About 6G-LEADER

The University of Cyprus (UCY), established in 1989, is a young and rapidly expanding institution. It comprises 7 faculties, 22 departments, and 16 research units/centres, covering a broad spectrum within the life, social, natural, and engineering sciences. UCY is the biggest employer in Cyprus for young graduates and researchers. It currently employs about 950 young scientists using external research funds. We are seeking and attracting new qualified scientists and researchers because our constant aim is to be the largest employers’ organization for young researchers in Cyprus. Currently, UCY is ranked in the top 100 best young universities in the world according to the Times Higher Educations. Since 2007, UCY managed to win 21 ERC projects. More specifically, it was awarded 8 Starting Grants, 5 Consolidator Grants, 2 Advanced Grants, 6 Proof of Concept Grants and 1 Synergy Grant. These numbers are very impressive due to the fact that ERC funds only top researchers in Europe with excellence as the sole criterion for selection, helping them pursue great ideas at frontiers of knowledge. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) was established in 2001. It is an ecosystem where scientists and engineers from different fields work together to solve the most challenging scientific problems. The research focus areas of ECE are control, robotics and autonomous systems, well-being and a smart living environment, telecommunications, industrial electronics and informatics, and power systems and conversion. In a relatively short period of time, ECE managed to establish high quality research, teaching and outreach activities and this is reflected in the fact that UCY is ranked 151-200 worldwide in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and 101-150 worldwide in Automation and Control in Academic Rankings of World Universities (Shanghai Rankings) for 2024. The University of Cyprus (UCY) contributes to this project through two research groups: the Distributed and Networked Control Systems (DNCS) Group and the IRIDA Research Laboratory for Communication Technologies and. Both groups operate under the ECE Department. The DNCS Group, led by Professor Themistoklis Charalambous, is committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation in networked control systems. With extensive expertise and a proven track record of managing prestigious projects, including the highly competitive ERC Consolidator Grant, the group is recognized as one of the key contributors in its field. The rapid advancement of smart devices with unprecedented sensing, computing, and control capabilities has revolutionized how technology integrates into our lives. These innovations enable seamless connections between individuals, vast repositories of information, and physical systems in ways never experienced before. Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) lie at the heart of this transformation, embedding sensing, computation, control, and networking into physical components to create “smart” systems that interact dynamically with the physical world. CPSs offer the potential to reshape diverse domains such as smart cities, future energy systems, intelligent transportation, robotics, and telecommunication networks by introducing enhanced reliability, efficiency, and sustainability. The DNCS Group specializes in addressing emerging challenges in CPSs, focusing on the design, analysis, and optimization of (wireless) networked control systems that are stable, scalable, and energy efficient.  Through its interdisciplinary approach, the members of the DNCS Group develop and merge cutting-edge theories from control engineering, communications, and distributed optimization to solve complex challenges in the field of CPSs. IRIDA, led by Prof. I. Krikidis, is a world-leading academic laboratory with an outstanding research record and significant technical contributions to the field of wireless communication theory. It has extensive experience managing both small- and large-scale projects funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus and the European Commission, including prestigious ERC Consolidator and Proof of Concept grants. Its research focuses on conducting both foundational and applied studies in wireless communication theory and its real-world applications. Irida’s research spans a wide range of topics, including cellular networks, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), fluid-antennas, wireless-powered communications, 5G and beyond, and quantum computing/communication applications. The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art software-defined radio devices, enabling the development and testing of advanced signal processing techniques and communication protocols, as well as customized devices for wireless-powered communications and quantum computing research.