Resilience, as an emerging research field, is strongly required as a core property of all kinds of critical systems. It describes the ability of a system to absorb shocks, recover promptly, adapt to maintain comparable functionality, and continuously improve by learning from such incidents. With the increasing complexity and heterogeneity of critical networks and systems, the scope of resilience is going beyond traditional fault tolerance and security paradigms and encompasses emerging requirements such as ultra-reliability, deterministic performance, trustworthiness, and privacy. This also necessitates advanced resilience measures, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models, quantum security, real-time and distributed reconfiguration methods etc.
Accordingly, the KuVS Research School on Network and System Resilience aims to foster the next generation of resilience researchers through collaborative learning, skill development, and community building. We invite early-career researchers working on resilient network and systems, whether just beginning on their studies or finishing their dissertation. We welcome all participants from diverse domains including wired and wireless communication, Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, mobile edge computing, hardware/software design, distributed operating systems etc., as well as using different methodologies such as AI/ML approaches, theoratical modeling, simulation/emulation/prototyping and beyond.
The participants are expected to submit a short research statement and give a lightning talk to share their research topics. No pressure though: it is mainly to help all participants become familiar with each others' work and serves as a valuable reference for future collaboration.
Practical Information
- Dates: 30 September – 2 October 2026
- Location: w3.hub, Berlin
- Participants: Early-career researchers (PhDs and PostDocs)
- Attendance: Free of charge for Resilient Worlds and KuVS members (become a KuVS member here!), 300€ for the other participants.
- Registration: Google forms (deadline: 22 August 2026)
- Submission: HotCRP (deadline: 29 August 2026)
Program
The research school offers a rich, multi-faceted program. Click on a talk to see its abstract and the speaker’s bio.
Lightning Talks: Each participant will deliver a 5+2 minute short presentation about their current research (summarized in the research statement) and ongoing challenges in their PhD journey. Guided group discussions will follow these talks to identify collaboration opportunities, and build meaningful connections with peers working on related topics.
Keynote Talks
Leading experts will present their perspectives on diverse topics in resilience research and highlight future directions:
KeynotePlanning and Evaluating Resilient Networks Prof. Carmen Mas Machuca, University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Abstract
Telecommunication networks have been identified as critical infrastructure. This implies that, in addition to the classical capacity and cost aspects, their planning and operation must address security and resilience. This talk presents critical aspects of current networks and gives an overview of the metrics that can be used to evaluate the robustness of a network. Furthermore, the talk will also address other related aspects such as sovereignty and dependencies.
Speaker bio
Carmen Mas-Machuca is a Full Professor with the Chair of Communication Networks at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (UniBW), Germany. Before, she was Privatdozentin at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Her research interests cover several topics related to optimal network planning taking reliability, resources, service requirements, security and/or cost into account. Network planning is applied to single and multiple domains or technologies as well as to new solutions (e.g., QKD).
Prof. Mas Machuca’s research is supported by several national (DFG, BMBF, DAAD) and EU funds (H2020, COST, ITN). She currently serves as a guest editor for IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, for OSA Journal on Optical Communications and Networking, as well as for IEEE Communications Magazine. She has authored over 300 publications and delivered invited talks at several major international conferences. She is the Chair of IEEE ONDM 2026 and Co-Chair of Optica Advanced Photonics Congress (Networks). She is an active contributor to IEEE and Optica technical committees including OFC, ECOC and ONDM, and an active member of the IEEE Germany Section Executive Committee.
KeynoteResilient Edge Computing Prof. Falko Dressler, TU Berlin
Abstract
As we move from 5G to 6G, edge computing is one of the concepts that needs revisiting. Its core idea is still intriguing: Instead of sending all data and tasks from an end user’s device to the cloud, edge servers deployed in close proximity to the user serve as proxy for the cloud. This is particularly interesting for upcoming machine learning (ML)-based intelligent services, which require substantial computational and networking performance for continuous model training. At the same time, disruptions and major outages of our communication infrastructure pose a very realistic threat to our mission-critical infrastructure and may also severely impact our daily life. Lessons learned from previous natural disasters helped identifying problems but also solution spaces. In this talk, we discuss a way forward, namely the virtual edge computing (V-Edge) concept. V-Edge helps bridging the gap between cloud, edge, and fog by virtualizing all available resources including the end users’ devices and making these resources widely available. Thus, V-Edge acts as an enabler for novel microservices as well as cooperative computing solutions in next-generation networks. We introduce the general V-Edge architecture, and we characterize some of the key research challenges to overcome, to enable wide-spread and intelligent edge services. This is further supported by concepts of turning mobile systems such as cars and trucks of first responders into mobile base stations to provide network coverage even when infrastructure such as the energy grid or the 5G base stations are down.
Speaker bio
Falko Dressler is full professor and Chair for Telecommunication Networks at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, TU Berlin. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Dept. of Computer Science, University of Erlangen in 1998 and 2003, respectively. Dr. Dressler has been associate editor-in-chief for IEEE Trans. on Network Science and Engineering, IEEE Trans. on Mobile Computing and Elsevier Computer Communications as well as an editor for journals such as IEEE/ACM Trans. on Networking, Elsevier Ad Hoc Networks, and Elsevier Nano Communication Networks. He has been chairing conferences such as IEEE INFOCOM, ACM MobiSys, ACM MobiHoc, IEEE VNC, IEEE GLOBECOM. He authored the textbooks Self-Organization in Sensor and Actor Networks published by Wiley & Sons and Vehicular Networking published by Cambridge University Press. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer as well as an ACM Distinguished Speaker. Dr. Dressler is an IEEE Fellow as well as an ACM Distinguished Member. He is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). He has been serving on the IEEE COMSOC Conference Council and the ACM SIGMOBILE Executive Committee. His research objectives include adaptive wireless networking (sub-6GHz, mmWave, visible light, molecular communication) and wireless-based sensing with applications in ad hoc and sensor networks, the Internet of Things, and Cyber-Physical Systems.
KeynoteAvoiding Breadcrumbs: Information Leakage in Anonymous Communication Networks and in Data Processing Prof. Esfandiar Mohammadi, University of Lübeck
Abstract
A rich body of literature shows that anonymity and privacy are brittle properties that can be easily violated by carelessly designed communication or data processing schemes. Already a few bits of information leakage can completely break anonymity and privacy against sufficiently resourceful attackers. In this talk, I will discuss some recent work about how to quantify information leakage in mix-net-style anonymous communication networks and about how to protect privacy in data processing tasks.
Speaker bio
Esfandiar Mohammadi is the head of the Privacy & Security (PrivSec) group in the Institute for IT-Security at the University of Lübeck and the director of the AnoMed research center. Since 2019, he has been a tenured W2 (i.e., associate) professor at the University of Lübeck. From 2016 to 2019, he worked as a postdoctoral ZISC fellow at ETH Zürich, where his host was David Basin. In 2015, he received his Ph.D. at Saarland University under the supervision of Michael Backes, where he stayed until 2016 as a postdoctoral researcher.
Mini-courses
Tutorial-style sessions on selected hot topics will provide in-depth exploration of promising research areas:
Mini-courseResilience in 5G and Beyond Networks Dr. Tobias Meuser, TU Darmstadt
Abstract
5G and beyond mobile communication networks are essential infrastructure for modern, interconnected societies. As digital interdependence grows, the resilience of these networks becomes increasingly critical: they must remain available, reliable, and adaptable during disruptions, crises, and natural disasters. This talk will outline key requirements for resilient future mobile networks. It will begin with a brief introduction to 5G and the technological innovations expected in 6G, before focusing on resilience as a central design principle. In particular, the talk will discuss the resilience-by-design approach, which aims to reduce dependence on central coordination, minimize single points of failure, and limit attack surfaces. By embedding resilience into the architecture of future networks, 6G can better support societal stability and continuity in times of disruption.
Speaker bio
Tobias Meuser received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and information technology from the Technical University of Darmstadt in 2019. Shortly thereafter, he became the Head of the Adaptive Communication Systems Group, Multimedia Communications Lab, TU Darmstadt. He is currently a Senior Researcher with the Chair of Communication Networks, TU Darmstadt. He has also conducted research with the IMDEA Networks Institute, Madrid, and with the University of Oslo. His current research focuses on enhancing the resilience of communication networks through distributed monitoring, adaptation, and artificial intelligence.
Mini-courseFederated Learning: Trust, Incentives, and Efficient Adaptation in Distributed AI Systems Prof. Baturalp Buyukates, University of Birmingham
Abstract
Federated Learning (FL) enables multiple clients to collaboratively train machine learning models without sharing their raw data, making it a promising framework for privacy-aware and distributed AI. However, practical federated systems face several fundamental challenges, including malicious participants, client drift arising from heterogeneous local data, communication constraints, and the difficulty of scaling to modern foundation models. This lecture will introduce the foundations of federated learning and discuss several emerging research directions in trustworthy, efficient, and scalable federated AI systems. The lecture will first examine trust and security in federated systems, covering Byzantine attacks, anomaly detection, and verifiable federated learning mechanisms. It will then explore incentive and valuation problems in collaborative learning, including federated data markets and Shapley-based client contribution estimation. Finally, the lecture will discuss efficient and scalable federated learning methods, including latent information sharing for handling heterogeneity and parameter-efficient adaptation of large language models through Federated LoRA.
Through these examples, the lecture presents federated learning not only as a distributed optimization framework, but also as a broader systems problem involving trust, incentives, efficiency, and collaboration across distributed AI systems. The lecture aims to provide both a conceptual introduction to federated learning and an overview of current research challenges and emerging directions in the field.
Speaker bio
Baturalp Buyukates is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham, where he is part of the Socio-Technical Systems group. Previously, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Southern California. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University, Turkey.
His research lies at the intersection of machine learning, distributed systems, and networked AI. His current work focuses on trustworthy and efficient LLMs, multi-agent and distributed AI systems, federated and privacy-preserving learning, and uncertainty-aware AI. More broadly, he is interested in understanding how communication, computation, and collaboration constraints shape modern AI systems.
Dr. Buyukates received the 2024 CTTC Andrea Goldsmith Young Scholars Award for contributions to age of information, low-latency communications, distributed computation, and learning. His work has also received multiple best paper recognitions. In 2021, he received the George Harhalakis Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland for his doctoral research on timely information delivery in large-scale networks, distributed computation, and machine learning. He serves on the technical and organizing committees of several major conferences and is currently an editor for IEEE Transactions on Green Communications and Networking and MDPI Entropy.
Mini-courseDesigning Resilient (Software) Systems for Space Dr. Andreas Lund, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Abstract
Space missions impose extreme demands on software systems, which must operate reliably for several years under harsh conditions such as radiation, limited resources, and the impossibility of physical maintenance. This tutorial introduces the unique challenges of the space domain for electronics and software, and explores established fault-tolerant design approaches for space systems. These include process-oriented methodologies, systems engineering and software development strategies as well as on-board software mechanisms.
Subsequently, the tutorial demonstrates how these challenges are addressed in practice by using real-world examples to illustrate resilient software solutions for complex systems, including reconfiguration, virtualization, isolation, and resilience frameworks. Finally, it discusses future topics for resilient space systems, including advanced autonomous decision-making capabilities.
Speaker bio
Dr. Andreas Lund received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and his Master’s and PhD (in Embedded Systems) from Goethe University Frankfurt, where his research focused on Self-Organizing Distributed Embedded Systems. Since 2019, he has been with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a researcher in Onboard Software Systems, initially working on Reconfigurable Onboard Computer (OBC) Software. In 2024, he became group lead of the “Quality Assurance and Resilience” group in DLR’s Flight Software Department, where his main focus is now on the research of methods for software quality and resilience.
Hackathons
Hands-on sessions where participants learn popular research tools and work together to build practical implementations:
HackathonNetwork Resilience under Traffic Stress (OMNeT++ / INET) Dr. Nurefşan Sertbaş Bülbül, University of Hamburg
Abstract
In this hackathon, you will simulate a simple client–server network using OMNeT++ (INET). Clients generate traffic towards a web server through a shared network infrastructure. You will study:
- congestion effects (normal load and congestion)
- bursty traffic behavior (flash crowds)
- DDoS-like overload
- botnet-driven coordinated attacks (optional – advanced)
- resilience and mitigation strategies including rate limiting, load balancing, redundancy, and basic “attack awareness”
Speaker bio
Dr. Nurefşan Sertbaş Bülbül is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Informatics at the University of Hamburg. Her research focuses on the design and optimization of next-generation communication networks, with particular emphasis on flexible and resilient architectures. She specializes in time-sensitive networking and emerging paradigms for reliable and low-latency data transmission. Dr. Bülbül has published her work in leading international conferences, including IEEE ICC, GLOBECOM, NOMS, and LCN. Her research combines theoretical modeling with practical system design to address real-world networking challenges. She actively collaborates with international research groups on cutting-edge communication technologies. In addition to her research, she contributes to teaching and mentoring in computer science and networking. Her work aims to advance the performance and robustness of future networked systems.
HackathonResilient Edge AI Voice Assistant on ESP32 Dr. Shadi Attarha, University of Bremen
Abstract
This project explores the design of a resilient edge AI voice assistant based on the ESP32-S3 platform. Participants will build an embedded voice interface using an I²S microphone, speaker, and cloud-based large language models (LLMs), while investigating how the system behaves under adverse conditions such as network degradation, cloud service interruptions, and resource constraints. The project introduces adaptive execution strategies, including dynamic switching between cloud and local processing, graceful degradation, and fault-aware decision making. Through hands-on implementation, participants will gain practical experience in embedded AI, edge computing, and the principles of resilience in connected systems.
Speaker bio
Shadi Attarha received her PhD at the University of Bremen, where her research focused on resilient and fault-tolerant IoT systems. She is interested in developing efficient and reliable IoT solutions that can maintain their performance at runtime, even in the presence of system errors. As IoT technologies become increasingly integrated into different application domains, ensuring their robustness and dependability is becoming more important.
Social Activities
Informal gatherings and activities designed to strengthen community bonds in a relaxed atmosphere.
| Time | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:45 | Opening & Menti Survey | Keynote II | Mini-course III |
| 09:45 – 10:30 | Keynote I | Keynote III | |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break | ||
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Lightning Talks | Mini-course I | Hackathon (I–II) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch | ||
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Lightning Talks | Mini-course II | Hackathon (I–II) |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee Break | ||
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Lightning Talks | Soft Skill | Closing & Menti Survey |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Joint Discussion & Group Work | Social Event | |
| 18:00 – | Dinner | ||
Registration and Submission
The research school is free of charge for the Resilient Worlds and KuVS members. For other participants, the registration fee is 300€. We expect the participants to register via the following link and declare their dietary choices and any other special needs in advance. You will receive further instructions for the payment, if you are not a KuVS member. The deadline for the registration is 22 August 2026 (extended). The admission will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. KuVS members will be given priority in the selection process.
- Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/35mhcfvp
All participants are expected to submit a short research statement up to two pages (double-column, IEEE format). Rather than presenting novel results, these statements should describe your research topic and your planned or current approach. All research statements will be made publicly available alongside a final school report. The deadline for the submission is 29 August 2026 (extended).
- Submission link: https://tinyurl.com/j4h8vxfv
You can also see what we have done in the previous research schools in Organizers
The research school is jointly organized by DFG SPP 2378 Resilient Worlds research program and GI’s Kommunikation und Verteilte Systeme (KuVS) special interest group. The main organizers are:
- Dr. Doğanalp Ergenç, TU Berlin
- Dr. Shadi Attarha, Uni. Bremen
- Dr. Nurefşan Sertbaş Bülbül, UHH
For any questions and inquiries, please contact Dr. Shadi Attarha and Dr. Nurefşan Sertbaş Bülbül.