Neural Network

AI/ML in 5G Challenge 2020

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the dominant technology of the future and will impact every corner of society. In particular, AI / ML (machine learning) will shape how communication networks, a lifeline of our society, will be run. Many companies in the ICT sector are exploring h​ow to make best use of AI/ML. ITU has been at the forefront of this endeavour exploring how to best apply AI/ML in future networks including 5G networks. The time is therefore right to bring together the technical community and stakeholders to brainstorm, innovate and solve relevant problems in 5G using AI/ML. Building on its standards work, ITU is conducting a global ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge on the theme “How to apply ITU’s ML architecture in 5G networks”.

Participants will be able to solve real world problems, based on standardized technologies developed for ML in 5G networks. Teams will be required to enable, create, train and deploy ML models (such that participants will acquire hands-on experience in AI/ML in areas relevant to 5G). Participation is open to ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates and Aca​demic Institutions and to any individual from a country that is a member of ITU. ​ ​

ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge Timeline

September 2020

October – November 2020

December 2020

 15-30 September 2020 – Test dataset release

1-15 October 2020 – Score-based evaluation phase

15 October 2020 – Submission Deadline

16 October 2020 – Provisional ranking of all the teams

31 October – 6 November 2020 – Top 5 solutions submit their code and documentation

20 November 2020 – Winners (top 3) official announcement

15-17 December 2020 –  Awards and presentation

ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge Timeline

September 2020

  •  15-30 September 2020 – Test dataset release

October – November 2020

  • 1-15 October 2020 – Score-based evaluation phase
  • 15 October 2020 – Submission Deadline
  • 16 October 2020 – Provisional ranking of all the teams
  • 31 October – 6 November 2020 – Top 5 solutions submit their code and documentation
  • 20 November 2020 – Winners (top 3) official announcement

December 2020

  • 15-17 December 2020 –  Awards and presentation

Challenge Related Information

Invitation Letter

ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge: Participation ​Guidelines
(1st June, 2020)​​

​​ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge: Summary ​Slides​
(14th September, 2020)

​​​​ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge:​ Challenge Management Guidelines​
(5th August, 2020)​​​

Problem statements and data resources
(25th August, 2020)​

Sponsorship Inquiries​
(13th April, 2020)​

Challenge M​anageme​nt Board​​

FA​Q

ITU AI/ML 5G Challenge Management Board
José Suárez-Varela
Researcher
,
Telefonica Research
José Suárez-Varela is an Associate Researcher at Telefónica Research. Prior to this, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Neural Networking center (BNN-UPC). He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), in 2020, and a B.Sc and M.Sc. degrees in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad de Granada (UGR). He was co-Principal Investigator of the IGNNITION project (H2020 NGI POINTER), and main organizer of the Graph Neural Networking challenge, an international competition organized as part of the ITU AI/ML in 5G challenge. During 2019, he was a visiting researcher at the University of Siena, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Franco Scarselli. His main research interests are in the field of Deep Learning for Mobile Networks, including network control and management, traffic monitoring and analysis, and cybersecurity.
Liya Yuan
Open Source & Standardization Engineer
,
ZTE
<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liya Yuan is an open source & standardization engineer in ZTE, focusing on the field of AI for telecommunication network. She is currently the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) chair of AI project Adlik, which is incubated in Linux Foundation AI Foundation. She also takes an active part in ITU-T standardization activities and serves as WG3 chair in ITU-T Autonomous Network focus group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
Salih Ergut
Chief Data Science, R&D, and Strategy Officer
,
OREDATA
Salih Ergüt is the Chief Data Science, R&D, and Strategy Officer at OREDATA, a consultancy firm providing cloud, big data, and data science services to various sectors, such as financial services, e-commerce, gaming, telecom, manufacturing, retail, oil and gas, and public sectors. With more than 20 years of experience in the IT and telecommunication domains, he has worked for various service and solution provider companies, including Ericsson Wireless, Aware, NextWave, and Turk Telekom Group. In addition to his professional work, he is also involved with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), currently serving as the Vice Chairman of the focus group on "Autonomous Networking," and previously serving as the Vice Chairman of the focus group on "Machine Learning for Future Networks including 5G." He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University, a Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California San Diego. His research interests include wireless communications, machine learning, big data technologies, network automation, and the explainability of machine learning algorithms.
Akihiro Nakao
Professor
,
University of Tokyo
<span data-contrast="none">Akihiro Nakao received B.S. (1991) in Physics, M.E. (1994) in Information Engineering from the University of Tokyo. He was at IBM Yamato Laboratory, Tokyo Research Laboratory, and IBM Texas Austin from 1994 till 2005. He received M.S. (2001) and Ph.D. (2005) in Computer Science from Princeton University. He taught as an associate professor (2005-2014) and as a professor (2014-2021) in Applied Computer Science, at Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, the University of Tokyo.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>   <span data-contrast="none">He has served as Vice Dean of the University of Tokyo’s Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies (2019-2021). In April 2021, he has moved to School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo (2021-present). Since April 2023, he has been serving as Head of Department of System Innovations, School of Engineering. He was appointed as an adviser to the President of the University of Tokyo (2019-2020) and has been a special adviser to the President of the University of Tokyo (2020-present). He is serving as Director, Collaborative Research Institute for NGCI,（Next-Generation Cyber Infrastructure）, the University of Tokyo (2021-present).</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>   <span data-contrast="none">For social services, he has been playing several important roles in Japanese government and also at research societies. He has also been appointed Chairman of the 5G Mobile Network Promotion Forum (5GMF) Network Architecture Committee by Japanese government. He has been appointed as Chairman of 5G/Beyond 5G committee, Space ICT Promotion Initiative Forum, International Committee, and Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium as well (2020-present). From 2020 to present, he is a chair and advisor of IEICE technical committee on network systems (NS) as well as a chair of IEICE technical committee on cross-field research association of super-intelligent networking (RISING). He has been elected to become the president of Communication Society, IEICE, in 2024.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>
Profile picture of Qiang Cheng
Qiang Cheng
Focus Group Vice-Chairman
,
China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)
<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cheng Qiang, he is senior engineer of China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. He serves as Vice Chairman of ITU-T FG-ML5G from 2019-2020 and the Chairman of Telecom Project Group of Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance of China from 2016. He engaged in broadband network technology and artificial intelligent research, presided over the drafting of more than 20 communications industry standards and China national standards. He will give a welcome speech from ITU and AIIA, and a brief introduction of  AI/ML challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
MOSTAFA ESSA
AI and Data Analytics D.E., Digital Transformation T.D, Digital Transformation Director
,
Vodafone
<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mostafa RAN AI and Data Analytics Vodafone distinguished engineer is a globally recognized authority in Digital Transformation and RAN strategy, design and optimization, applying AI/ML to new tools via using new innovative AI concept. He is also Chairman for ITU Network 2030, co-chairman in ITU FGML5G WG1, ETSI POC rapporteur chair and Board Member advisor for The AUC. Distinguished Engineers community consists of 15 world class members (Professors and Highest standard Engineering experts worldwide), shaping the future of the technology worldwide by researches and technical consultancies. Mostafa holds a BSc in Electronics & Telecommunication and is undertaking MSc in Nano-technologies & Artificial Intelligence. He holds 3 patents, the 4th in progress and has authored/contributed to numerous publications and participation regarding AI, Cognitive Networks in ITU-ETSI-GSMA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
Francisco Müller
Professor Associado
,
Universidade Federal do Pará
Francisco Müller é bacharel (2002), M.Sc. (2005) e doutor (2010) em Engenharia Elétrica pela Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA). É professor associado da Universidade Federal do Pará desde 2011 e é associado ao Grupo de Pesquisa 5G & IoT da LASSE e ao LaPS da UFPA. Ele foi um pesquisador visitante na Virginia Tech (2007). Os interesses atuais de pesquisa incluem MIMO massivo e estimativa e rastreio de canais de comunicação 5G/6G.
LIAO JUN
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Director
,
China Unicom
<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dr. Jun Liao is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Director (Senior Engineer of professor level) of China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute. Dr. Liao received his Ph.D. Degree in Computer Application Technology from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and conducted his postdoctoral study in Communication and Information System from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. He serves as the Head of AI Planning of China Unicom, Deputy-head of Standardization Group of China Artificial Intelligence Industry Development Alliance (AIIA). Dr. Liao has been working in areas of Computer, Communications and Internet for more than two decades, including communication network and terminal intelligence so that he has a wide knowledge of the telecommunication network, big data of terminal and terminal intelligence. He led an AI team not only to carry out research in the fields of network intelligence, consumer Internet intelligence and industrial Internet intelligence but also to commit to promoting in-depth cooperation with Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba and other Internet companies in the field of AI. He has published more than 40 papers, many of which are indexed by SCI and EI, and has also won many patents and software copyrights and published a monograph. Many research outcomes are adopted by standardization organizations such as ITU-T, ETSI, CCSA, AIIA, etc.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
Paul Patras
Co-founder and CEO
,
Net AI
Paul Patras is a co-founder and CEO of Net AI, and Associate Professor in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. Dr Patras has over 10 years of experience of leading research at the intersection of mobile networking, artificial intelligence and security, some of which has been transferred from the lab into commercial products. He has spearheaded the use of deep learning to solve several problems in the mobile networking domain, which were previously considered intractable. This includes mobile traffic decomposition and uncertainty-/capacity-aware traffic forecasting, for which Net AI holds unique IP.
AI for Good ML/5G sponsors

Bronze sponsor

CISCO
CISCO
ZTE
ZTE
AI for Good ML/5G partners

Promotion partners

LF AI Foundation
LF AI Foundation
SGINNOVATE
SGINNOVATE
NGMN
NGMN

Regional hosts

Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance (AIIA)
Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance (AIIA)
Barcelona Neural Net-working Center (BNN-UPC)
Barcelona Neural Net-working Center (BNN-UPC)
Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)
Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)
niversitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
niversitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
RISING
RISING
Indian Institute of Technology
Indian Institute of Technology
BADLIK/ ZTE
BADLIK/ ZTE
Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT)
Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT)
Turkcell
Turkcell
The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications
The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications

ITU AI/ML in 5G Grand Challenge Finale
15-17 December 2020

91-page dedicated issue of ITU NEWS Magazine on 2020-Challenge

ITU NEWS Magazine – English

ITU NEWS Magazine – French

ITU NEWS Magazine – Spanish

ITU NEWS Magazine – Russian

ITU NEWS Magazine – Chinese

ITU NEWS Magazine – Arabic