The Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) recently conducted a 2-day skill development and training workshop titled “Unlocking the Potential of 6G: Technologies and Challenges” on 19th and 20th July 2024. This workshop was sponsored by the SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) Project, an initiative by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, and supported by the IEEE Communication Society, Delhi Chapter. It also had the support of the IEEE VTS Delhi Chapter and IEEE Communication Society, Lebanon Chapter.
The workshop aimed to share insights on the latest research in wireless communication from various perspectives, such as THz communication, quantum communication, non-terrestrial networks, and high mobility communications on a global scale. Its primary goal was to enhance the knowledge of faculty, students, and industry professionals in advanced topics of telecommunications and allied domains, offering a unique balance between theory and hands-on lab experiments.
The first day began with a warm welcome from the Organizing Committee, led by Prof. Vivek Ashok Bohara from the Department of ECE at IIIT-Delhi and Chair of the IEEE Communication Society Delhi Chapter. This was followed by a greeting from Prof. Ranjan Bose, Director IIIT-Delhi, addressing around 90 participants.
The workshop featured both theoretical presentations and practical demonstrations over two days. The first day included presentations by renowned speakers from academia and industry. Prof. Emil Björnson, IEEE fellow and Professor, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, delivered a talk on “Massive Near-Field Spatial Multiplexing: Higher Capacity Without More Bandwidth.” This talk discussed the concepts of radiative near-field propagation, spherical wavefronts, finite-depth beamforming, and spatial degrees of freedom, which will be explained and connected to the physical antenna array dimensions. Dr. Abhishek Kumar, Assistant Professor at JNCASR, further introduced “Terahertz Topological Photonic Integrated Circuits for 6G Communication.” Dr. Neel Kanth Kundu presented on “Quantum Communications in 6G Wireless Networks.” In the afternoon, a representative from Rohde & Schwarz discussed industry advancements in 6G communication, followed by a hands-on demonstration by Mr. Rahul on solar communication.
The second day started with a talk on “BEM Receivers for Severe Doubly Selective Fading Communication Channels” by Prof. Yong Liang Guan, Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE VTS and Professor, NTU Singapore. In this talk, Prof. Guan also shared recent results in advancing this research by exploiting BEM (Basis Expansion Model) channel estimation, pseudo-pilot, joint channel estimation and equalization, and other concepts. Prof. Vivek Ashok Bohara then presented on “Vehicular-Visible Light Communication for 5G and Beyond 5G V2X Communication.” The morning session concluded with Dr. Nadine Abbas from Lebanese American University discussing “UAV-Aided Strategies for Advancing Communications.” Dr. Abbas is also a representative of the Lebanon Chapter, with the IEEE ComSoc Lebanon Chapter and the Delhi Chapter being part of the IEEE Sister’s Chapter Program. In the afternoon, Ms. Saswati provided a hands-on demonstration on indoor Li-Fi communication, followed by Mr. Khagendra’s demonstration on indoor IRS-assisted communication.
This workshop was unique due to its mix of theoretical talks and practical hands-on sessions, providing participants with firsthand experience of current research in 6G cellular systems. The sessions were open to all workshop attendees and students. Participant feedback was very positive, appreciating the initiative by the SPARC Project, IEEE ComSoc Delhi Chapter, and the ECE Department of IIIT-Delhi.
