Syed Khurram Mahmud, PhD student in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, placed first at the IEEE International Conference for Multimedia and Exco, 2020.
The Three Minute Thesis challenges doctoral candidates to present a compelling spoken presentation on their research topic and its significance in just three minutes. 5 finalist, including Syed Khurram Mahmud, were shortlisted from participants and top three positions were decided by a panel of judges. The participants were initially required to submit a 3-minute video explaining their research in a succinct and comprehensive manner with an aid of a single slide only. The top three performers have been awarded cash prizes of 100, 200 and 300 GBP.
The competition was organized by IEEE International Conference for Multimedia and Expo, 2020. The IEEE International Conference on Multimedia & Expo (ICME) has been the flagship multimedia conference sponsored by four IEEE societies since 2000. It aims at promoting the exchange of the latest advances in multimedia technologies, systems, and applications from both the research and development perspectives of the circuits and systems, communications, computer, and signal processing communities. ICME attracts well over 1000 submissions and 500 participants each year, serving as the prime forum for the dissemination of knowledge in the multimedia field.
I joined Queen Mary in September 2018, under the supervision of Prof Yue Chen. I am in EECS and my research group is Communications Systems Research. The panel supervising me includes Prof Yue Chen, Dr Michael Chai and Dr Yuanwei Liu. I am grateful to my panel, for always encouraging me, backing me up and supporting me in thick and thin.
My PhD research pertains to Drones aided communication frameworks for the Internet of Things networks utilizing Machine Learning algorithms. I endeavour to introduce frameworks for maximizing the performance of the networks which include information gain and energy efficiency. Through these robust and swift communication frameworks, I aspire to contribute my bid in making the life convenient for a commoner. With the world becoming a global village the dependence on efficient and reliable communication networks cannot be overlooked.
Once I have completed my PhD, I hope to serve my country Pakistan upon my return and play my due role and part in academia and research. I endeavour to write a book on my research area and launch various research projects pertaining to my field to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
The experience at Queen Mary has transformed me into a researcher and has inculcated the desired acumen and traits. The help, support and ownership of students, I have experienced at Queen Mary is the hallmark of this institute in my opinion. My supervisory panel has always supported and encouraged me at all junctures, and have always been available to provide professional guidance, advice and support whenever required. Moreover, the Skill Development program with the courses and modules offered to doctoral candidates at Queen Mary has been of great benefit, augmenting and enhancing the desired skills in a researcher.
Follow the link below, for more information about the awards: https://www.2020.ieeeicme.org/index.php/awards/