, Greece
PhD Enrollment: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
PhD Title: Blockchain-backed incentive engineering mechanisms for secure Healthcare 4.0
Supervisor: Dr. Dionysis Xenakis
Mrs. Panagiota Xepapadakou, holds a Bachelor's and an Integrated Master's degree in Statistics and Financial-Actuarial Mathematics from the Department of Mathematics at the University of the Aegean. She furthered her academic journey with a Master's Degree in Pure Mathematics from the Department of Mathematics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, focusing on "Morita Theory." Mrs. Xepapadakou continued her academic career in the United States at the University of North Texas, gaining valuable knowledge in areas such as analysis, algebra, and set theory. During this period, she also contributed to the academic community by tutoring undergraduate students and serving as a Teaching Fellow.
Name: Mr. Lazaros Liatsas (DC04)
Host Institution: Nearby Computing, Barcelona, Spain
PhD Enrollment: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
PhD Title: Zero-touch inter-node edge orchestration and online 6G-ready service monitoring for low latency healthcare applications
Supervisor: Dr. Angelos Antonopoulos
Mr. Lazaros Liatsas holds a Bachelor’s and an Integrated Master's degree of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. With a solid educational foundation, Lazaros has demonstrated excellence in his academic pursuits, further complemented by his hands-on experience as a Machine Learning Engineer and Research Associate at the Visual Computing Lab within the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH). His technical proficiency encompasses analytical areas such as AI, ML, and optimization, with practical skills in PyTorch, Tensorflow, Scikit-learn, OpenCV, Git, Docker, and Kubernetes.
Name: Mr. Erfan Delfani (DC09)
Host Institution: Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
PhD Enrollment: Linköping University
PhD Title: AI-enabled semantics-aware network management for cost-efficient and secure IoMT
Supervisor: Dr. Nikolaos Pappas
Mr. Erfan Delfani holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (Electronics) from Razi University in Kermanshah, Iran, and a Master’s Degree in Communication Systems specializing in signal processing and statistical machine learning from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. His hands-on experience includes designing and numerical modeling of telecommunication and spectrum measurement systems, in addition to a six-month research engineer position at the Department of Computer and Information Science at Linkoping University. Mr. Delfani has demonstrated expertise in various areas such as semantics-aware communication systems, particularly optimizing semantic metrics such as information freshness/importance in IoT networks using stochastic modeling and optimization techniques.
Name: Ms. Dafni Panopoulou (DC10)
Host Institution: Suite5 Data Intelligence Solutions, Limassol, Cyprus
PhD Enrollment: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
PhD Title: Big data analytics leveraging robust and trustworthy, privacy by design enabled eXplainable AI (XAI) models towards Healthcare 4.0
Supervisor: Dr. Sotiris Koussouris
Ms. Dafni Panopoulou, holds an Integrated Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the School of Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Ms. Panopoulou continued her academic career by pursuing a Master’s degree in Techno-Economic Systems offered by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and further along pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics, offered by the Medical School of Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) in collaboration with Athena Research Center (ARC) gaining valuable knowledge in areas such as data analysis, and machine learning while exhibiting academic excellence. During that period, she also contributed to the academic community by working as an Engineer and Research Associate at NETMODE Lab at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).
Name: Mr. Xavier Alejandro Flores Cabezas (DC01)
Host Institution: Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg
PhD Enrollment: Université du Luxembourg
PhD Title: Integrated Terrestrial Networks and Non-Terrestrial Networks for Ubiquitous and Reliable Healthcare Access
Supervisor: Dr. Symeon Chatzinotas
Mr. Xavier Alejandro Flores Cabezas holds a Bachelor's degree in Networking and Electronic Engineering from Escuela Politécnica Nacional and a Master's degree in Wireless Communications Engineering - Radio Access Networks from the University of Oulu. His skill set includes expertise in C, C++, C#, Python, and Matlab, and also in various areas of AI/ML, such as deep learning. Additionally, Alejandro demonstrates expertise in mathematical disciplines such as convex optimization, statistical signal analysis, system modeling and abstract algebra. With hands-on experience as a researcher in the 6G Flagship and FAITH projects funded by the Academy of Finland, Alejandro has honed his skills in wireless communications engineering and advanced networking technologies.
Name: Mr. Danial Shafaie (DC05)
Host Institution: Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
PhD Enrollment: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
PhD Title: Cloud-native design and task orchestration for real-time performance guarantees over the 6G compute continuum
Supervisor: Dr. Elli Kartsakli
Mr. Danial Shafaie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Shahid Rajaee University in Tehran, Iran, and a Master’s degree in Electrical and Telecommunication Networks Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran. He has participated in a large number of academic projects, demonstrating his expertise in various relevant areas, including 5G networks, AI pipelines, and parallel processing. Additionally, he has gained relevant work experience as a Radio Frequency (RF) engineer and remains dedicated to furthering his knowledge and contributing to advancements in the field of Electrical Engineering.
Name: Ms. Upaangana Das (DC02)
Host Institution: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
PhD Enrollment: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
PhD Title: Joint access and X-haul network optimization targeting at high energy- and cost-efficiency in Healthcare 4.0.
Supervisor: Prof. Amalia Miliou
Mrs. Upaangana Das obtained her Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Assam Science and Technology University, located in Assam, India and her Master's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering specializing in Communication and Signal Processing from the Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati, also located in Assam, India. Mrs. Upaangana Das excels in cellular networks, resource allocation, and optimization theory gained through coursework. She demonstrates proficiency in software packages like Java and MATLAB, utilized extensively in signal processing applications during both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
Name: Mr. Bhavesh Sonwani (DC06)
Host Institution: Academisch Medisch Centrum Bij de Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands
PhD Enrollment: Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands
PhD Title: Secure medical data analytics for low latency healthcare applications
Supervisor: Dr. Henk Marquering
Mr. Bhavesh Sonwani holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut. Following his undergraduate studies, he pursued a Master of Technology in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Science & AI from the International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur. In addition, Bhavesh holds a second Master of Science in Cognitive Sciences from the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar. Mr. Sonwani has diverse research experience spanning various aspects of communication systems, deep learning models, human-computer interaction, and quantum cryptography. He has demonstrated proficiency in designing and implementing innovative solutions across multiple projects, showcasing skills in system development, simulation, experimental validation, and data analysis.
Name: Ms. Khushboo Sahu (DC07)
Host Institution: Orange Innovation Poland, Orange Polska S.A., Warsaw, Poland
PhD Enrollment: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
PhD Title: AI-enabled E2E slicing and zero-touch orchestration targeting at energy/cost-efficiency optimization towards Healthcare 4.0
Supervisor: Dr. Lechosław Tomaszewski
Ms. Khushboo Sahu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering from Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Chhattisgarh, India. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued Master of Technology in Computer Science, specializing in Data Science & AI, from International Institute of Information Technology, Chhattisgarh, India. Additionally, as a Research Engineer in multiple Indian government-funded projects at academic institute labs in India, she gained diverse research experience in various fields such as wireless communication, computer networks, deep learning models, signal and processing applied to speaker accent recognition, connected ambulance, smart drones’ ecosystem for social applications, and smart radio. She has demonstrated her proficiency in designing and implementing realistic solutions, while showing her skills in development, simulation, experimentation, and validation thereof.
Name: Mr. Anwar Latheef (DC03)
Host Institution: MCS Data Labs GmbH
PhD Enrollment: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
PhD Title: Improving Energy Efficiency in Wearable IoMT Devices through Low-Power Computing Techniques.
Supervisors: Prof. Holger Schlingloff, Prof. Andreas Pfeiffer, Dr. Andreas Schramm
Mr. Anwar Latheef holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Applications from the University of Calicut, India, and a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence & Big Data from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. His academic research focused on quantum machine learning, specifically evaluating classical and quantum support vector classifiers for medical diagnostics. Professionally, he worked as a Technical Expert at SmartRoundAbout, where he contributed to an Innovate UK-funded project by developing AI-driven simulations for wind-responsive infrastructure using Unreal Engine and real-time weather data. He also served as a Research Assistant at Anglia Ruskin University, building compliance tools using large language models to assess GDPR, EU AI Act, and ISO/IEC 42001 adherence. Mr. Latheef has demonstrated expertise in smart infrastructure systems, regulatory AI, and full-stack development, with a focus on ethical AI deployment and governance.