The 8th edition of the IEEE Summer School on Antennas, Propagation and RFID Applications took place in Bucharest on 8–9 September 2026. Over two days, the programme mixed technical talks, hands-on sessions and plenty of opportunities to exchange ideas between students and experts.
For the first time in its eight-edition history, the Summer School was hosted in Bucharest, at the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest.
As in previous years, the event continued its tradition of combining lectures with practical activities, creating space for informal exchanges between students, researchers and industry professionals.
Part of the programme also moved beyond the university campus, with participants visiting Orange Romania's Tandem headquarters for discussions dedicated to telecom networks and real-world technology applications.
The Summer School brought together 40 students and 12 faculty members from five universities, creating a diverse community interested in antennas, propagation, RFID, radio technologies and communications.
Besides participants from Bucharest, a lot of students and experts came from Constanța, Sibiu, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara. This gave students the opportunity to meet colleagues from other universities and exchange experience and ideas with colleagues, researchers and professionals working with the technologies they study.
Over two days, the programme moved from the fundamentals of antennas and radio propagation to topics such as radar, RFID, 5G, Massive MIMO, beamforming, AI for networks, IoT and Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC).
On 8 September at Orange Romania's Tandem headquarters, the programme was opened by Marius Maican, Technology Director, followed by an introduction from Raluca Vidrașcu, YOXO Lead. Orange sessions included topics on 5G Telecom Networks by Codruț Săvulescu, 4G/5G Radio Coverage Planning Using Specific Tools by Mihail Dumitrescu, Fixed Access Network & Transmission Insights by Iulian Gimiga, and AI for Networks by Ionuț Necula and Cosmin Șchioapa.
On 9 September, Răzvan Mihai, IoT Services Expert at Orange Romania, presented Introduction to ISAC Technology with Industrial and Defense Applications, proposing several bachelor's and master's thesis topics supported by European 6G research projects, 6G-MUSICAL and iSEE-6G.
A Summer School offers something different from a regular university course with its general theory and adapted, usually simplified, practical activities. During the summer school, participants get to see and experience the direct connection between academic knowledge and actual industrial technology.
Students can ask questions directly to researchers and industry specialists, discover technologies that may go beyond their regular curriculum and gain a better understanding of where telecommunications and radio technologies are heading.
These experiences can also help participants identify a future research topic, choose a bachelor's or master's thesis direction, explore possible career paths and build connections with people from other universities and the industry. At the same time, they show how important hands-on projects, internships and early involvement in real initiatives can be together with the curiosity to keep exploring new technologies.
After eight editions, the IEEE Summer School continues to strengthen the community around antennas and radio-frequency technologies. Orange Romania is happy to support initiatives that bring education and industry closer together and give students direct access to the technologies and expertise.