WNCG Students Attend CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas

Four WNCG students participated in this year’s CTIA Wireless exhibition in Las Vegas and came back with a fresh outlook on the world of wireless network research. Hosted by the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry, CTIA Wireless brings together all the major players in the wireless industry as well as a wide array of upcoming startups. This year’s 1000+ exhibitors, covering the full spectrum of wireless research, introduced the students to practically applied “state-of-the-art.” As a result our students were able to better grasp the direction in which the industry is heading.

Attending CTIA Wireless with its many exhibits allows the students to see what they and their predecessors have been working on in labs just like WNCG. “It is truly invigorating and refreshing when an application engineer from one of the many companies present shows me a demo or a prototype which employs concepts that I and my many colleagues are currently researching,” said Salam Akoum about her experience at CTIA Wireless. “It’s a most welcome change of pace when compared to the more theoretical conferences we typically attend.”

In addition to enjoying the company exhibits, the student enjoyed several keynote speeches with some of the most influential industry figures such as Randall Stephenson (AT&T, President and CEO), Padmasree Warrior ( Cisco, CTO), and Biz Stone (Twitter, Co-founder) as well as several panel sessions about many of the hot topics in the research world today.