Day: 05 September 2023
Time: 9:00 – 17:30
Room: Metropolitan West
This event aims to connect ComSoc members with various seniorities and backgrounds via multifarious events. Featuring distinguished speakers with worldwide reputations and industry leaders in telecommunications, the 2023 ComSoc FNS will provide premium networking opportunities. In addition to world-class talks and panels, the 2023 ComSoc FNS plans abundant activities for students to participate in, such as demonstrating their research projects, interacting with peers and influential researchers, competing for awards, drawing prizes, and connecting with academic and industry leaders.
Detailed program below – subject to change:
9:00 – 9:10
Opening Remarks by Sherman Shen, IEEE ComSoc President & Tom Murad, IEEE Canada President
Session Chair: Lian Zhao, Toronto Metropolitan University
9:10 – 9:45
Session Chair: Abdallah Shami
Keynote 1: Yan Chen, Huawei
“Digest of ITU-R IMT-2030 Framework Recommendation – The Global 6G Vision”
Bio: Yan Chen received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Chu Kochen Honored College and Institute of Information and Communication Engineering from Zhejiang University in 2004 and 2009, respectively.
She was a visiting researcher at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 2008 to 2009. She joined Huawei Technologies Shanghai in 2009 and from 2010 to 2013, she was the project manager and technical leader of Huawei internal Green Radio project studying energy efficient solutions for wireless networks and also served as technical leader and manager of the Green Transmission Technology (GTT) project at GreenTouchTM Consortium. Since 2013, she is one of the key technical leaders on 5G air interface design and the related 3GPP standardization in Huawei, focusing on multiple access including NOMA transceivers, grant-free massive access, and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications. Now she is leading the 6G vision study in Huawei. Her research interests include novel 6G use cases and key capabilities such as collaborative robotics, new enabling technologies and architectures such as integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), network for distributed learning and inference, next generation multiple access (NGMA), as well as system level evaluation methodologies for new usage scenarios. She is Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Vehicle Technology Society. She serves as guest editor of IEEE Communications Magazine and Co-Chair of the Emerging Technology Initiative (ETI) on NGMA. She won the IEEE Communication Society Award for Advances in Communication in 2017.
9:45 – 10:20
Chair: Ping Wang
Keynote 2: Dusit Niyato, National Technologic University, Singapore
“Mobile Edge-Cloud Generative AI Services and AIGC Networks”
Bio: Dusit Niyato is currently a President’s Chair Professor in Computer Science and Engineering in the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received B.E. from King Mongkuk’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Thailand in 1999 and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Manitoba, Canada in 2008. Dusit’s research interests are in the areas of distributed collaborative machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), edge intelligent metaverse, mobile and distributed computing, and wireless networks. Dusit won the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Best Survey Paper Award, IEEE Asia-Pacific Board (APB) Outstanding Paper Award, the IEEE Computer Society Middle Career Researcher Award for Excellence in Scalable Computing in and Distinguished Technical Achievement Recognition Award of IEEE ComSoc Technical Committee on Green Communications and Computing. Dusit also won a number of best paper awards including IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), IEEE ComSoc Communication Systems Integration and Modelling Technical Committee and IEEE ComSoc Signal Processing and Computing for Communications Technical Committee 2021. Currently, Dusit is serving as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, an area editor of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, editor of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, associate editor of IEEE Internet of Things Journal, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Wireless Communications, IEEE Network, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (TIFS), and ACM Computing Surveys. He was a guest editor of IEEE Journal on Selected Areas on Communications. He was a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Communications Society for 2016-2017. He was named the 2017-2022 highly cited researcher in computer science. He is a Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of IET.
10:20 – 10:30
Group Photo
10:30 – 11:00
Break and Project Evaluation
11:00 – 12:00
Students 3-mins presentation per project
12:00 – 13:00
Panel 1: Career Path – Entrepreneurship and Engineering
Moderator: Mehrnaz Shokrollahi, PureFacts Financial Solutions, Tom Murad, VP Siemens; Leo Lin, co-founder, Acentury Inc. Wisam Farjow, President IWII; Jeff Li, Director, Telus
Chair: Ben Liang
The rapid advancement of technology creates more opportunities and uncertainties in today’s world than ever before. When mirrored in career decisions, the lucrative rewards from various opportunities can be appealing to some individuals who want to start their own businesses, while risks from the uncertainties can make others pursue stability and job security instead. The choice between entrepreneurship and employment can be more difficult. This panel discussion brings together leading professionals from industry to share their experiences and insights on entrepreneurship versus employment. The panelists will discuss the factors to consider when making the choice, the preparations needed for each of the two paths, the challenges ahead, and other important topics to help the audience choose their career path.
Panelists:
Tom Murad, IEEE Canada President Elect, IEEE-R7 Director Elect, VP Country Lead, Siemens
Leo Lin, co-founder, VP for Solution Development, Acentury Inc.
Wisam Farjow, Founder and President, Integrated Wireless Innovations Inc.
Jeff Li, Director, Wireless Data Service DevOps, Telus
Moderator Bio
Mehrnaz Shokrollahi, AI Team Lead, PureFacts Financial Solutions
Mehrnaz Shokrollahi is a highly accomplished AI Team Lead at PureFacts Financial Solutions, leveraging her extensive experience in AI and machine learning to develop robust infrastructure and implement advanced models to drive insights and value for the wealth management industry. With a diverse background spanning biomedical engineering, mobile apps, manufacturing, and wealth and asset management, Mehrnaz’s expertise is supported by an impressive academic career, having completed her PhD in Electrical Engineering from Ryerson University, where her research focused on signal processing and sparse representation. She has been widely recognized for her contributions to the field of AI, including being named among the Top 25 Women in AI: Canada Edition in 2022 and the Top 30 Influential Women Advancing AI in 2020. Mehrnaz is actively involved in numerous IEEE committees, including the Signal Processing Chapter Toronto Section and the WISP Industry-Academia Engagement and Education Subcommittee, and is an advisor in the inQUbate program. Her exceptional academic background and professional experience make her an invaluable asset to the AI and machine learning community.
Panelist Bios
Tom Murad, IEEE Canada President Elect, IEEE-R7 Director Elect, VP Country Lead, Siemens
Dr. Tom Murad worked as the Country Lead – V.P. Engineering and Technology at Siemens Mobility –Canada and is currently the Board Vice Chair and the incoming President of IEEE Canada and the Region-7 Director Elect of the Global IEEE. Dr. Murad has a B.SC. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and a Ph.D. in Power Electronics and Industrial Controls from Loughborough University of Technology in the UK (1985). He was Awarded the Professional Engineering (PEO) Order of Honor in April 2017 and named as a Fellow of Engineers Canada (2012), and a Member of IEEE -HKN Honors Society (2022). He is the Founder/developer and Past Director (2014 – 2018) of the Awards winning, widely recognized Siemens Canada Engineering and Technology Academy (SCETA), setting the most practical and Holistic Model for successful Work Integrated Learning Programs in Canada; A member of the Ontario Government’s PEQAB (Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board) (2019- 2026); an Ex-Board member/Vice Chair of Ontario Society of professional Engineers (OSPE) and has been a member of the Board of Directors of IEEE Canada (2016 – 2018); The German – Canadian Centre for Innovation and Research; Green Center Canada; as well as Various Advisory Boards in the Academia. Prior to joining Siemens in 2010, he took many executive management positions in the industry. Dr. Murad is recognized as an Industry Leader, Technology Thinker, Award – winning Educator, and a distinguished speaker and Advocator for Engineering, Technology, and technical Talents/skills development Topics.
Leo Lin, co-founder, VP for Solution Development, Acentury Inc.
Leo Lin has spent over 25 years in telecommunications industry including R&D, Engineering, Marketing and Sales. He starts as a system engineer at China Telecom and went on to several technical and consultant management roles for various global telecommunications companies including Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei Technologies. Leo’s strong roots in technologies and business development contribute invaluable expertise to Acentury Inc. He is a graduate of Beijing University of Posts & Telecommunications with a Bachelor degree of Telecommunications Engineering.
Wisam Farjow, Founder and President, Integrated Wireless Innovations Inc.
Dr. Farjow is the president of Integrated Wireless Innovations Inc (IWI), a global leader in the design and consultations of advanced wireless innovations. Farjow brings more than 25 years of experience in the design and management of complex engineering systems in the fields of underground mines and tunnels communication systems. His designs have been implemented in more than 30 countries around the world. Wisam is actively involved in researching advanced technologies and modern theories related to the underground mines and tunnels. His work has resulted in developing number of patented systems targeting safer mines and advanced communication systems. Prior to IWI, Dr. Farjow managed global engineering teams within major mining technology providers as executive team member. He also served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Biomedical Engineering, at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Wisam has a Ph.D. degree from TMU. He is a member of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), IEEE, Project Management Institute (PMI), and a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.
Jeff Li, Director, Wireless Data Service DevOps, Telus
Jeff Li is a Director in the TELUS CTO office, responsible for wireless service architecture, development, integration, and operations. He held various leadership positions with Canadian telecom service providers, covering technology strategy, product management, and sales across voice, data, video, and most recently, wireless services. He actively works with post-secondary partners on joint research and industry programs. Jeff holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Toronto.
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:30
Panel 2: Starting a Professional Career in Engineering Industry
Moderator: Aniqua Antora, Rogers Communications; Firoozeh Khalily, VP, Rogers; Jena Karstof, Senior Director, Rogers; Michael Wu, Director, Telus; Fatima Hussain, Senior Manager, BBC
Chair: Xavier Fernando
Starting a professional career can be both exciting and challenging. For a smooth transition from university to the workplace, new graduates need both technical qualifications and soft skills. Moreover, as the industry is being reshaped by increasingly powerful AI, the valued skillsets of engineering students can also be shifting fast. This panel discussion will focus on the steps that new graduates can take to jumpstart their careers and the tips to help them succeed in the engineering industry. The panelists will share their opinions on issues such as job hunting and interviews, working in a different area than one’s major, bonding with coworkers and teamworking, and work-life balance for beginners.
Panelists:
Jena Karstof, Senior Director, Rogers Business Tools and System
Michael Wu, Director, Technology Strategy, Telus
Fatima Hussain, Senior Manager, Behaviour Analytics and Insider Threat at RBC
Moderator Bio:
Aniqua Antora, Manager, Salesforce User Experience and Support, Rogers Communications
Aniqua Antora is a System and Tools Manager for Rogers Business with a decade of experience in the telecommunications industry. Her work has given her a comprehensive understanding of end-to-end business products and services. Over the years, Aniqua has developed her skills and knowledge by working on a variety of projects related to sales, operations, networks, IT, and go-to-market strategies.
When she is not working, Aniqua enjoys engaging in activities such as painting flowers and dancing, which help her relax and bring a fresh perspective to her work. Giving back to the community is something she is passionate about, and strive to make a positive impact both professionally and personally. Aniqua is excited to connect with like-minded individuals who share her interests and goals, and she looks forward to exploring new experiences and adventures. Aniqua holds a M.A.Sci. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from TMU.
Panelist Bios
Jena Karstof, Senior Director, Rogers Business Tools and System
Jena Karstoff has worked with Rogers Communications for 19 years. She has a degree in Information Technology with an honour in Project Management and is PMP certified. Jena started at Rogers working on Enterprise Business Customer implementations and onboarding as a Project Coordinator. Her career journey has included roles as Project Manager, Manager, Sr. Manager, and Director, overseeing a number of different teams and major initiatives, including new product go-to-market readiness and multi-million dollar business and systems transformation programs. She prides herself on her leadership and ability to motivate and develop strong teams, along with building long lasting relationships.
Michael Wu, Director, Technology Strategy, Telus
Michael Wu is Director of Technology Strategy under Chief Technology Office organization at TELUS Communications Inc. in Canada. In this role, he is responsible for network technology introduction, from strategy, architecture, investment to rollout. His recent work focuses on 5G Standalone network, Network Slicing, Open RAN, Network Automation and Transformation. Michael has almost 30 years’ wealth of telecom industry experience in the global market. Prior to TELUS, he held various positions in Bell Canada International and Nortel Networks responsible for technical sales, marketing, network planning and design, network engineering and operations, investment and technology strategy. At the start of his career, he was in network engineering at China Mobile. Michael holds a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Shandong University in China and a M.B.A. degree from Schulich School of Business, York University in Canada.
Fatima Hussain, Senior Manager, Behaviour Analytics and Insider Threat at RBC
Dr. Fatima Hussain is managing the Behaviour Analytics and Insider Threat team, in Global Cyber Security, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Toronto, Canada. She is responsible for employee risk profiling and detection of insider threats, by establishing baseline behaviors. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Her role includes the supervision of graduate research projects.
Dr Hussain’s background includes a number of distinguished professorships at TMU and University of Guelph where she has been awarded for her research, teaching and course development accomplishments within Wireless Telecommunication and Internet of Things. Her research interests include Insider Threat Detection, API Security, Cyber Security and Machine Learning. Dr Hussain is an Editor of IEEE Newsletter (Toronto section), Associate Editor for IEEE Canada Newsletter, IEEE Communication Surveys and Tutorials and various prestigious IEEE journals. Dr. Hussain received her PhD and MASc degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from TMU. Upon graduation she joined the NetworkCentric Applied Research Team (N-CART) as a postdoctoral fellow.
Aman Jassal, Staff Research Engineer, Huawei Technologies Canada
Aman Jassal works as a Staff Research Engineer at Huawei Technologies Canada. He holds a Dipl. Ing from ESIGETEL and a MASc from the University of British Columbia. Aman Jassal joined Huawei Technologies in March 2016 and has been a key contributor to the 5G NR Rel-16 standard on the topic of multi-TRP transmission and mobility enhancements. Aman Jassal is currently carrying out research on the topic of non-terrestrial communications and his areas of interest and research include Initial Access, Mobility, Beam Management, HARQ protocols and others. Before joining Huawei Technologies, Aman Jassal also works as a consultant at Alten Telecom France, carrying research work for Orange Labs.
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:00
Panel 3: Academic Career Development and Professional Services
Moderator: Lei Lei, University of Guelph, Canada; Yu Cheng, IIT, USA; Phone Lin, NTU, Taiwan; Hina Tabassum, York University; Rongxing Lu, U. New Brunswick
A career in higher education is very competitive. From securing a position to succeeding as a faculty, there are various challenges along the path. Being an effective teacher, a productive researcher, and an active member of professional communities at the same time could be overwhelming. In addition, there are remaining barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion in academic careers despite significant progress made in recent years. Women in engineering, for example, can still face more challenges when pursuing their passion in an academic career. This panel aims to share with the audience their views on the academic career and give suggestions to those who intend to pursue this career. The topics for discussion include job hunting in academia, advice to new faculty members, tips for WIE, EDI in higher education in general, and tenure and promotion.
Panelists:
Yu Cheng, Illinois Institute of Technology
Phone Lin, National Taiwan University
Hina Tabassum, York University
Rongxing Lu, University of New Brunswick
Moderator Bio:
Lei Lei, University of Guelph
Lei Lei is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph. Her research is focused on applying artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies to the optimal control of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and mobile cloud/edge computing for applications such as smart grid, autonomous driving, and cloud robotics. She has more than hundred research publications including books and academic papers in international journals and conference proceedings. She received the honor of 2021 N2 Women: Stars in Computer Networking and Communications.
Panelist Bios
Yu Cheng, Illinois Institute of Technology
Yu Cheng received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electronic engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 1995 and 1998, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada, in 2003. He is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA.
His research interests include wireless network performance analysis, information freshness, machine learning, and network security. He was the recipient of the Best Paper Award at QShine 2007, IEEE ICC 2011, and a Runner-Up Best Paper Award at ACM MobiHoc 2014. He was the recipient of the the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2011 and IIT Sigma Xi Research Award in the junior faculty division in 2013. He has served as Symposium Co-Chairs for IEEE ICC and IEEE GLOBECOM, and Technical Program Committee (TPC) Co-Chair for IEEE/CIC ICCC 2015, ICNC 2015, and WASA 2011. He was the Founding Vice Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Technical Subcommittee on Green Communications and Computing. He was an IEEE ComSoc distinguished Lecturer in 2016–2017. He is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, and IEEE Wireless Communications. He is an IEEE senior member.
Phone Lin, National Taiwan University
Phone Lin received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science and Information Engineering from National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. He is currently a Distinguished Professor at National Taiwan University, where he holds a professorship within the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Graduate Institute of Networking and Multimedia, and Internet of Things Research Center, College of EECS, and Graduate Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine. He served as the Chair of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Taipei Chapter from 2014 to 2015. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals, such as the IEEE Wireless Communications and the IEEE Internet of Things Journal. In recognition of his research contributions, he has received numerous awards, such as the Outstanding Research Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, in 2016, and the Best Young Researcher of IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Young Researcher Award in 2007. He is a Fellow of IEEE. He is also an IEEE VTS Distinguished Speaker.
Hina Tabassum, York University
Hina Tabassum is an Assistant Professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Canada. She received Lassonde Innovation Early-Career Researcher Award in 2023, N2Women: Rising Stars in Computer Networking and Communications in 2022 and listed in the Stanford’s list of the World’s Top Two-Percent Researchers in 2021. She is the founding chair of a special interest group on THz communications in IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) – Radio Communications Committee (RCC). She is a Senior member of IEEE and registered Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada. Currently, she is serving as an Associate Editor in IEEE IoT Magazine, IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Communications Letters, IEEE Transactions on Green Communications, IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, and as an Area Editor in IEEE Open Journal of Communications Society. Her research focus is on the modeling, design, and optimization of large-scale wireless networks enabled with conventional sub-6GHz and higher transmission frequencies (optical, mm-wave, THz) with applications to aerial/vehicle networks, satellite networks, internet-of-things (IoT), and more.
Rongxing Lu, University of New Brunswick
Rongxing Lu is a Mastercard IoT Research Chair, a University Research Scholar, a full professor at the Faculty of Computer Science (FCS), University of New Brunswick (UNB), Canada. Before that, he worked as an assistant professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore from April 2013 to August 2016. Rongxing Lu worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo from May 2012 to April 2013. He was awarded the most prestigious “Governor General’s Gold Medal”, when he received his PhD degree from the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, in 2012; and won the 8th IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Asia Pacific (AP) Outstanding Young Researcher Award, in 2013. Dr. Lu is an IEEE Fellow. His research interests include applied cryptography, privacy enhancing technologies, and IoT-Big Data security and privacy. He has published extensively in his areas of expertise. Currently, Dr. Lu serves as the Chair of IEEE ComSoc CIS-TC (Communications and Information Security Technical Committee), and the founding Co-chair of IEEE TEMS Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers Technologies Technical Committee (BDLT-TC). Dr. Lu is the Winner of 2016-17 Excellence in Teaching Award, FCS, UNB.
17:00 – 17:30
Awards for Projects
17:30 – 17:40
Closing Remarks
