Dr. Luc Rolland has joined the University of the West of Scotland as a lecturer on Robotics, Automation and Controls in the School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences. With industrial partners, he has been working on robotics and automation projects which are now nominated for innovation awards in Scotland and the UK. He is now being invited to participatein the first surgical robotics designs in countries like France, Italy and Switzerland. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Montreal Polytechnic (Engineering University) in December 1984 and then obtained his Master degree in Robotics Work cell Simulation where the research was partly funded by General Electric Canada proposing the first digital twins for animated simulation. From 1988 until 1996, he practised engineering in instrumentation, automation, controls and robotics on large scale factory projects for three different companies: SNC-Lavalin, BPCO and Met-chem (USX Consultants). From 1996 until 1998, as a research assistant at the Lausanne Federal Polytechnic (EPFL), he has designed the Manta and Kanuk robots, the first two 4 DOF parallel robots for Schoen flies motion, the resulting paper has been cited more than 100 times. Then, in 2003, he received his PhD diploma in computer science from the University Henri Poincare in Nancy (France), benefiting from three bursaries: the INRIA, Lorraine Region and CMW-Marioni, a company that manufactures high speed milling machines. He contributed to the first parallel robot simulator aimed at milling task certification, verification and fine-tuning. He was awarded two French Government prizes for outstanding research and technology transfer to industry. After his PhD thesis, he has been involved in various robotics and automation projects often involving partnerships with the industry. Recently, at UWS, for a local industrial partner, he designed and made a robotic work cell capable of high precision over large workspaces. He prepared the first automated industrial garment cleaning system based on ozone leaving no pollution. Among others, he has designed and controlled efficient and affordable solar trackers, rapid pointers, five-bar robot for test-tube filling, reconfigurable planar tripod, the fastest linear actuators, rigid revolute joint family including universal joints, hybrid drone. Hoe worked on sense-an-avoid algorithms for drones and the first certification framework for high speed milling and autonomous vehicles. He has worked on the automatic reprogramming of painting robots for Leyland Trucks and also contributed to the dynamics assembly plants by studying integration of articulated robots on mobile vehicles. He has experience in working with the oil and gas industry as he has designed the first redundant Fire and Gas System for the Hibernia offshore platform. He continues the design and controls of parallel robots for high performance with various academic partners in UK, France, Canada, Finland and Germany.

Pascal Lorenz has received his M.Sc. (1990) and Ph.D. (1994) from the University of Nancy, France. Between 1990 and 1995 he was a research engineer at WorldFIP Europe and at Alcatel-Alsthom. He is a professor at the University of Haute-Alsace, France, since 1995. His research interests include QoS, wireless networks and high-speed networks. He is the author/co-author of 3 books, 3 patents and 200 international publications in refereed journals and conferences. He was Technical Editor of the IEEE Communications Magazine Editorial Board (2000-2006), IEEE Networks Magazine since 2015, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology since 2017, Chair of IEEE ComSoc France (2014-2020), Financial chair of IEEE France (2017-2022), Chair of Vertical Issues in Communication Systems Technical Committee Cluster (2008-2009), Chair of the Communications Systems Integration and Modeling Technical Committee (2003-2009), Chair of the Communications Software Technical Committee (2008-2010) and Chair of the Technical Committee on Information Infrastructure and Networking (2016-2017), Chair of IEEE/ComSoc Satellite and Space Communications Technical (2022-2023), IEEE R8 Finance Committee (2022-2023), IEEE R8 Conference Coordination Committee (2023). He has served as Co-Program Chair of IEEE WCNC'2012 and ICC'2004, Executive Vice-Chair of ICC'2017, TPC Vice Chair of Globecom'2018, Panel sessions co-chair for Globecom'16, tutorial chair of VTC'2013 Spring and WCNC'2010, track chair of PIMRC'2012 and WCNC'2014, symposium Co-Chair at Globecom 2007-2011, Globecom'2019, ICC 2008-2010, ICC'2014 and '2016. He has served as Co-Guest Editor for special issues of IEEE Communications Magazine, Networks Magazine, Wireless Communications Magazine, Telecommunications Systems and LNCS. He is associate Editor for International Journal of Communication Systems (IJCS-Wiley), Journal on Security and Communication Networks (SCN-Wiley) and International Journal of Business Data Communications and Networking, Journal of Network and Computer Applications (JNCA-Elsevier). He is senior member of the IEEE, IARIA fellow and member of many international program committees. He has organized many conferences, chaired several technical sessions and gave tutorials at major international conferences. He was IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer Tour during 2013-2014.

Aroop Bhattacharjee : A Chartered Professional Engineer with over 30 years’ experience, working at various global locations, currently based in The Netherlands. I help organizations on : • Reducing costs • Reducing time to market • Increasing margins, and • Increasing employee engagement I take a holistic approach to create healthy organizations. The outcomes include not only physical, infrastructural, and procedural changes to existing manufacturing or business systems but also facilitate a necessary mindset shift at key organizational levels for successful implementation. Currently studying “AI and Applications” at Technical University Eindhoven.

Robert Hoffman is a senior technical leader with Arlo Solutions, based in Washington, DC. He is an AI Scientist and Agile Coach with expertise in lean, scaled agile, and complex technology delivery for the government sector. Robert specializes in AI strategy, data solutions, and product design, helping organizations simplify complex challenges and implement innovative, scalable technologies. He is passionate about applying artificial intelligence and agile methodologies to enhance operational efficiency and deliver impactful, mission-driven results.

Ifeoluwa Emmanuel Olagbaju is an Internal Audit Data Analytics expert, with extensive experience in leveraging data to drive risk assurance, operational efficiency, and business insights. With a background in Computer Science and an MBA in Management, Ifeoluwa has built a career in financial services, working with multinational institutions including asset managers, fund managers, and pension fund administrators. His work in internal audit has centred on data analysis, ETL development, data modeling, and reporting, empowering audit teams to make data-driven decisions. In recent years, Ifeoluwa has expanded his expertise into the field of Machine Learning (ML), focusing on how ML can bridge the gaps in anomaly detection, fraud detection, and continuous audit automation. He is exploring ways to integrate AI models into internal audit workflows, aiming to enhance risk detection and reduce audit cycle times. Passionate about knowledge sharing, he actively mentors aspiring data professionals, particularly those transitioning from non-technical backgrounds, and contributes his thoughts through writing and public speaking engagements.