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Industry Collaboration Index

Sector Award · Frontier technologies · 2026

Next-Generation Communications: the winner and finalists

10 finalist partnerships, chosen from 200 eligible university and company partnerships in the open record. The winner is listed first; the other finalists follow in alphabetical order of university. The winner in each category is the finalist with the highest partnership score (volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30%) in the frozen Edition 1 record. No panel, nomination or payment plays any part. Winners were announced with the index at 05:30 BST, Thursday 15 October 2026, after the corrections and opt-out window closed at 17:00 BST on Tuesday 13 October.

All award categoriesThe Next-Generation Communications sector index
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Winner · partnership score 86.2, the highest in the category

Queen's University Belfast×Nokia

United Kingdom · company based in Finland · 12 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 5.92
TD
Trung Q. DuongAcademic co-author · Queen's University Belfast · 9 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
SK
Saeed R. KhosraviradIndustry co-author · Nokia · 10 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Edge Intelligence-Based Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications for Digital Twin-Enabled Metaverse” (2022, 197 citations)
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Aalto University×Nokia

Finland · company based in Finland · 24 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.69
ST
Sergei TretyakovAcademic co-author · Aalto University · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
RV
Risto ValkonenIndustry co-author · Nokia · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Efficient Anomalous Reflector Design Using Array Antenna Scattering Synthesis” (2023, 42 citations)
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Chalmers University of Technology×Ericsson

Sweden · company based in Sweden · 56 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.62
HW
Henk WymeerschAcademic co-author · Chalmers University of Technology · 14 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
BM
Behrooz MakkiIndustry co-author · Ericsson · 9 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Integrated Communication, Localization, and Sensing in 6G D-MIMO Networks” (2025, 25 citations)
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Korea University×Samsung

South Korea · company based in South Korea · 30 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.68
IL
Inkyu LeeAcademic co-author · Korea University · 6 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
JP
Junhee ParkIndustry co-author · Samsung · 2 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Message-Passing Based User Association and Bandwidth Allocation in HetNets With Wireless Backhaul” (2022, 13 citations)
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KTH Royal Institute of Technology×Ericsson

Sweden · company based in Sweden · 52 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.59
ÓT
Óscar Quevedo-TeruelAcademic co-author · KTH Royal Institute of Technology · 8 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
MJ
Martin N. JohanssonIndustry co-author · Ericsson · 6 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Two-Dimensional Beam Steering Using a Stacked Modulated Geodesic Luneburg Lens Array Antenna for 5G and Beyond” (2022, 55 citations)
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Politecnico di Torino×Infinera

Italy · company based in United States · 11 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.98
VC
Vittorio CurriAcademic co-author · Politecnico di Torino · 8 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
AN
Antonio NapoliIndustry co-author · Infinera · 11 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Power control strategies and network performance assessment for C+L+S multiband optical transport” (2021, 112 citations)
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Seoul National University×Samsung

South Korea · company based in South Korea · 44 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.73
JO
Jungsuek OhAcademic co-author · Seoul National University · 10 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
SW
Sang‐Hyuk WiIndustry co-author · Samsung · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Enhancing Selectivity in 5G/6G Ultranarrowband Applications: Plug-and-Play Frequency-Selective Surfaces With Field-Manipulating Vias” (2024, 4 citations)
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University of Patras×Iquadrat

Greece · company based in Spain · 15 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.65
CV
Christos V. VerikoukisAcademic co-author · University of Patras · 6 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
JV
John S. VardakasIndustry co-author · Iquadrat · 7 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“A Multi-Level Deep RL-Based Network Slicing and Resource Management for O-RAN-Based 6G Cell-Free Networks” (2024, 39 citations)
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University of Saskatchewan×Cisco Systems

Canada · company based in United States · 9 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 3.74
EB
Ebrahim E. BedeerAcademic co-author · University of Saskatchewan · 8 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
RB
Robert S. BartonIndustry co-author · Cisco Systems · 9 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“UAV Trajectory Planning for AoI-Minimal Data Collection in UAV-Aided IoT Networks by Transformer” (2022, 245 citations)
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Warsaw University of Technology×Orange

Poland · company based in France · 15 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.63
MS
Mariusz SepczukAcademic co-author · Warsaw University of Technology · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
KB
Krzysztof BocianiakIndustry co-author · Orange · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Verticals in 5G MEC-Use Cases and Security Challenges” (2021, 62 citations)

Partnership score: volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30% (shrunk toward 1.0 when evidence is thin). Joint works count half where the only company author also holds a post at the university. The named researchers co-wrote the cited paper and represent a wider team. Full rules.