IEEE Hong Kong 6G Wireless Summit 2025
The IEEE Hong Kong 6G Wireless Summit (IEEE HK6GWS 2025) successfully concluded on September 12, 2025, after two days of groundbreaking discussions and collaborations that brought together nearly 300 prominent academics, industry leaders, government representatives, and practitioners from the global wireless communications community. This third annual summit solidified its position as a premier platform for knowledge exchange and innovation in next-generation wireless technologies.
This summit, organized by the Hong Kong 6G AoE Research Center (6G@HK) and the IEEE Communications Society, comprised a comprehensive program of invited talks, panel discussions, and technical presentations focused on 6G advancements, standardization efforts, and implementation strategies. It featured an impressive line-up of internationally recognized speakers and panelists, details of which can be found from the event website https://hk6gws2025.ieee-hk6gws.org/. This gathering of thought leaders provided exceptional depth and breadth of perspective on the future of 6G technologies which helped guide current and future decisions on the use and implementation of these transformative technologies. A particularly popular component of the summit was the poster session, devoted to recent research results in the general area of 6G communications, intelligent wireless access and connections. Students and junior researchers were encouraged to participate in the poster representation and active discussion with the attendees and were fostered to be the next generation of wireless communications experts.
During the inaugural session of the summit, renowned AI expert Prof. Harry SHUM, HKUST Council Chairman and former Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Research Group, outlined a transformative future powered by the integration of 6G networks and the Low-Altitude Economy (LAE). His talk, titled “Exploring the Low Altitude Airspace: From Natural Resource to Economic Engine”, forecasted that the rapid rise of the low-altitude economy (LAE), and integrated economic model driven by flight activities in the low-altitude airspace, will lead to drastic changes on industries such as logistics, agriculture, and public services. He highlighted advanced navigation technologies like visual-inertial odometry and large-scale scene mapping, which enable safe, high-density operations in congested city airspaces. He also reviewed global regulatory frameworks and the need for smart digital management platforms (e.g., SILAS OS) for effective airspace integration and real-time operational safety. Prof. Shum’s presentation concluded that LAE is poised to become a major urban economic engine, with the possibility of supporting one million flights daily per city. Achieving this potential will require robust integration of advanced navigation technologies, resilient digital and physical infrastructure, tightly coordinated regulatory frameworks, and intelligent, multi-platform airspace management systems like SILAS OS. This future promises safer, more efficient, and sustainable urban air mobility, but depends critically on continued innovation, global regulatory alignment, and responsive meteorological integration.
Prof. Khaled B. LETAIEF, HKUST New Bright Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, and IEEE Fellow, serves as both the Project Coordinator of 6G@HK and the General Chair of the organizing committee for the IEEE HK6GWS 2025. He said Hong Kong is positioned to drive 6G innovation through a coordinated research and development strategy that combines academic excellence, industrial partnership, and talent cultivation. With substantial funding from the Research Grants Council and a collaborative ecosystem involving leading universities and industry players, Hong Kong 6G AoE Research Center (6G@HK), which is the co-host of the summit, aims to transform Hong Kong into a global hub for next-generation wireless access and connectivity.
IEEE HK6GWS 2025 receives primary support from Hong Kong 6G AoE (6G@HK), a 6G research center funded by the Research Grants Council’s Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme, with Prof. Letaief serving as the project coordinator.
About Hong Kong 6G AoE
A pioneering 6G research center funded by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of HKSAR. The project titled “6G: Wireless Access and Connectivity for an Intelligent and Sustainable World” represents a collaborative effort across three leading Hong Kong Universities: HKUST, CUHK, and HKU. This multidisciplinary endeavor aims to position Hong Kong as a regional leader in 6G research over the next decade through groundbreaking research and technological development focusing on energy-efficient transmission, intelligent networking, and low-power architectures. Through collaboration with industry leaders, the project seeks to produce transformative research that addresses major societal challenges, including climate change, while advancing knowledge and entrepreneurship.
For more information about IEEE HK6GWS 2025, please contact:
Email: 6ghk@ust.hk
