The EXACT-6G journey officially began with a successful online kick-off meeting on December 15, 2023. The meeting brought together all beneficiaries' supervisors to align on our ambitious vision for Explainable Automation in Continuum 6G infrastructures. This collaborative start was crucial for setting the strategic direction and fostering the strong partnerships that drive the EXACT-6G Network forward.

We are delighted to announce the successful recruitment and onboarding of all nine EXACT-6G Doctoral Candidates (DCs). This diverse and talented cohort, now fully integrated across our consortium partners, forms the core research engine of our project.

Selected from a global pool of applicants, these researchers bring expertise in key areas for 6G development, including Artificial Intelligence, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), network orchestration, and the Cloud-Edge Continuum. Their work will be instrumental in achieving the project's goal of developing explainable and automated 6G infrastructures.

A Brief Introduction to the Cohort:

• Phuong Tran (DC-01, University of Oulu): Researching signal processing and machine learning for wireless communications.
• Ali Raza (DC-02, University of Oulu): Focusing on integrating Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) into 6G systems.
• Abdelrahman Elkhateeb (DC-03, Greenerwave): Exploring Integrated Sensing and Communications for RIS.
• Damola Gideon Akinola (DC-04, Iquadrat): Working on intra-domain Cloud Edge Continuum research.
• Fahimeh Jabbarinia (DC-05, Iquadrat): Investigating Massive MIMO and graph-based learning for NOMA.
• Mohamed Readh Fentazi (DC-06, EURECOM): Developing Explainable AI (XAI) for network management and orchestration.
• Debashish Roy (DC-07, ATHENA R.C.): Applying AI and LLMs to 6G networks and AR/VR/XR.
• Muhammad Rafid (DC-09, ATHENA R.C.): Enabling intelligent, decentralized orchestration for cloud-edge infrastructures.
• Pavlos Alexias (DC-10, Iquadrat): focusing on the development of pervasive orchestration algorithms for a self-synthesized cloud-edge continuum.

We welcome them all and look forward to their pioneering contributions to the future of 6G.

The EXACT-6G & EMPOWER-6G Training Schools were successfully conducted online from March 10-14, 2025. This collaborative training initiative featured two comprehensive programs:

The school welcomed 23 doctoral candidates for a deep dive into the critical challenges of next-generation networks. The curriculum, designed by academic and industry experts from our consortium, covered essential topics such as:

• School 1: Focused on 5G and 6G architectures, enabling technologies, vertical applications, KPIs, and standards
• School 2: Covered validation of 6G networks using key analytical, prediction, simulation, and experimental tools

The joint training event brought together 8 Doctoral Candidates from EXACT-6G and featured presentations from 12 expert speakers. This intensive program provided deep insights into the foundational technologies and validation methodologies essential for advancing 6G research and development.

The EXACT-6G project actively engages with the wider technological community to test and disseminate its research. This spring, our work was showcased at two major events in Barcelona.

In February, at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2025, our researchers participated in groundbreaking discussions on 6G networks. A key highlight was a joint demo with our partner Brainstorm, highlighting the future of immersive technology powered by advanced networks.

In May, at the IoT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC25), the project was prominently featured at Iquadrat's booth. Represented by our DC10, the team demonstrated latest advancements in 6G technologies and intelligent network solutions to a global audience, fostering insightful discussions on the evolving landscape of next-generation connectivity.

These events provided an excellent platform for our researchers, especially our DCs, to interact with industry leaders and gather feedback that directly enriches their work.