17 November 2022
Wael Jaafar awarded the Grand Prize in the IEEE Competition
Professor Wael Jaafar of the Software and IT Engineering Department at ÉTS and Safwan Alfattani, a PhD student, were awarded the Grand Prize by IEEE Future Networks in the Competition on Non-terrestrial Networks for B5G and 6G. Professor Jaafar delivered a presentation on the winning paper, entitled Multi Mode High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) for Future Wireless Networks.
The event was held from November 8 to 10 in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, and virtually, as part of the Connecting the World from the Skies forum organized by the International Telecommunication Union (UIT) and the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) of Saudi Arabia.
Professor Wael Jaafar (dressed in black) during the Grand Prize award ceremony, accompanied by Dr. Abdulah Aljohani, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Qadi and Dr. Mohammed Alotaibi from the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST).
The ten individuals or teams selected for the competition were invited to submit their innovative ideas and proposals for connecting non-connected locations, for example isolated villages and zones in Sub-Saharan Africa, using technologies related to Non-terrestrial Networks (NTN) and systems. Professor Jaafar worked closely with Safwan Alfattani, a PhD student at University of Ottawa, and his Co-Directors – Professor Abbas Yongaçoglu from University of Ottawa and Professor Halim Yanikomeroglu from Carleton University. The Grand Prize also included a $10,000 US cash prize.
The Connecting the World from the Skies forum brought together representatives from both the public and private sectors, and in particular, radiocommunication and space industry innovators, researchers, ICT and technology stakeholders and spectrum policymakers from national regulators and other relevant international bodies.
ÉTS would like to congratulate Professor Jaafar for this prestigious award, and for his contribution to training graduate and post-graduate students in this highly advanced field.
For more information concerning the award-winning paper
Professor Jaafar’s presentation (begins at 1:20 pm)
Award ceremony
