In March 2026, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Pisa, Italy, to attend the IEEE PerCom 2026 conference. Hosted at the beautiful CNR Research Area, the week was packed with insightful sessions, engaging workshops, and valuable networking.
The absolute highlight of the trip was on Wednesday, March 18th, during the poster presentation session. I presented our co-authored Work-in-Progress paper, and I am absolutely thrilled to announce that it received the Best Work-in-Progress award! Since the paper is not fully indexed just yet, you can find it listed among the accepted WiP papers here: Accepted WiP Papers.
The conference schedule was incredibly rich. I made sure to dive deep into the specific research areas by attending a wide array of workshops, including TrustSense, PerVehicle, SPT-IoT, PeRConAI, CoMoRe-AI, EmotionSense, and URBSENSE.
The main conference days were just as engaging, featuring inspiring keynotes from Nic Lane and Silvia Santini. Other memorable moments included the lively Teaser Madness, the Industry Panel, and the fantastic Gala Dinner. It was also a great environment for professional connections, and I particularly enjoyed catching up and networking with Prof. Reinhardt during a coffee break.
Navigating Pisa was a great experience. Staying at the Crown Guest House made it easy to hop on Bus Line 3+ to get to the CNR venue each day, and getting around via Pisa Centrale was very convenient. I was also glad I extended my trip slightly to explore the city and take in the local Italian sights.
This experience was a massive milestone for my academic journey. I am looking forward to applying all the feedback and insights gained from the community into my ongoing research!