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The director of R&I Strategy and Policy in Europe at the i2CAT Foundation, Jesús Alonso-Zarate, has been elected to hold one of the 16 seats on the Governing Board of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA). The election occurred during the 23rd General Assembly of the association, celebrated on the 23rd of March, and the new Governing Board will lead the association for the next two years.
The 6G-IA brings together the leading telecom companies (operators, manufacturers, verticals, SMEs, etc.), research centres and universities in Europe to promote research and the development of 5G, advanced 5G and 6G. Its main goal is to ensure Europe’s leadership in this area and to drive the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), the Horizon Europe-funded R&D European program directed at designing and facilitating technologies for the next generation of mobile networks.
For that purpose, the association carries out a wide range of activities in strategic areas, including standardisation, frequency spectrum, R&D projects, technology skills, and collaboration with key vertical industry sectors, notably for developing trials and international cooperation. The 6G-IA represents the private side of the 5G Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) and SNS Joint Undertaking.
Jesús Alonso-Zarate, director of R&I Strategy and Policy in Europe
Since March 2021, Jesús Alonso-Zarate has been the Director of R&I Strategy and Policy in Europe at i2CAT and coordinates the centre’s participation in European research projects. In addition, since November 2019, he has been the chairman of the 5G for Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Working Group of the 6G-IA and has actively participated in the 5G-PPP initiative.
“I would like to represent both academia and the research centres at the board of the 6G-IA to give voice to everyone and engage with the entire research community, hoping to contribute to making the SNS program a European success and lead the way towards 6G. The transversal research areas we develop at i2CAT provide a comprehensive view of all advanced digital technologies involved in this amazing digital transformation we are leading from the 6G-IA”, stands Jesús Alonso-Zarate.
i2CAT has participated in 17 projects of the 5G-PPP, coordinating three of them and acting as technical manager of another three. The Catalan research centre is already engaged in 6 projects of the SNS’s first call and actively participates in the four large research Streams defining the SNS programme. i2CAT is also involved in GUIDE, the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) of the CEF Digital Programme for 5G Corridors.
