Advancing 6G via International Research to Standardisation Synergies
Joint Workshop — Horizon Europe INSTAR Project & 6G CONASENSE Platform
instarstandards.org
conasense.org
About the workshop
The COmmunication, NAvigation, SENsing and SErvices (CONASENSE) platform and the Horizon Europe Cooperation and Support Action INSTAR are complementary initiatives that aim to advance both research excellence and pre-normative standardisation impact for 6G and beyond. This joint full-day workshop, co-organised at IEEE WPMC 2026, reflects their shared ambition to bridge exploratory research and global standardisation, ensuring that future 6G systems are innovative, interoperable, and societally relevant.
INSTAR is an EU-funded project that supports the implementation of Europe’s Digital Partnerships and the EU–US TTC by working together with Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA to drive international common standards for AI, Cybersecurity, Digital ID, Quantum, IoT, 5G, 6G and data technologies. It mobilises cross-domain expertise and international coordination to shape future standards across key technological workstreams, and systematically links academic research outcomes with standardisation trajectories in ETSI, 3GPP, IEEE, and broader cross-SDO environments.
CONASENSE is an interdisciplinary 6G brainstorming and dissemination platform fostering the development of novel 6G digital services to support society. It brings together experts from communications, sensing, navigation, and human-centric and sustainable services — driving its vision through virtualisation and softwarisation to support many active devices with a high degree of adaptability.
The workshop aims to showcase forefront 6G research and to examine how emerging results are being systematically pipelined towards future 6G standardisation. A central focus is to foster dialogue between research and standardisation communities, with an interdisciplinary and international perspective grounded in CONASENSE research and complemented by contributions from leading experts from Brazil, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Topics of interest
The workshop invites original research and position contributions across complementary 6G perspectives: communications; satellites and navigation; sensing; 6G use-cases and services. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- 6G system architectures and reference models
- Research-to-standardisation pathways for 6G
- AI-native networking and orchestration
- Edge–Cloud–IoT continuum for 6G
- Quantum communications and quantum-safe security
- Joint communication, sensing and positioning (JCSP)
- Non-terrestrial networks and satellite integration
- Sustainable and human-centric 6G services
- International 6G roadmaps and cross-SDO alignment
- 6G security, resilience, and digital identity
- AI, cybersecurity, and quantum standardisation
- 5G/6G IoT and data technology standards
Programme overview
Welcome and Workshop Objectives
Welcome by the organisers; overview of workshop goals and agenda. Bridging forefront 6G research and pre-normative standardisation; strengthening international alignment across EU, Japan, ROK, India and Brazil.
Session 1 — International 6G Visions and Roadmaps
Keynote talks (3) on international perspectives on national 6G programmes, research focus areas, architectural priorities, and early standardisation engagement. Moderated discussion on convergence and divergence across regional visions and timelines.
Coffee Break
Technical Session 2 — Research Frontiers in 6G Technologies
Paper presentations covering AI-native networking, joint communication/sensing/positioning, non-terrestrial networks and satellite integration, quantum communications, and 6G security and resilience architectures.
Lunch Break
Technical Session 3 — Integrated Capabilities for Global 6G
Papers on Cross-domain integration and advanced enablers as key differentiators for future 6G systems: JCSP as an integrated capability; NTN and satellite for global coverage; quantum technologies for 6G; sustainability and heterogeneous infrastructure. Moderated discussion on pre-normative concepts and standards translation.
Coffee Break
Technical Session 4 — Panel Discussion: Aligning Research and Global Standards
Panel with experts from EU, Japan, ROK, India, Brazil, USA and beyond. Key questions: How can interdisciplinary research best feed future 6G standards? What are the main gaps between research and standardisation today? How can international cooperation be strengthened?
Wrap-Up and Outlook
Summary of key insights and alignment points. Follow-up actions: white papers and standardisation inputs; future joint workshops or task forces; CONASENSE book series chapter contributions. Closing remarks.
Submission guidelines
Review manuscripts should describe original work in the IEEE double column proceedings format, including tables, figures and references, under the following page limits:
Technical papers: up to 6 pages (including figures and references
Poster/Demo proposals: up to 2 pages (including figures and references)
In order to download manuscript templates for IEEE conference proceedings use the following link: https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html.
All submissions will undergo single-blind peer review by three independent reviewers. Accepted papers will be included in the symposium proceedings and presented at the conference. Note that accepted will be published with no additional charge. Exceeding pages (6 to full papers and 2 to poster/demos) will be charged an additional fee (limited to 1). At least one author of each accepted paper is required to register (full registration fee) to the conference and present the paper. Only registered and presented papers will be published in the conference proceedings. Accepted papers will be included in the WPMC 2026 Proceedings and submitted for inclusion in IEEE Xplore, subject to compliance with IEEE Xplore’s scope, quality, and formatting requirements..
Submission via EDAS
For inquiries and submissions: conasense-board@listserv.dfn.de
Key dates
| Abstract submission deadline | 30.07.2026 |
| Full paper submission deadline | 30.08.2026 |
| Notification of acceptance | 10.09.2026 |
| Camera-ready deadline | 15.09.2026 |
| Full-day workshop at IEEE WPMC 2026 | 8.11.2026 |
Organising and technical committees
Steering Committee
Rute C. Sofia, fortiss GmbH, Germany — CONASENSE Chair & INSTAR 6G Workstream Lead
Ramjee Prasad, CTIF Global Capsule, Denmark — CONASENSE Chair
Paulo Rufino, CTIF Global Capsule — Technical Programme Committee Chair
HE INSTAR Technical Committee
Tanya Suarez (Bluspecs, ES) · Silvana Muscella (Trust-IT, IT) · Knut Blind (Fraunhofer, AT) · Damir Filipovic (AIOTI, BE) · Antonio Kung (Trialog, BE) · Venkatesh Prasad Ranga Rao (TU Delft, NL) · Homer Papadopoulos (NSCR, GR) · Christoph Schmittner (AIT, AT)
CONASENSE Technical Committee
Chair: Rute C. Sofia, fortiss, GmbH · members under definition
Expected outcome
Derived from the workshop, the organisers will edit an open-access book with chapters based on the best presentations, focusing on technological advancements and standardisation. The book will be part of the CONASENSE Book Series, edited by River Publishers, and authors participating will be invited to provide extended versions of their work to this book.
The workshop will additionally produce a summary of key alignment points and identify follow-up actions including white papers, standardisation inputs to ETSI/3GPP/IEEE, and proposals for future joint workshops or international task forces.