Syed Waqas Haider Shah

Dr Syed Waqas Haider Shah

BE MS PhD

  • Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
  • School Technology Department of Computer Science and Technology - The Computer Laboratory
  • Email sw920@cl.cam.ac.uk

Syed is a communication theorist and policy researcher specializing in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), dedicated to advancing robust, intelligent, and sustainable future wireless networks. He focuses on developing practical, low-complexity solutions that seamlessly bridge physical and cyber worlds in next-generation wireless systems.

Syed Waqas Haider Shah

Syed is a leading communication theorist and policy researcher with a focus on integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), committed to advancing intelligent, resilient, and sustainable wireless networks of the future. He is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Fellow at the Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge. Previously, he was a Juan-de-la-Cierva Research Fellow at IMDEA Networks Institute in Madrid, where he explored ISAC across multi-band, multi-static, and multi-technology wireless networks. During this Fellowship, he contributed to the development of one of the first 5G-NR–compliant long-range in-band wireless control mechanisms for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) and served as Co-Principal Investigator of the TUCAN6-CM project, funded by the Regional Government of Madrid. From 2022 to 2024, he held an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship at IMDEA Networks, focusing on the effects of aging wireless channel information on RIS performance and on designing practical, low-complexity signal-processing techniques for next-generation waveforms. He has also led several international industry–academia collaborations with InterDigital Europe, NEC Laboratories, Huawei, Northeastern University, and TU Darmstadt, and has co-supervised multiple PhD researchers.

Syed has held additional research appointments, including a Visiting Research Fellowship at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and a consultancy for a NATO-funded project at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar), where he developed secure communication mechanisms for RIS-enabled millimetre-wave systems.

He completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering at the Information Technology University, Pakistan, supported in part by a prestigious Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarship at the University of Cambridge. His earlier experience includes academic teaching, lab leadership, and mentoring at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Syed is also an alumnus of the Oxford Machine Learning Summer School, reflecting his broader interest in interdisciplinary, AI-driven communication systems.

Syed is a scientific member of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, IEEE, IEEE Communications Society, ACM, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).

His research focuses on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), a defining scenario for 6G networks. ISAC enables wireless signals not only to transmit data but also to function as distributed sensors, extracting real-time information from the environment. By bridging the physical and digital worlds, ISAC supports transformative applications such as digital twins, autonomous driving, environmental monitoring, and privacy-preserving healthcare. His work emphasizes the integration of scene understanding, semantic data fusion, and explainable AI to develop transparent, resource-efficient ISAC systems. Embedding ISAC into future wireless networks is essential for sustainability, enabling technological innovation without excessive energy or infrastructure costs.

Positioned at the interface of wireless communication, signal processing, and integrated sensing, his research aims to design next-generation mobile networks that are reliable, high-performing, and environmentally responsible. This reflects both the trajectory of 6G wireless systems and the societal imperative to develop infrastructures aligned with long-term sustainability goals.

He is the Principal Researcher of 6G-SCOUT: 6G Integrated Sensing and Communication for Ubiquitous Wireless Networks, funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe program at the University of Cambridge. 6G-SCOUT is advancing 6G by developing sustainable, environmentally responsible ISAC systems that integrate communication and sensing. The project focuses on designing resource-efficient algorithms for network optimization, developing cooperative sensing techniques for localization and scene understanding, and ensuring transparency and explainability of AI-driven solutions. A key aspect of the project is the practical validation of its designs using real-world testbeds. Through broad dissemination and support for EU value-based 6G standards, 6G-SCOUT aims to foster a global impact while promoting intelligent, sustainable, and trustworthy next-generation wireless networks.

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