Prof. Merouane Debbah（Online Speech）
Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi

Mérouane Debbah is a researcher, educator and technology entrepreneur. Over his career, he has founded several public and industrial research centers, start-ups and is now Professor at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi and founding Senior Director of the Digital Future Institute. He is a frequent keynote speaker at international events in the field of telecommunication and AI. His research has been lying at the interface of fundamental mathematics, algorithms, statistics, information and communication sciences with a special focus on random matrix theory and learning algorithms. In the Communication field, he has been at the heart of the development of small cells (4G), Massive MIMO (5G) and Large Intelligent Surfaces (6G) technologies. In the AI field, he is known for his work on Large Language Models, distributed AI systems for networks and semantic communications. He received multiple prestigious distinctions, prizes and best paper awards (more than 50 IEEE best paper awards) for his contributions to both fields and according to research.com is ranked as the best scientist in France in the field of Electronics and Electrical Engineering. He is an IEEE Fellow, a WWRF Fellow, a Eurasip Fellow, an AAIA Fellow, an Institut Louis Bachelier Fellow, an AIIA Fellow and a Membre émérite SEE. He was named in 2025 as one of the "50 Leaders at the Forefront of an AI-Driven Future in the Middle East" and "Arab's Most Influential Leaders in Tech".

Title: The Network That Thinks: From Infrastructure to Intelligence

Prof. Stefano Secci
Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Cnam), France

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.

Title: The Life of a Token: from Words to Bits on the Wire

Prof. Giuseppe Ritella
University of Bari, Italy

Giuseppe Ritella is an Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. His research, grounded in dialogic and socio-cultural theories, investigates collaborative processes within technology-mediated learning. He focuses on the socio-material, emotional, and cultural dimensions of innovative educational practices and hybrid learning environments.

Prof. Samir Ouchani
CESI LINEACT, France

Samir Ouchani is a Research Director at CESI LINEACT (Aix-en-Provence, France), where he leads research activities on resilient and secure smart software systems. He received his PhD in Computer Science from Concordia University (Canada) in 2013 and his Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) from CNAM Paris in 2022. Since March 2023, he has been qualified for the position of Professor of Universities (Section 27 – Computer Science). His research lies at the intersection of software engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on engineering systems that remain safe, resilient, and trustworthy despite distribution, autonomy, and learning-based behavior. His contributions notably include resilient federated learning architectures, robust aggregation and client selection mechanisms, runtime supervision, and AI-assisted software engineering for remediation and system evolution. In parallel, he plays a leading role in academic leadership and international scientific service, serving as Program Chair or Track Chair for several international conferences and as a regular reviewer for top-tier journals and conferences in software engineering, cybersecurity, and smart systems. He is also frequently solicited as an expert evaluator for funding agencies and competitive research calls, contributing to the assessment of large-scale scientific and innovation projects. His research activity is characterized by sustained and high-impact scientific production, with more than 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications in leading venues. He has supervised or co-supervised seven PhD projects, mentored early-career researchers, and coordinated over fifteen research and industrial internship projects, often in close collaboration with academic and industrial partners. Through these activities, he actively contributes to the structuring of the international research community and to the advancement of Software Engineering for Resilient and Trustworthy Smart Systems, grounded in architectural rigor, AI-assisted engineering practices, and continuous runtime assurance.

Title: Designing Resilient and Secure Smart Software Systems Engineering Foundations, AI-Assisted Development, and Runtime Assurance

Prof. Vania Conan
Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France

Vania Conan is professor at CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France) chair  ‘sovereign digital infrastructures’. He graduated from Ecole des Mines de Paris (Engineer 1990, PhD in computer science, 1996) and is HDR in networking (Sorbonne Université, 2012). At Thales until 2024, he develops a research activity on wireless communications (ad-hoc networks, 6G), software networks and secure infrastructures.

Title: Future Digital Infrastructures: What Place for Sovereignty

Prof. Jean Max Tavares
Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Jean Max Tavares is a Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he has taught Economics, Finance, and Investments for 25 years. Of these 25 years, 20 were also dedicated to teaching in distance education programs, in addition to in-person courses, during which he developed numerous analog and digital teaching materials for university students. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and completed postdoctoral research in Tourism Economics. His academic work includes 40 scientific publications and the book Game Theory Applied to Tourism, published in the United States. Professor Tavares has been a Visiting Professor at the University of South Florida (USA) and a Visiting Scholar at Panthéon-Sorbonne University (France). He has received 27 scientific and academic awards and has presented research at international conferences in the United States, France, Portugal, China, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, Spain, Malta, and the Czech Republic.

Dr. Mahdi Madani
Université Bourgogne Europe, France

Mahdi Madani is actually an Associate Professor at the department of Computer Science, Electronics and Mechanics, Université Bourgogne Europe. He received his Ph.D. in Electronics Systems from the University of Lorraine on July 2018. He was a temporary research and teaching associate at IUT Auxerre, University of Burgundy, from September 2018 to August 2020, and he was also a temporary researcher at IETR laboratory and teaching associate at IUT Nantes from September 2020 to August 2022. In September 2022, he joined the CORES team in the IMVA UR 7535, laboratory for the Associate Professor and Researcher position. His research interest is information security in new digital networks, algorithm-architecture suitability, FPGA, and SoC implementation of complex algorithms, applying security techniques (confidentiality, integrity, encryption, chaotic systems, etc.) to image, signal, and vision applications, and exploring artificial intelligence packages for data and privacy preserving in embedded applications.

Title: Enhancing Data Security through AI and Chaos Theory

Prof. Amirouche. Farid
University of Illinois Chicago, USA

Dr. Amirouche is currently a Professor and Director of Orthopaedic research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the Director of Biomechanics at the Northshore University Systems, Orthopaedic Research Institute affiliate of the University of Chicago. He is also a senior research scientist at Jesse Brown Veterans Hospital, Chicago, IL. A graduate of University of Cincinnati where he received his BS, MS, and Doctorate degree in Engineering Science Aerospace, and mechanical engineering with focus on Biomechanics.
He served as a professor of Mechanical ad Bioengineering at UIC. He worked closely Dr. Gunnar Anderson in the department of Orthopaedics at Rush Presbyterian Hospital; Dr. Amirouche joined the Department of Orthopedics at UIC in 1998. He received the prestigious award of Scholar Professor at University of Illinois in December 2005 and served as the Director of Orthopaedics Research since 2006 where he served as full professor of Orthopaedics and Director of orthopaedic research.
Dr. Amirouche has developed a broad experience in orthopaedic biomechanics and related areas where he works on innovative new solutions and their realization, from concept phase to market readiness. His particular research interests are in the areas of knees/hips, spine biomechanics, biological tissues, the bone/implant interface, kinematics/kinetics of human joints, experimental and finite element analysis used to characterize the mechanical behavior of biological tissues and reconstructive devices for orthopedics.

Title: Enhancing Data Security through AI and Chaos Theory

Assoc. Prof. Yuya Ieiri
Waseda University, Japan

Yuya Ieiri is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Information, Production, and Systems, Waseda University, Japan, and a researcher in the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) PRESTO program. He received his Doctor of Engineering degree from Waseda University in 2021. Before his current appointment, he was a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of Surrey, United Kingdom. His research interests include artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, social system engineering, augmented reality, tourism informatics, social informatics, and information design. He actively conducts field-based studies focusing on shopping streets and tourist destinations. He is a member of the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ), the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Dr. Paulo Batista
University of Évora, Portugal

Current director of the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo, he was senior technician positions at the Instituto de Arquivos Nacionais/Torre do Tombo, Instituto Português do Património Cultural and the Instituto Português do Património Arquitetónico. He has also worked as researcher at the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical – Centro de Estudos de História e Cartografia Antiga, and as professor at the MS program in Information Science and Documentation at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL).
Paulo Batista is PhD Researcher at CIDEHUS.UÉ-Interdisciplinary Center for History, Cultures and Societies of the University of Évora, Portugal, where is the coordinator of the research group 2: Heritage and Literacies, and professor at the Autonomous University of Lisbon, where is coordinator and professor of the Postgraduate in Promotion and Cultural and Educational Dynamization of Archives and Libraries, and the Postgraduate in Architectural Archives.
Paulo Batista holds a Ph.D. in Documentation (University of Alcalá, Madrid-UAH), an MS in Information Science and Documentation - Archival Studies (UNL), and an MA in Documentation (UAH). As part of his doctorate, he also received a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Bibliography and Documentation Retrospective in Humanities (UAH), and he also holds a postgraduate degree in Information Society Law (University of Lisbon) and Information and Documentation Science - Librarianship and Archival Studies (UNL), and a specialization in Good Practices in Patrimonial Management (UNL) and Information Science and Documentation - Archival Studies (UNL). He holds an undergraduate degree in History (University of Lisbon).
Paulo Batista is the author of several books and about 90 papers published in international journals and conference proceedings. He was also keynote speaker and invited speaker at various international conferences (Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Fiji, France, India, South Africa, Thailand, Türkiye and South Korea).