Keynote Speakers
Rushali Thakkar
Region 8 Lead Communications & Outreach Strategy Committee
Breaking Barriers: Empowering Women in STEM Through Leadership, Innovation, and IEEE Smart Cities
Abstract: This keynote will introduce the IEEE Smart Cities Community, highlighting its mission, vision, global initiatives, organizational structure, technical committees, and opportunities for engagement. The session will also provide practical guidance on establishing a Smart Cities Special Interest Group (SIG) and fostering collaborations that address urban challenges through innovation. By integrating the theme of Women in STEM, the talk will emphasize how diversity, leadership, and inclusive participation can accelerate the development of sustainable and resilient smart cities while inspiring the next generation of women engineers and researchers to become active contributors to the global IEEE community.
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Mrs Rushali Thakkar completed her bachelors in Electrical Engineering from FCRIT in the year 1999 and then, pursued her Masters from Walchand college of engineering sangli with specialization in control systems with distinction. She has 20+ teaching experience and presently pursuing Ph.D at Sardar Patel Institute of Technology Andheri, Mumbai. Her research domain is Power Electronics, Renewable Energy sources, Battery Management Systems and EVs. She is currently working on Battery Management Systems and Design of Power converter circuits for Electric Vehicles. Currently She is working in Electrification Production department at Intercel Energy Solutions B.V Haarlem, Netherlands. She started her professional journey as a Design Engineer at Marine Electricals and Fabricons and worked on Power Circuit & Control Circuit drawings for 2 years before stepping into the field of academic and research. She won the Global Eminent Academician Award for Outstanding Service in Teaching by VIJ trust in 2021 and also received Minor Research Grant in the year 2021 from Mumbai University for the research project “Design and Development of Power Electronic Converter for Active Balancing lithium ion battery. She is senior member IEEE and currently serving as Secretary, IEEE PES HAC.She is a member of IEEE WIE Climate Change and Sustainability Adhoc Commitee and member of Women in Sensor Council.
Dajana Cassioli
WIE Italy chair – Coordinator for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities of the IEEE Italy section
Fortifying Industrial IoT Ecosystems through BERT-Driven Transfer Learning, Blockchain-Governed Collaborative Intelligence, and Independent Real-Time Kernel Telemetry with SIEM Analytics
Abstract:As Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments evolve toward decentralized edge computing, securing the intersection of Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) requires a multi-faceted approach to intelligence and observability. This keynote presents a suite of advanced research contributions designed to empower resource-constrained industrial devices while ensuring the integrity of collaborative security operations.
The core of this work is a lightweight “supermodel” architecture rooted in Deep Transfer Learning. By repurposing Google BERT for context-aware semantic feature extraction from raw network traffic, the framework enables the creation of highly compact (3.10 MB) classifiers capable of generalizing across diverse datasets with 99% accuracy. This hierarchical approach shifts training complexity to powerful edge nodes, allowing IoT devices to deploy robust, pre-trained intelligence that adapts to evolving threat patterns in real-time without the need for extensive local computation.
To manage this distributed intelligence, we introduce a decentralized governance protocol leveraging Blockchain and IPFS. This layer ensures model confidentiality via ECDH-based key wrapping and immutably records model lineage to track provenance across untrusted nodes. Furthermore, a mandatory pre-publication screening gate is integrated to identify and block malicious code or unsafe artifacts before they can be disseminated across the network.
Complementing these core advancements, we also explore an independent methodology for real-time visibility using extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) technology. By utilizing XDP hooks to capture network events directly at the Linux kernel layer with near-zero performance impact, the system provides high-fidelity telemetry to Machine Learning-enhanced SIEM platforms. This enables the rapid detection of volumetric threats like SYN-flood DDoS attacks, offering a scalable roadmap for fortifying modern industrial infrastructure.
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Dajana Cassioli (Senior Member, IEEE) is an Associate Professor of Telecommunications Engineering with the University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy, where she served as the Elected Head for the Study Program in “Telecommunications Engineering: Advanced Technologies and Services” from 2021 to 2024. She co-authored more than 100 articles published in the most renowned international journals, magazines, and conference proceedings. She was a Summer Manager with the Wireless Systems Research Department, AT&T Laboratories-Research, NJ, USA, in 2000. She was a Short-Term Visiting Scholar with the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, hosted by Prof. Andy Molisch, in 2022. Her main research interests are in wireless communications, 5G/B5G networks and cybersecurity.
Dr. Cassioli is the Chair of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on “Propagation Channels for Next Generation Wireless Systems and Emerging Deployment Scenarios” and Chair of the SiG on Distributed and Massive MIMO of the IEEE P1944 Standard for Channel Models of Wireless Systems, both within the IEEE Communications Society. She also serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Activity Coordinator of the IEEE Italy Section. She is the Past Chair of the IEEE WIE AG Italy Section from 2016 to 2022 and the IEEE VT06/COM19 Italy Chapter from 2011 to 2017. She served as the Chair of the IEEE ComSoc RCC SiG on Propagation Channels for 5G&B from 2021 to 2025. Since 2015, she is the Coordinator of the University of L’Aquila Node of the CINI National Laboratory of Cybersecurity, where she led the CyberEquality WG from 2020 to 2021. She has been awarded the ERC StG VISION (Video-oriented UWB-based Intelligent Ubiquitous Sensing) in 2010 and the ERC PoC Grant iCARE (MobIle health-Care system for monitoring toxicity and symptoms in Cancer patients Receiving Disease-Oriented Therapy) in 2016. She was the CEO in 2014–2018, and 2019 of the spin-off of the University of L’Aquila “Smartly: Natives of Smart Living srl,” which designs and markets advanced ICT solutions to improve the quality of life. She served as the Co-Chair for Globecom 2025 WC, ICC 2024 MWN, ICC 2023 CISS, PIMRC2018 Industry, RTSI WIE Chair in 2018, 2019, and 2020, MELECON2020 and MetroInd4.0, and the TPC member of several International Conferences, including ICC, PIMRC, VTC, and GLOBECOM. She participated in the definition of the standard channel model for the IEEE 802.15.4 standard in 2005. She is an Associate Editor of IET Electronic Letters, and an Executive Editor of WILEY INTERNET TECHNOLOGY LETTERS and Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technology and served as an Associate Editor for IEEE COMMUNICATIONS LETTERS from 2018 to 2022.
Dr. Cassioli is the Chair of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on “Propagation Channels for Next Generation Wireless Systems and Emerging Deployment Scenarios” and Chair of the SiG on Distributed and Massive MIMO of the IEEE P1944 Standard for Channel Models of Wireless Systems, both within the IEEE Communications Society. She also serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Activity Coordinator of the IEEE Italy Section. She is the Past Chair of the IEEE WIE AG Italy Section from 2016 to 2022 and the IEEE VT06/COM19 Italy Chapter from 2011 to 2017. She served as the Chair of the IEEE ComSoc RCC SiG on Propagation Channels for 5G&B from 2021 to 2025. Since 2015, she is the Coordinator of the University of L’Aquila Node of the CINI National Laboratory of Cybersecurity, where she led the CyberEquality WG from 2020 to 2021. She has been awarded the ERC StG VISION (Video-oriented UWB-based Intelligent Ubiquitous Sensing) in 2010 and the ERC PoC Grant iCARE (MobIle health-Care system for monitoring toxicity and symptoms in Cancer patients Receiving Disease-Oriented Therapy) in 2016. She was the CEO in 2014–2018, and 2019 of the spin-off of the University of L’Aquila “Smartly: Natives of Smart Living srl,” which designs and markets advanced ICT solutions to improve the quality of life. She served as the Co-Chair for Globecom 2025 WC, ICC 2024 MWN, ICC 2023 CISS, PIMRC2018 Industry, RTSI WIE Chair in 2018, 2019, and 2020, MELECON2020 and MetroInd4.0, and the TPC member of several International Conferences, including ICC, PIMRC, VTC, and GLOBECOM. She participated in the definition of the standard channel model for the IEEE 802.15.4 standard in 2005. She is an Associate Editor of IET Electronic Letters, and an Executive Editor of WILEY INTERNET TECHNOLOGY LETTERS and Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technology and served as an Associate Editor for IEEE COMMUNICATIONS LETTERS from 2018 to 2022.
Meriem Somai
Chief Digital and Information Officer at Honoris
Beyond the Technology: Building a Scalable, Responsible AI Ecosystem in Higher Education
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence is reshaping higher education: yet its true value lies not in the technology itself, but in how institutions integrate it into their academic vision, governance, and pedagogical practice. This keynote presents the AI transformation journey of Université Centrale Group (UCG), showing how a comprehensive AI strategy can evolve from isolated initiatives into a scalable institutional ecosystem that delivers measurable educational impact.
Built around three foundational pillars (Governance, Practices, and Technology), UCG’s strategy unites strategic leadership, faculty capability‑building, and a robust digital infrastructure to enable responsible and sustainable AI adoption. The session showcases practical use cases across the student journey: AI literacy programs, AI‑enabled pedagogy, adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring, AI‑assisted assessment, immersive virtual‑reality simulation, and predictive analytics for student success.Beyond the technologies, the keynote explores the organizational change required to implement AI at scale: the faculty empowerment, data‑driven decision‑making, and culture of continuous innovation that make transformation stick. Participants will leave with practical insights into how higher‑education institutions can leverage AI to enrich learning experiences, improve academic outcomes, and equip graduates with the competencies demanded by the future of work.
Built around three foundational pillars (Governance, Practices, and Technology), UCG’s strategy unites strategic leadership, faculty capability‑building, and a robust digital infrastructure to enable responsible and sustainable AI adoption. The session showcases practical use cases across the student journey: AI literacy programs, AI‑enabled pedagogy, adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring, AI‑assisted assessment, immersive virtual‑reality simulation, and predictive analytics for student success.Beyond the technologies, the keynote explores the organizational change required to implement AI at scale: the faculty empowerment, data‑driven decision‑making, and culture of continuous innovation that make transformation stick. Participants will leave with practical insights into how higher‑education institutions can leverage AI to enrich learning experiences, improve academic outcomes, and equip graduates with the competencies demanded by the future of work.
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Meriem Somai is the Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Honoris United Universities in Tunisia. She leads artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and data strategy across institutions like Université Centrale, IMSET, and UPSAT.Somai is a major leader in digital transformation. She builds tech platforms that help schools study student choices. She also works with large software programs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 to make learning smoother. She believes technology can help women find good jobs.
Amira Ouerfelli
Electrical Engineer,
MGA Representative on the Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB)
HTB SIGHT Global Chair
IEEE SIGHT Tunisia Section Chair
MGA Representative on the Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB)
HTB SIGHT Global Chair
IEEE SIGHT Tunisia Section Chair
Engineering Empathy: How Humanitarian Technology Shapes the Next Generation of Industry 5.0 Innovators
Abstract: Industry 5.0 calls for engineers who see technology not as an end in itself, but as a tool to serve people, communities, and the planet and this human-centered mindset begins long before the workplace. Drawing on hands-on experience in humanitarian technology, STEM outreach, and IEEE community initiatives, this keynote explores how humanitarian technology programs, from disaster-response tools to accessible STEM education projects, plant the seeds of purpose-driven engineering in children well before they choose a career path. The talk connects the humanitarian roots of purposeful engineering, the responsibility of today’s women leaders to model and mentor this mindset, and practical pathways through IEEE and beyond; to bring more children into contact with technology that visibly helps people. Attendees will leave with a clear sense of why humanitarian technology is not a side project for engineers, but a foundation for building the workforce, and the world, that Industry 5.0 demands.
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Amira Ouerfelli is an electrical engineer specializing in robotics, embedded systems, and artificial intelligence. She holds a Master’s degree in Information System Technologies from the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT) and is passionate about leveraging technology to create sustainable and humanitarian impact. She was recognized with the Best Performance Sustainable Project Award at IEEE PowerAfrica 2024, and under her leadership the IEEE SIGHT Tunisia Section received the IEEE Region 8 Outstanding SIGHT Section Award in 2025. She currently serves in several IEEE leadership roles, including MGA Representative on the Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB), HTB SIGHT Global Chair, IEEE SIGHT Tunisia Section Chair, Humanitarian Technologies Coordinator for the IEEE Tunisia Section, IEEE Smart Village Volunteer since 2021, IEEE IAS Women in Engineering Region 8 Representative, and a graduate of the IEEE Volunteer Leadership Training (VoLT) program. Beyond IEEE, Amira serves as Chair of the Disaster Response Team at the National Tunisian Red Crescent, a role she has held since 2020, where she focuses on disaster risk reduction and strengthening community resilience.
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