“Leadership, Visibility and Impact in Research and Innovation”
Date, hour and room to be defined
Session Chair:
- Bahare Masood Khorsandi (Nokia, DE)
- Marie-Helene Hamon (Orange, FR)
- Irene Alepuz Benaches (UPV, ES)
- Pooja Mohnani (EURESCOM, )
- Audrey Bienvenu (EURESCOM, )
- Carole Manero (IDATE, )
- Didier Bourse (Nokia, FR)
Women in Telecommunications and Research (WiTaR) is a 6G-IA working group founded in 2023 as an EU-level initiative to promote gender equality, inclusion, and empowerment within the 6G Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem. Originating from the European 6G flagship project Hexa-X with a limited number of participants, WiTaR has grown rapidly into a community of 112 members representing 22 Smart Networks and Services (SNS) projects, demonstrating the increasing recognition of gender diversity as a key enabler of excellence in 6G R&I.
While progress has been made, women remain significantly underrepresented in leadership roles, decision-making positions, and high-visibility activities across telecommunications research and innovation. Addressing these challenges is essential not only to ensure fairness and inclusivity, but also to enhance innovation capacity, research quality, and societal impact. Diverse leadership and visible role models are critical for shaping sustainable research cultures and inspiring future generations of researchers and innovators.
This session represents the fifth WiTaR-convened session at the EUCNC & 6G Summit and aims to communicate the latest updates, achievements, and future plans of the WiTaR initiative to the European and global 6G R&I community. Beyond information sharing, the session provides a platform to reflect on leadership, visibility, and impact of women in research and innovation, highlighting both challenges and successful practices emerging from SNS projects and beyond.
By bringing together stakeholders from academia, industry, research organizations, and policy initiatives, the session will foster dialogue on concrete actions to improve gender diversity and inclusivity within R&I activities, particularly in the context of the SNS Joint Undertaking (JU). The session seeks to catalyze collaboration, strengthen commitment, and support pathways for women to lead, be visible, and create lasting impact in the 6G era.
Programme
– Welcome from the WG chair and vice-chair – 5 min
– Bahare M. Khorsandi & Marie-Helene Hamon
– WiTaR introduction and update on the recent activities of the working group – 10 min
– Bahare M. Khorsandi & Marie-Helene Hamon
– Videos from leaders around Europe stating the importance of gender inclusivity, including in deep tech and 6G ~ 5 min
– Didier Bourse
– Industry and academia’s view and practice to encourage gender diversity – 15 min
– Speaker(s) TBD
– Bar camp – ~45 min
– Pooja Mohnani
The goal of this session is to create an open and collaborative environment for sharing ideas within the technology and SNS communities, with a focus on promoting and empowering women researchers. The session will feature breakout group discussions around the following themes:
– Leadership – Influence in Technical Environments:
– Visibility – Positioning in Research & Innovation
– Impact – Making research matter
– Designing Inclusive 6G Use Cases: Detecting Bias and Unaddressed Gender Gaps
– Conclusion and next steps – 5 min
– Bahare M. Khorsandi & Marie-Helene Hamon
