"6G Horizons: Synergies for a Connected Future" Workshop

April 01, 2025 - 09:00 to 18:00 (GMT+9, Tokyo)

Sanjō Conference Hall, Hangō Campus, University of Tokyo

The "6G Horizons: Synergies for a Connected Future" workshop aims at fostering and deepening collaboration and partnership between the EU and Japan (and other Indo-Pacific countries) regarding 6G development.

Organiser

Adam Kapovits, Eurescom, Germany

Co-organiser

Prof. Akihiro Nakao, ASPIRE, Japan

Target audience

6G experts, mostly from Japan. 120 participants are expected.

Agenda

Presentations / report from ongoing collaboration activities
- Presentation from 6G IA, Dr Colin Willcock, chairman of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association Governing Board
- Presentation from SNS JU 6G MIRAI (from the EU-JP call) – Ericsson Research Japan
- Japanese projects ASPIRE and HARMONY
- SNS JU 6G ARROW (from the EU-ROK call), Prof. Emilio Calvanese–Strinati (CEA-LETI, France)
- Survey of the Japan-German collaboration projects, Dr. Kentaro Ishizu (NICT, Japan)
- Some highlights from Japan-German collaboration projects
- EU Korea collaboration on sensing and communication (ETRI) - not yet confirmed
Contributions from industry, challenges for 6G as perceived by industry, also presenting opportunities for joint investigation and solution
- Collaboration opportunities regarding non-terrestrial networks between Japan and Europe, European Space Agency (ESA)
- Results from the European SNS JU research project 6G-NTN, Prof. Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, Università di Bologna, Italy
- Developing a Holistic Sustainability Framework for Future Communication Systems - SUSTAIN-6G, the European sustainability lighthouse project, Dr. Alessandro Bassi, Eurescom GmbH, Germany
- 6G standardisation challenges from a Japanese perspective
- Core network and architecture issues and challenges (Dr. Ing. Marius Corici Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany)
- European industry views regarding 6G challenges
- Japanese industry presentations, both from technology and solution providers, but also from industries using and relying on 6G
Pre-6G demo plans, what Europe can learn from Japan and the Republic of Korea, best practices
- Research infrastructures for joint collaboration
- Pre-6G demo plans concerning the Osaka expo
- Korean presentation regarding the pre-6G demo plans for 2026
- Panel discussion regarding what Europe can learn from Japanese (and Korean) approaches towards 6G R&D

Note: The detailed agenda will be shared closer to the event date.

Expected outcomes

The big question is and the ambition of the workshop should be to try to answer, whether we are correctly perceiving and assessing, and subsequently addressing and responding to the major trends, social and business needs from a broad set of industries in the 6G research and development, considering the rapidly unfolding disruptive trends such as generative AI.

Methodology

The workshop will be primarily held in person. If needed, we can permit a replay of a pre-recorded contribution. The workshop will be preferably streamed on the web.

Speakers

Confirmed speakers:
- Dr. Colin Willcock, Chairman of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association Governing Board, Belgium
- Prof. Akihiro Nakao, head of Nakao-Lab, University of Tokyo, Japan, co-chair of the XG Mobile Promotion Forum (XGMF), Japan
- Prof. Emilio Calvanese-Strinati, Scientific and Innovation Director of Smart Devices, Telecommunications and Security, CEA-LETI, France
- Prof. HyeonWoo Lee, Professor on Mobile System Engineering, DanKook University and vice chair of the Executive Committee of the 6G Forum Korea, Republic of Korea
- Dr. Szabolcs Malomsoky, Head of Ericsson Research Japan
- Dr. Kentaro Ishizu, Director, Beyond 5G Design Initiative, NICT, Japan
- Dr. Maria Guta, European Space Agency
- Dr. Ing. Marius Corici, Deputy Head of the Software-based Networks Division, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany
- Prof. Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, Full Professor at Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Italy
- Dr. Alessandro Bassi, Programme and Project Manager, Eurescom GmbH, Germany

Note: The detailed list of speakers will be shared closer to the event date.

The EU-Japan Digital Week is an initiative under the EU-Japan Digital Partnership and is supported by the following projects and organisations: