When Qurrat-ul-ain Nadeem was recognized as a Paul Baran Young Scholar in 2018, she remarked, “I think that this award will encourage more women in the region to enter the field of science and to accomplish even greater things.” As a young leader in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Nadeem embodies the innovative spirit and socially conscious approach to technology the award represents.

Now a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia, Nadeem is helping to create the technologies that will help rural communities access the Internet, exploring the applications for smart surfaces, and mentoring her students. We interviewed Nadeem to discuss her current work and her hopes for the future of ICT.

Tell us a bit about your current work and research.

I am working on the recent, transformative concept of smart radio environments, which use intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) to convert uncontrolled communication environments into smart reconfigurable spaces using low-cost passive reflecting elements. Through their efficiency and wide application potential, smart radio environments will help us build green, sustainable future networks. An IRS applies wave transformations onto the impinging electromagnetic waves and shapes them in desirable ways, without generating new radio signals and consuming significant additional power. The combined reflected signals can realize desired communication goals, like increased spatial focusing, coverage, data rates, reliability, while achieving high energy efficiency, making this approach very desirable beyond 5G communication systems. These IRSs are currently implementable using smart reflect-arrays and reconfigurable meta-surfaces. My current research focuses on the development of signal models for IRS-assisted wireless communication systems and their end-to-end performance analysis and optimization.

Another area I have recently started working on is rural connectivity, with the goal of identifying and designing appropriate communication technologies that can close the prevalent digital divide in the world. I am investigating multi-hop networks of flying platforms like unmanned aerial vehicles, high altitude platforms, and tethered balloons/drones that can cover thousands of kilometers of sparsely populated rural area. They communicate with each other using directional antennas over millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies before reaching a ground station through (for example) a free-space optics link. I am designing low-cost and low-complexity implementation schemes for multi-hop networks with a current focus on developing user association algorithms and placement algorithms for various flying nodes and platforms. This research area is particularly exciting because it has the potential to offer efficient, affordable connectivity to many areas in the world that do not have traditional broadband infrastructure.

Has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your research interests? If so, how?

Yes, definitely. The COVID-19 pandemic drove my interest in rural connectivity. Since last year, there has been an ever-greater reliance on high-speed Internet and mobile data with billions of people all across the world using it for connection, information, education, health, and work. While many people take their connectivity for granted, the fact is that not all communities have the same level of Internet access. At the end of 2018, nearly four billion people worldwide were reported to be without Internet access, with most of this unconnected population concentrated in rural and remote areas. This digital divide is a major factor impeding the socioeconomic growth of these communities. With the unprecedented advent of the astonishing 5G era, which I have so passionately worked on for the last five years, I strongly feel that researchers and industry professionals must actively work to narrow the digital divide and allow the isolated rural communities to experience the life-changing benefits that connectivity brings. As a young researcher, I want to play my part in this and, with support from my supervisor, I have been able to actively focus on the topic of rural connectivity since last fall.

How has the Young Scholar Award impacted your career or sense of yourself as a leader/mentor in the field?

Winning the Young Scholar Award has been one of the major highlights of my career so far and is an achievement that stands out in my CV and applications. The international recognition that this award brought my research helped me secure postdoctoral fellowships in several of the world’s leading universities and I am sure it will continue to play a huge role in shaping my future academic career.

Winning this award, especially as a female student from a developing country (Pakistan), has also made me kind of a role model for my students and colleagues at my current and past workplaces. I have a responsibility on my shoulders now to guide and lead them by example. I want them to see me not only as a competent and successful researcher but also as someone who actively practices empathy in research and believes that an empathetic approach can make one a more ethical researcher.

Why do you stay involved with the Young Scholars program at the Marconi Society?

The Young Scholar Award has given so much to me both on a personal and professional level, that I always want to give back to the program in whatever way I can. Also, the kind of networking opportunities I have had by being a part of the Young Scholars cohort are incredible and have helped me grow in my career, learn about new innovations happening in our field and think of ways to shape the future of ICT. 

How would you characterize your experience as a woman in engineering? 

Being a woman in electrical engineering research has been rewarding but also challenging and lonely at times. I have had to work hard to fit in with professional networks, and to identify role models who could show me the way forward. Moreover, as a new mother during my PhD, I was questioned at times about my commitment to my career and did see some career opportunities disappear. On the other hand, by being present, staying up to date with current research trends, and doing my work with commitment and dedication, I have been able to make myself heard and recognized as a prominent researcher in my field. I was also lucky to have extremely supportive supervisors during my PhD and my postdoctoral career, who always provided me with opportunities to grow and excel while also giving me space and time when I needed it. 

What is the most rewarding part of your work?

The most rewarding part of my research is that regardless of the outcome, all of the options or research directions in front of me lead to learning.

What do you think is the most important or exciting aspect of ICT in the coming decade?

For me, the most exciting trend is the advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the introduction of smart cities. Future communication networks will have to interconnect the physical and digital worlds in a seamless and sustainable manner. I think these networks have the potential to be turned into a distributed intelligent communications, sensing, and computing platform. Besides connectivity, this platform will be capable of sensing the environment to realize the vision of smart living in smart cities, and of locally storing and processing information. I look forward to seeing how smart cities will result in a better quality of life for their citizens by streamlining urban services like energy, healthcare, and transportation through smart technology. 

What does digital inclusion mean to you?

As someone who grew up and pursued her undergraduate studies in Pakistan, I have personally seen how lack of connectivity closes doors to a bright future for so many intelligent and smart youngsters of my country. Even though I come from an upper-middle class background, I  struggled when applying to universities due to the poor and uncertain Internet connection I had at home. Just imagine how limited the opportunities are for people who belong to middle-income or low-income backgrounds. While developed countries have moved onto 5G, most of the areas in developing countries still do not have basic Internet access. Having come from such a country, I feel very strongly about digital inclusion and believe that all of us in this field should do our part to close this digital divide.