The 29th International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks — SoftCOM 2021 — was held in a hybrid format, including live and virtual participation, in the attractive ambience of the Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Resort on the island of Hvar, Croatia, 23 to 25 September, 2021. The Conference was technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) with the support of the Technical Committee on Communications Software (CommSoft) and the IEEE Croatian Section. The Conference was organized by the University of Split, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FESB) and the Croatian Communications and Information Society (CCIS) under the auspices of the Croatian Academy of Engineering.
The technical conference program featured 15 conference sessions, including special sessions dedicated to: QoS in Wired and Wireless Networks, Ad Hoc & Sensor Networks, the Internet of Things, Green Networking and Computing, Security and Digital Forensics, Smart Environments and IoT, Advances in Data Analytics, Environmental Electromagnetic Compatibility, and Advanced Educational Technologies. In addition, a symposium on Robotics and ICT Assisted Wellbeing was organized in collaboration with research groups from the International Hellenic University (IHU), Greece, and the Institute of Robotics, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Bulgaria. Three half-day tutorials were held by recognized experts. The interdicsiplinary Symposium on Information Security and Intellectual Property was organized in collaboration with the University of Split, Faculty of Law, and the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. The authors of selected papers have been invited to extend their papers and submit them for publication in the Journal of Communications Software and Systems.
The keynote talk, “AI for Telecom and Beyond,” was given by Elena Fersman, Ph.D., head of Global AI Accelerator, Ericsson, Sweden, and moderated by Sinisa Krajnovic, Ericsson. It was focused on the potential benefits from AI with respect to automation in networks, and new values that can be created for the industries. An invited talk, “The New Economic Attitude in the Information Era,” was presented by Marcelo Sampaio de Alencar, Ph.D., president of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Communications, Brazil. At the beginning of the plenary session, the audience was addressed by Prof. Srdjan Podrug, the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Naval Architecture (FESB), and Prof. Mario Kusek, member of the Executive Committee of the IEEE Croatia Section, faculty of electrical engineering and computing, University of Zagreb.
The accompanying SoftCOM 2021 Business Forum featured professional workshops with participation of managers, executives, experts, and institution representatives. A professional 27th Workshop on ICT featured a set of presentations of professional contributions in the area of ICT. The 10th Workshop on Software Engineering in Practice was organized by Darko Huljenić, Ph.D., Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Croatia. The Workshop on Smart Cities and Advanced Technologies included presentations and discussions of the vision and main strategical goals of the Smart City strategy of the City of Split. Examples and use cases of smart city solutions were presented. The workshop was moderated by Nenad Marjanović, Combis d.o.o., Hrvoje Strepački, Atos Convergence Creators Ltd, and Prof. Sven Gotovac, University of Split, FESB.
SoftCOM 2021 featured two events aimed at students in the area of ICT. The Ericsson Nikola Tesla Summer Camp 2021 Workshop aimed to present the achievements of the jubilee 20th Ericsson Nikola Tesla Summer Camp. Twelve student projects were presented in the form of a poster session, preceded by a fast-paced introduction with participation of the members of the steering committee Darko Huljenić , Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Zagreb, Prof. Maja Matijašević and Prof. Mario Kušek, Gordan Ježić, University of Zagreb, and Prof. Dinko Begušić, University of Split. iPANEL: Summer Camp Innovation Challenge featured presentations of innovative ideas based on the Ericsson Nikola Tesla Summer Camp projects. The workshops were moderated by Ivana Nižetić Kosović, Ph.D., and Toni Mastelić, Ph.D., Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Split.
More information on SoftCOM 2021 may be found at http://softcom2021.fesb.unist.hr/.
