Fernando Real, second place in the COITT Telecommunications Awards

Ramon Machuca

Fernando Real Rojas has won the second national prize in the 'XVIII COITT Future of Telecommunications Awardss', specifically in the Telecommunication Systems category for their Final Degree Project entitled 'The BLOCC Method for Constrained Bilevel Optimization'. The project proposes a new algorithm for solving bilevel optimization problems, with applications in fields such as hyperparameter selection and telecommunication network planning. Part of the results of this work have been included in a publication that will be presented at the next edition of the international conference 'NeuroIPS', one of the most prestigious in the field of artificial intelligence.

During the event, Luis Miguel Chapinal, dean of COITT, highlighted the talent of the recent graduates. Francisco Javier Simó Reigadas, director of the Fuenlabrada School of Engineering, emphasized the fundamental role of telecommunications engineers in the digital transformation of society.

The jury, composed of professors from various telecommunications schools, evaluated the creativity, innovation, sustainability, and commercial viability of the submitted projects. A total of 13 projects were recognized in the categories of Sound and Image, Electronic Systems, Telecommunications Systems, and Telematics Engineering.

The COITT Awards, which recognize the best final projects in telecommunications engineering from universities across the country, have honored projects this year focused on key societal challenges, such as AI-based disease diagnosis, green hydrogen generation, and voice manipulation detection.