IMDEA Networks hosts the 1st Alumni Workshop

A full-day workshop gathered over 70 attendees, including IMDEA Networks alumni, students, faculty, and international guests from the United States, Chile, Australia, Italy, and France. The event celebrated alumni achievements, showcased ongoing research, and fostered future collaborations

14 November 2024

The inaugural IMDEA Networks Alumni Workshop took place at the institute’s premises on November 7, 2024. Workshop chair Sergey Gorinsky opened the event with an introduction to its purpose and logistics. Deputy director Albert Banchs followed with remarks highlighting the importance of alumni to the institute and expressing appreciation for their achievements. He presented a commemorative plaque to Paul Patras, the first IMDEA Networks alumnus promoted to full professorship, who then delivered the keynote, sharing insights on Net AI, his startup that bridges mobile networking and artificial intelligence (AI).

The following session on wireless networking featured presentations by three alumni. Marco Gramaglia described his work applying AI to radio-access network virtualization, Qing Wang discussed challenges and opportunities of advanced screens that make mobile devices look fully transparent, and Alejandro Blanco presented Telefonica’s contributions to European projects in multi-input multi-output communications. The morning program concluded with a panel on entrepreneurship and startups, where alumni Oluwasegun Ojo and Dayrene Frómeta joined Prof. Patras for an engaging discussion.

The afternoon began with a tour of the institute’s facilities, including the data center, 5TONIC, Global Computing, Millimeter-Wave Networking, and Pervasive Wireless Systems labs. Alumnus Julien Gamba then delivered a presentation on network research at Cisco ThousandEyes, sparking intense interest and an extensive question-and-answer session. The energy continued with a career-advice panel where alumnus Guillermo Bielsa joined Julien Gamba, Alejandro Blanco, and Qing Wang to discuss job applications, career paths, and work–life balance in academia and industry.

Research director Joerg Widmer and Sergey Gorinsky closed the workshop by thanking participants, acknowledging the positive response to the event, and inviting feedback to shape future editions of the Alumni Workshop.