Isam Zabalawi
PhD,FIET,C Eng,Eur-Ing,FIEAust
Keynote Speech Title:
Engineering Education 5.0: Reimagining Electrical Engineering Education in the Age of AI
Abstract:
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping higher education, ushering in a new paradigm often characterized as Engineering Education 5.0—an evolution beyond conventional digital transformation toward intelligent, adaptive, human-centered learning ecosystems. Within electrical engineering education, this transformation presents unprecedented opportunities to rethink how future engineers are taught, assessed, and prepared for increasingly AI-enabled professional environments.
This keynote examines the transformative role of AI in electrical engineering education, highlighting how emerging technologies such as generative AI, intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive learning platforms, learning analytics, digital twins, and AI-enhanced simulation environments are redefining both teaching and learning processes. AI now enables personalized learning pathways that adapt to individual student needs, supports real-time formative feedback, enhances problem-solving practice, facilitates automated assessment, and expands access to virtual and remote laboratory experiences that complement traditional hands-on instruction.
Beyond classroom innovation, the keynote addresses the broader curricular implications of Engineering Education 5.0. As AI becomes deeply embedded in industrial systems, electrical engineering curricula must evolve to incorporate AI literacy, data-driven engineering methods, interdisciplinary problem solving, and competencies related to human–AI collaboration. Preparing graduates for future engineering practice requires not only technical fluency with intelligent systems but also critical thinking, ethical reasoning, creativity, and adaptability.
At the same time, the integration of AI into engineering education introduces significant challenges. Questions surrounding academic integrity, overreliance on AI-generated solutions, transparency, algorithmic bias, data privacy, faculty readiness, assessment validity, and accreditation expectations demand thoughtful institutional responses. The keynote will critically examine these tensions while proposing balanced strategies for responsible adoption.
Drawing on emerging practices and strategic perspectives in digital transformation, this keynote presents a framework for reimagining electrical engineering education as an intelligent, resilient, and learner-centered ecosystem. It argues that AI should not be viewed merely as a technological enhancement, but as a catalyst for systemic educational transformation that redefines the roles of educators, learners, laboratories, and institutions. The keynote concludes with actionable recommendations for academic leaders, educators, and policymakers seeking to align electrical engineering education with the demands of the AI-driven future.
Short Biography:
Professor Isam Zabalawi is the President of the Australian University (AU). With a PhD in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Leeds University, he is specialized in analog and digital signal processing and communication techniques. His interests include the communication industry, information technology, technology transfer and higher education development and reform. Professor Zabalawi is a well-published research scholar and prior to joining AU in 2017, held senior positions including President of The Arab Academy for Banking & Financial Sciences, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Jordan, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah (UAE), Chairman of the Higher Education Accreditation Council of Jordan, founding minister for establishing the German-Jordanian University and founding President of the International University for Science and Technology (IUST) in Syria 2005-2007. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and awarded the Engineering Executive credentials. Additionally, he is a fellow of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) – United Kingdom and he is a fellow with the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI). He served as a Higher Education Reform Expert (HERE’s) with the European Commission and Erasmus+ (Tempus) Office, Jordan.
Prof. Mohammad S. Sharawi
Fellow-IEEE, University of Washington and Blue Origin LLC.
Keynote Speech Title:
Beyond the Horizon: Antenna Engineering at the Frontier of 6G and Space Communications
Abstract:
The wireless industry stands at an inflection point. Fifth-generation (5G) networks are now a commercial reality serving billions of users, yet the demands of the coming decade — holographic communications, industrial automation, universal global coverage, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and Artificial-Intelligence (AI) driven services — already exceed what current technologies can deliver. The path to 5G incorporated the introduction of several technologies and the utilization of the mm-wave band for the first time for higher data throughput. This keynote presents a research-driven perspective on the key driving technologies leading to beyond 5G networks, along with some antenna engineering challenges and opportunities. In addition, we will consider industrial perspectives on some of the opportunities for Space communications and networks.
The talk opens by examining the unfulfilled promises of 5G and the technical imperatives driving 6G: peak data rates of 1 terabit per second, sub-millisecond latency, and truly global coverage including oceans, airways, and polar regions. Against this backdrop, research contributions at the frontier of sub-terahertz antenna arrays operating beyond 140 GHz, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for dynamic propagation control, holographic MIMO exploiting near-field spatial degrees of freedom, and the integration of high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) into the 3GPP non-terrestrial network framework will be presented.
The convergence of satellite and terrestrial communications is then discussed, exploring how phased array antennas for LEO constellations, space-qualified active electronically scanned arrays, and low-cost flat-panel user terminals are reshaping the economics of global connectivity. Examples from the space industry that are pushing the connectivity boundaries will be presented along with some of their challenges. The keynote concludes with an assessment of some open research challenges ahead and several opportunities for academic-industry collaboration in advancing the beyond 5G terrestrial and space communications and networks.
Short Biography:
Mohammad S. Sharawi (Fellow, IEEE) is currently a Principal Engineer at Blue Origin LLC working on cutting edge research and development projects for space communication systems. He is also an affiliate Full-Professor with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. He was a Full-tenured Professor (Professeur titulaire) of electrical engineering with Polytechnique Montreal, Quebec, Canada between 2019-2023. Dr. Sharawi was with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, from 2009 to 2018, where he founded and directed the Antennas and Microwave Structure Design Laboratory (AMSDL). He was a Visiting Professor with the Intelligent Radio Laboratory (iRadio), Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in summer–fall 2014.
He was a Visiting Research Professor with Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA, during 2023 and in 2013. Dr. Sharawi has more than 430 papers published in refereed journals and international conferences, 11 book chapters (two of which in the Antenna Handbook, fifth edition, McGraw Hill, 2018), one single authored book titled Printed MIMO Antenna Engineering (Artech House, 2014), the Lead Author of the book Design and Applications of Active Integrated Antennas (Artech House, 2018), and a co-author of the book MIMO Antenna Systems for 5G and Beyond (IEEE-Wiley, 2024). He has 28 issued/granted and ten pending patents in the U.S. Patent Office. Dr. Sharawi’s research interests include multiband printed multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems, reconfigurable and active integrated antennas, millimeter-wave antennas, integrated 4G/5G and beyond 5G antenna systems, shared-aperture and encapsulated antennas, dielectric resonator antennas, microwave sensors, applied electromagnetics, sub-THz structures, and computational methods. He received his MSc. and PhD. degrees from Oakland University, Michigan, USA, in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Dr. Sharawi was a recipient of the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation Award for Arab Researchers for the category of wireless systems in 2020 in addition to various best IEEE conference paper awards.
He has served on the Technical and Organizational Program Committees as well as organized several special sessions on MIMO antenna systems and their applications in 4G and 5G wireless systems in several international conferences, such as European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), Antennas and Propagation Society (APS), International Microwave Workshop Series on 5G Hardware and System Technologies (IMWS-5G), Asia-Pacific Conference on Antennas and Propagation (APCAP), International Workshop on Antenna Technology (iWAT), among many others for many years. He has served as the IEEE APS Chair for the Montreal Section (2020–2023) and an Active Member for the IEEE Member Benefits Committee leading the initiative of the APS Student Travel Grant. He was also the Regional Delegate of the EuRAAP in North America. He served as the AP/MTT/ED Seattle joint chapter Co-Chair and the Montreal APS chapter chair. He was an Associate Editor of IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters from 2019 to 2023. He was the Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Communications and Networks for the System and Test-Bed Design Section from 2020 to 2022.
He has been serving as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation and IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation (Wiley), and an Area Editor (antennas and microwave devices and systems) for Microwave and Optical Technology Letters (Wiley) since 2020. He is a Distinguished Lecturer (DL) for APS for the period 2023–2025, and a Fellow of the IEEE and IET.
Dr. Ahmad Bani Younes
Director of the Center of Excellence for Innovative Projects (CEIP) at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)
Keynote Speech Title:
Data-Driven Innovation: From Concept to Intelligent Robotics and Space
Abstract:
Advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems are reshaping the future of aerospace and intelligent engineering.
This seminar explores the journey from innovative concepts to real-world technologies, highlighting how data-driven methodologies, intelligent algorithms, and systems engineering enable the development of autonomous solutions for complex challenges.
Drawing on research and practical experience in guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), robotics, unmanned aerial systems, and AI-driven aerospace applications, the seminar presents examples of integrating sensing, decision-making, and autonomy into next-generation engineering systems.
It also discusses the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship in translating research into impactful technologies that benefit society.
The session aims to inspire students, researchers, and professionals to think beyond traditional boundaries and embrace the opportunities created by the convergence of AI, robotics, and aerospace engineering.
Short Biography:
Dr. Ahmad Bani Younes is currently the Director of the Center of Excellence for Innovation Projects at Jordan University of Science and Technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, and his research focuses on guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems, robotics, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and space technologies.
He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications integrating AI with aerospace applications.
Throughout his career, Dr. Bani Younes has led and contributed to multidisciplinary research projects at universities in the United States and the Middle East, while directing advanced aerospace research laboratories.
His work is dedicated to advancing intelligent aerospace systems, fostering innovation, and translating cutting-edge research into impactful real-world applications.