It is a pleasure to give an overview of my distinguished lecture and speaker tours across two continents and three countries in the Summer and Fall of 2023. The tours involved lectures at multiple leading institutions, spanning six cities, which spurred intriguing questions and interesting discussions. They also raised interest in potential collaboration and visiting and learning about historical and cultural sites, which I very much enjoyed.

Summary of the Talks

In these three tours, I delivered six talks, scheduled as follows:

Malaysia (August 2023):

• Talk 1 at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, hosted by Prof. Aduwati Sali, on Aug. 21st, 2023.

• Talk 2 at Universiti Teknikal Melaka (UTeM), Melaka, hosted by Dr. Imran Mohd Ibrahim, on Aug. 22nd, 2023.

• Talk three at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Dr. Mohd Azri bin Mohd Izhar, on Aug. 23rd, 2023.

Kenya (Sept. 2023)

In parallel with attending the Afretec (https://engineering.cmu.edu/afretec/index.html) Annual Conference:

• Talk four at the University of Nairobi (UoN) hosted by Prof. Andrew Mwaura Kahonge on Sept. 28th, 2023.

United Arab Emirates (Nov. 2023)

In parallel with attending the Prototypes for Humanity Exhibition, synched with COP28 (https://www.prototypesforhumanity.com/):

• Talk five at the University of Dubai hosted by Dr. Husameldin Mukhtar on November 28th, 2023.

• Talk six at the American University of Sharjah hosted by Prof. Mohamed Hassan on Nov. 29th, 2023.

The focus of my talks revolved around vibrant research areas about 5G and 6G, e.g., machine learning and edge intelligence for wireless and IoT, RF energy harvesting wireless networks, and edge computing and communications, with a focus on wireless edge caching. In each talk, I introduced and motivated the topic, reviewed the state-of-the-art, presented samples of our recent research along those directions, and gave an outlook on future wireless networking research.

Seeing the talks well-attended by faculty members, peer researchers, and students was rewarding. It was exciting to notice that undergraduate students mostly attended the talk at the University of Nairobi. The talks were typically followed by engaging questions and inspiring discussions about research challenges and wireless technology trends. For instance, the growing role of edge intelligence in complementing large-scale cloud analytics and the associated tradeoffs were discussed with audiences at multiple institutions. Also, the future of green wireless networks towards achieving the Net Zero goal was addressed at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the University of Dubai. Some of these discussions have inspired future research directions and opened room for collaboration opportunities.

Extra Talk Activities

In addition to the research talks, and despite the tight time, I had the chance to sample the rich culture and history of the countries I visited. The first tour was my very first trip to South East Asia. In Malaysia, the host, Prof. Mohamad Yusoff Alias, kindly drove us to the historical State of Melaka, a major trading port for the entire South East Asia region in the 16th and 17th centuries. On the road to Melaka, I observed major palm oil plantations on both sides and learned that Malaysia is the world’s second-largest palm oil producer after Indonesia! We visited the beautiful coast of Melaka to overview the famous Strait of Melaka, known as the main shipping channel between the Indian and Pacific Oceans connecting major Asian economies. We also tried Melaka’s famous Coconut Ice Cream! I also enjoyed fresh, exotic, tropical fruits, especially Durian, the king of fruits.

My Afretec/DSP visit to Kenya was also the first. In East Africa, Kenya is famed for its scenic landscapes, vast wildlife preserves, and rich culture and entrepreneurial activities. Despite the short visit and limited time, I had the chance to visit a Giraffe conservation center near Nairobi.

My visit to Dubai was also enriching as I got the chance to learn firsthand about the vibrant innovation ecosystem in Dubai as well as visit the famous “Emirates Towers, The Boulevard,” very close to Dubai’s prominent landmarks, e.g., Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest structure) and the Museum of the Future. In addition, I took an architect-guided boat trip through the Dubai Water Canal, enjoying and learning about Dubai’s breathtaking, modern architecture.

My Views on the DL Program

In summary, my DLT and DSP tours in 2023 were notable successes and memorable experiences. They were not only about sharing my research with a broader audience and having a fruitful academic exchange but also an excellent chance for directly connecting with local researchers, learning about the technical challenges specific to those parts of the world, and, equally important, their rich history and culture. Therefore, I strongly recommend the DL program for researchers interested in expanding their research network. If you wish to serve as an IEEE ComSoc DL, I encourage you to apply, as it will profoundly impact your research career. With the collective efforts of our DL community and the ComSoc community, we can drive technology innovation towards new frontiers to better serve humanity.

Conclusions

The three tours spurred interesting research, technology, education, and, most importantly, culture and history discussions. The networking activities during the visits gave rise to follow-up communications and online meetings, leading to collaboration initiatives on multiple fronts, including joint proposal submission, an invitation to serve on the editorial advisory panel of a journal, serving on PhD defense committees, and participating in the organization of the 6th International Conference on Communications, Signal Processing and their Applications (ICCSPA), Istanbul, Turkey, July 2024, among other activities.