News & Events

Organized in conjunction with IEEE ENERGYCON 2026 (27-29 Feb 2026 – https://2026.ieee-energycon.org/)

Goal: To equip and empower IEEE Section Industry Ambassadors (SIAs) across Region 8 to significantly increase industry collaboration and engagement within their Sections, leading to greater mutual benefit for IEEE and industry partners.

Workshop Location: Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM) 292 Rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris, France

Focus: Interactive brainstorming, sharing of best practices, and collaborative creation of actionable Section-specific plans.

This intensive and interactive 1.5-day workshop is designed to bring together SIAs from across the diverse Region. The primary aim is to foster a collaborative environment for sharing experiences, brainstorming innovative approaches, and ultimately developing concrete action plans to bolster industry engagement for IEEE in each participant’s Section.

The agenda prioritizes interactive sessions, peer-to-peer learning, and practical outcomes, ensuring that leads return to their sections with renewed motivation, fresh ideas, and a clear roadmap for success.

(27 Oct. 2026) Day 1: Industry Workshop, Panel, and Welcome Reception
Location: Room 3, Amphitheater Robert Faure

• (13:30 – 14:00) Industry Workshop Presentations
• (14:00 – 15:00) Panel Discussion
  (Academia Meets Industry: Building a Connected Innovation Ecosystem Across IEEE Region 8 – More info)
• (15:00 – 15:30) Coffee Break
• (17:00 – 18:00) Welcome Reception (Opportunity for informal networking)

(28 Oct. 2026) Day 2: SIA Training Workshop
Location: Room 1, Salle 17.1.8

(29 Oct. 2026) Day 3: Industry Visit

The session will examine the current state of academia–industry collaboration, key barriers, practical solutions, and opportunities to advance innovation, research, talent development, and entrepreneurship. It will highlight IEEE’s role as a neutral platform connecting universities, industry, governments, and technological communities across Region 8.

Date: October 27  2026
Location: Paris, France — Side event alongside IEEE EnergyCon 2026 – Room 3, Amphitheater Robert Faure
Time: 13:30 to 15:00

Panel Discussion Chair: Marko Delimar
Speakers and Panelists: Ala’ Khalifeh, Bruno Meyer, Tiziana Tambosso and Mohammad Galal Khafagy

Speakers and Panelists Biographies

	Marko Delimar is a professor at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, an IEEE Senior Member, and an HKN member. As inaugural Chair of the IEEE European Public Policy Committee, he strengthened IEEE’s influence in European technology policy. He co-created IEEEXtreme, a global programming competition attracting thousands of students worldwide. As IEEE Secretary and Governance Committee Chair, he improved volunteer training and supported IEEE Young Professionals.
	Prof. Ala’ Khalifeh is a Professor of Computer Engineering at the German Jordanian University. His expertise spans IoT, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cloud and edge computing. He has been engaged in several practical, funded projects linking industry and academia to address real-world challenges. A Fulbright Scholar and Royal Academy of Engineering LIF Fellow, he promotes innovation and industry–academia collaboration.
	Bruno Meyer is Secretary General of GO15, a global association of power grid operators serving over three billion people. He brings over 35 years of experience at EDF Group and previously served as CEO of Arteria, RTE’s telecom subsidiary. His work promotes industry knowledge exchange on power system reliability, energy transition, and technological challenges. An IEEE Life Fellow and energy consultant, he brings extensive industry experience to academic collaboration and applied research.
	Tiziana Tambosso has 30 years of R&D experience and was elected Vice Chair of the IEEE Region 8 Technical Activities Committee. Her expertise spans green photonics, photovoltaics, optical communications, RFID, and wireless sensor networks. She manages university–industry–research centre cooperation, European research projects, and intellectual property. Her R&D evaluation and venture capital due diligence experience connects academic innovation with commercial opportunities.
	Mohammad Galal Khafagy is a Radio Strategy & Design Senior Technical Lead at Vodafone Egypt and a part-time lecturer at the British University in Egypt. He combines telecommunications industry experience with academic research at AUC, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Qatar University. His R&D focuses on machine-learning-aided communications and Open RAN, connecting academic research with practical industry applications. An IEEE Region 8 Action for Industry Subcommittee member, he supports industry–academia engagement through technical workshops and professional activities.

We are back with the IEEE Region 8 Action for Industry (AfI) Webinar Series, co-organized by our Section Industry Ambassadors!
Join us for our upcoming webinar!

AI for Life: From Intelligent Mobility to Real-World Impact

Save the date 13th of October 2026 at 6 pm CET DST

Webinar link: [https://meet.google.com/kgf-fxfu-rdd]

Moderator:
Sevda Abadpour (IEEE Germany Section Industry Engagement Coordinator)

Dr. Sevda Abadpour is an Intelligent Sensing and Autonomous Systems Expert with over a decade of experience in advanced sensing, AI-enabled perception, and autonomous driving technologies. Her expertise spans radar, LiDAR, camera-based sensing, sensor fusion, and intelligent systems for environmental perception and prediction.
She earned her Ph.D. from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and currently works at NXP Semiconductors, following senior engineering roles at Cruise and Qorvo. An IEEE Senior Member, she serves as Industry Liaison for the IEEE VTS IS3C-MI Technical Committee and contributes to the VTS Technical Committee on Propagation and also the IEEE RAS German. She has authored or co-authored a book and over 20 scientific publications and actively promotes industry–academia collaboration through IEEE technical and leadership activities.
She is the organizer and moderator of “AI for Life: From Intelligent Mobility to Real-World Impact.”

Co-Moderator:
Aida Elsabban (IEEE R8 AfI Committee Member, Egypt)

Speakers:

Prof. Dr. Stefan-Alexander Schneider
(Professor for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Germany)

Prof. Dr. Stefan-Alexander Schneider is Professor for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) at Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and Visiting Professor at Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT), Tokyo, Japan. His research focuses on the safety and validation of intelligent vehicle systems, with particular emphasis on closed-loop simulation, AI-based perception, environmental influences on sensor performance, and urban digital twins. He is actively involved in the development and application of open standards such as ASAM OSI and explores systematic methods for evaluating AI-based functions under safety-critical conditions. His work bridges academic research and industrial application in ADAS, automated driving, simulation, and automotive safety.

Elmar Matthes
(Head of Camera-based ADAS & ITS, IAV, Germany)

Elmar Matthes is Head of the Department of Camera-based ADAS & ITS at IAV and a recognized expert in ADAS, vehicle perception, and automated driving. With more than 30 years of experience in automotive engineering, he combines industrial leadership with active research and international collaboration.
As a Senior Member of the IEEE, author of numerous publications, and a regular speaker, workshop organizer, and panelist at conferences such as IEEE ITSC, IEEE EV, and FAST-zero, he is passionate about advancing safe, intelligent, and future-ready mobility through innovation and cross-industry collaboration.

Welcome to IEEE R8 AfI Webinar Series co-organized by Section Industry Ambassadors!
Welcome to our new Webinar!

Nanocoatings for applications in space, defense, sensors, healthcare and energy

Save the date 10th of June 2026 at 10 am CET DST

Webinar link: [https://meet.google.com/yre-npmi-hdd]

Moderator:
Werner R. Drexel (IEEE R8 AfI Committee Corresponding Member, IEEE Austria Section Industry Ambassador)

Presenter:

Antonio Robles (Spain Section Chair)

He is Associate Professor at UNED. From May 2021 to May 2025, he was Deputy Director at the Computer Science Faculty. In the IEEE Spain Section, he was Secretary between 2020 and 2023, elected Vice-chair in 2024/2025, and is now Chair for 2026/2027. He is also a co-founder member of the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu UNED chapter.

Speakers:

José Miguel García-Martín (CSIC)

Research Scientist at CSIC. PhD in Physics from Complutense University of Madrid. Marie Curie postdoct at Paris-Saclay University (France). Fulbright Visiting Scholar in USA twice, at Northeastern University (Boston) and NIST (Boulder). Co-founder of the spin-off company Nanostine. He is a member of the AdCom of IEEE Magnetics. He is also DL of the IEEE NTC.

Jimena Soler (Nanostine)

CTO at Nanostine. PhD in Condensed Matter Physics by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Her career was focused on experimental research, with an emphasis on the design and fabrication of magnetic nanostructures using ultra-high vacuum deposition techniques. She was involved in projects on spintronic devices and on the optimization of rare-earth-based materials to reduce their content in critical elements.

Welcome to IEEE R8 AfI Webinar Series co-organized by Section Industry Ambassadors!
Welcome to our new Webinar!

Save the date 29th of May 2026 at 7 pm EAT (6pm CET DST)

Webinar link: [meet.google.com/hue-ubxz-wan]

Topic: Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Building Digital Resilience for Africa’s Public and Private Sectors

Moderator:
Costas Stasopoulos – IEEE R8 AfI Committee Corresponding Member

Speaker:

Dr. Kintu Fred Lwanga

Dr. F. K. Lwanga, Hon. PhD, CMgr, ChMC, SMIEEE is a distinguished ICT and Digital Governance Expert, Board Governance and Digital Transformation Leader, Management Consultant, Enterprise Architect, and Policy Analyst with over twenty (20) years of progressive experience in ICT leadership, digital transformation, GovTech systems, ICT4D, institutional capacity building, and technology policy implementation.

He is a Senior Member of IEEE (Member No. 98774807) and currently serves as Chair of the IEEE Uganda Section. He also provides leadership within the broader global computing community as Founding Chair of the Kampala Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Chapter.

He is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICT Technocrats Ltd, a technology firm established in 2013 focused on ICT innovation, training, and digital solutions. He currently serves as Manager ICT at the National Building Review Board in Uganda.

Dr. Lwanga is a Chartered Manager (CMgr) and Chartered Management Consultant (ChMC) accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (UK), a Certified AI Consultant by United States AI Institute, a Certified Information Security Analyst by EC-Council, and a Certified Cisco Network Associate. He holds an honorary PhD in Technology Governance & Digital Transformation, MSc in Information Technology, MBA, Postgraduate Diploma in Procurement, and a BSc in Information Technology, among other qualifications

He has a strong background in higher education leadership, academic strategy, and university lecturing, with extensive experience in curriculum development and institutional capacity building. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at Victoria University, Kampala, Principal Lecturer at the Uganda Institute of ICT, and Head of the ICT Department at Multitech Business School (MBS) and lecturer to students across its affiliate universities, including the Cyprus Institute of Marketing (UK) and Shobhit University (India), among others, contributing to international academic delivery and capacity building in ICT and management education.

We are pleased to announce the Call for Participation and invite you to take part in the 2026 edition of the IEEE Virtual Career Fair, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), which will take place online on June 3, 2026.

The IEEE Virtual Career Fair is a global initiative that serves as a direct bridge between academia and has been already successfully launched in other IEEE Regions. Leading with the same goal, we aim to connect companies across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with our top IEEE talent. This event will connect students, young professionals, researchers, and industry experts in a highly interactive virtual environment.

Participants will have the opportunity to:
● Engage directly with recruiters through virtual booths, including one-on-one chat and video sessions
● Attend live sessions and company presentations
● Explore internship and job opportunities
● Expand their professional network across Region 8

🎓 Audience: students, recent graduates, researchers, and young professionals

💰 Cost: 100% free for all participants and recruiters

Registration Details:

For job seekers (students, graduates, but not limited to):
https://ieeecareerfairemea.vfairs.com/en/registration-form

For companies and recruiters:
https://careerfair.ieee.org/emea/recruiters-registration/

More information:
https://careerfair.ieee.org/emea/
Please also refer to this document.

Looking forward to meeting you on the webinar and our Virtual Career Fair event.

Welcome to IEEE R8 AfI Webinar Series co-organized by Section Industry Ambassadors!

Welcome to our new Webinar on “DC architectures for power systems in industrial, commercial and data center applications”!

Save the date 10 April 2026 – 2pm30 (CET DST)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkqCKAkyffg]

Moderators:

Ala Khalifeh. IEEE R8 AFI corresponding committee member
Enrico Ragaini. Industry Engagement Committee Italy. Indrustry partner ABB. Italy

Thanks to our dear Guest Speakers:

Roberto S. Faranda. Full Professor of Electrical Power Systems at the Department of Energy of the Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Roberto Sebastiano Faranda was born in Milan in 1970. He received both his degree (1994) and Ph.D. (1998) in Electrical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano. He began his academic career as a Researcher in 1999, and nowadays he was serving as Full Professor of Electrical Power Systems at the Department of Energy of the Politecnico di Milano. His research focuses on power quality, renewable energy systems, distributed generation, electrical load modelling, and power electronics applications in AC and DC grids. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications and holds over 25 patents related to electrical energy systems and technologies. He has also coordinated research laboratories dedicated to photovoltaic systems, lighting technologies, and sustainable energy solutions, contributing significantly to innovation in modern electrical power systems.

Paolo Catapane. Global Product Manager at ABB Smart Power Division Italy

Paolo Catapane, an accomplished Global Product Manager at ABB Smart Power Division, brings over 20 years of experience in Product Management and Engineering within the electrical and power generation industries. Throughout his career, Paolo has held diverse roles in product and project management, contributing to the development of electrical systems and power plants. His expertise lies in innovative solutions and strategic planning. Paolo holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

IEEE R8 Action for Industry is honored to organize a workshop on the theme “Smart Manufacturing 2026: The Next Leap” at IEEE MELECON conference at Pyramisa, Cairo, Egypt, on February 2, 2026, starting at 11:00 AM (UTC+2).
 
 

 

 
Welcome to IEEE R8 AfI Webinar Series co-organized by Section Industry Ambassadors!
Welcome to our new Webinar!
Save the date 22 January 2026 at 12:00-13:00 (CET)
 

 
Speakers:
 
Anas Dakkak, AFI Ambassador and Chairman of CS Chapter, IEEE Sweden
Sofiane Imadali, Chief R&D Officer, Lablabee, France
Houcine Chougrani, Research Scientist, KAUST University, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Galal Khafagy, IEEE R8 AFI committee Member, IEEE Egypt
 
Webinar Abstract
Over the last decades, the complexity of telecommunications networks has been growing at an unprecedented pace. Mobile Network Operators need to manage a growing blend of technologies and network services, including 4G, 5G, IoT, and mission-critical communications. In addition, mobile network operators need to keep the network secure by ensuring that new software releases are validated and deployed promptly. The need for faster deployment helps operators stay competitive by introducing new functionality to their users more quickly.
 
However, as networks are composed of many software elements developed and delivered by many vendors and open-source projects, testing and validating these deliverables can be challenging from both technical and competence perspectives.
 
In this webinar, we discuss the emerging operational challenges network operators face today and how they are expected to change in the near future. We also focus on the role of new AI technologies in helping network operators manage the increasing complexity and ensuring that testing and validation, as well as competence upskilling, are addressed intelligently.
 

 
Welcome to IEEE R8 AfI Webinar Series co-organized by Section Industry Ambassadors !
Welcome to our new Webinar !
Save the date 17 November 2025 at 1pm(GMT+2)
 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c58W8cv8bE]

 
Thanks to our dear Guest Speakers:
 
Speaker: Dr. Mohamed Mostafa El Khayat
Presentation Title: An Overview of Renewable Energy Market in Egypt
 
Dr. Mohamed’s Bio

Energy and Environment Expert | Author & Renewable Energy Advisor
With over 30 years of experience in energy and environmental policy, Dr. El-Khayat served as Executive Chairman of Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and chaired the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee at the League of Arab States. He co-chaired the IRENA–ADFD partnership, contributed to drafting the Pan-Arab Renewable Energy Strategy, and helped shape Egypt’s renewable energy legislation. A recipient of multiple international awards, he has published 11 books and
is a weekly opinion columnist for Gulf 24 (UAE), Al-Ahram Al-Masa’ei, and Al-Mash’had (Egypt).
 
Speaker: Sameh O. Abdellatif
Presentation Title: Fabrication Roadmap for Perovskite and Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells for Diffused Light Harvesting Applications
 
Dr Sameh is an accomplished semiconductor devices expert, with a diverse academic background and extensive experience in research and industry projects. Holding a B.Sc. degree in Electronics and Communication from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt (2009), he continued his academic journey with an M.Sc. degree in Semiconductor Nanostructures (2012) and a Ph.D. funded by DAAD, focusing on nano-photonic structures for enhancing thin-film solar cell efficiency, Recognized for his expertise, Sameh was appointed as an associate professor by the Egyptian Supreme Council in November 2022 and currently holds the position of associate professor in the Electrical Engineering
department at the British University in Egypt (BUE). He actively contributes to research and serves as a co-founder at FabLab within the Centre of Emerging Learning Technology (CELT) at BUE. In addition to his academic achievements, Sameh is a seasoned AI technical mentor for two start-ups,
where he applies his knowledge and experience to drive innovation and growth. His research interests encompass the modeling and simulation of organic/inorganic semiconductor nanostructures, fabrication of semiconductor devices, and low-power electronic circuit design. With a remarkable publication record of over 143 scientific papers and proceedings, as well as involvement in more than 15 scientific grants,
Sameh O. Abdellatif continues to make significant contributions to the field of AI, electronics, and sustainable energy technologies. In 2025, Dr. Abdellatif has been placed among the world’s top 2% most influential researchers, as featured in the prestigious 2025 Stanford University global list.
 
Moderators:
Dr Aida el Sabban

Aida El Sabban is an IEEE R8 Action for Industry committee member, IEEE Egypt Section Industry Ambassador. A Board member for Digital Economy Devision,
Commercial Chambers Union as well as a member in the Green
Economy Advisory Committee, Council of Arab Economic Unity. She
has more than 32 years of experience in her field in industry. In 2023,
Excellence Award for Women in Engineering Leadership from the
Federation of African Engineering Organizations (African level).
 
John Matogo

IEEE R8 Action for Industry committee member, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader for Middle East & Africa at IBM