COST Actions can boost the careers of researchers, providing paths to success by opening up new opportunities while spreading knowledge. Case in point – Yoram Haddad credits COST with helping him secure a tenured position, funding and even a prestigious French academic title.
Haddad’s involvement in COST dates back to 2012 and began shortly after completing his post-doctoral work in computer science. Within a year, he landed a major coup thanks to his participation in the 2010-2014 COST Action ‘Techno-Economic Regulatory Framework for Radio Spectrum Access for Cognitive Radio/Software Defined Radio’ (TERRA).
His feat? Publishing a joint conference paper on the opportunities presented by wireless software-defined networks, or SDNs, which has been cited more than 60 times. The publication led to a chapter in Software Defined Mobile Networks (SDMN): Beyond LTE Network Architecture.
SDNs make it possible to decouple control of a network – “the brain” – from the infrastructure. Benefits include cost-savings, a more efficient allocation of resources and an improved quality of experience.
“This paper got a lot of attention because it dealt with a new issue,” says Haddad, who is from COST Cooperating Member Israel. “It was a really good opportunity for me to collaborate and try to publish as soon as possible – we were among the first to do so.”
Career boost
Haddad says his involvement with TERRA – he was a Management committee member – was a lucky break that helped him win a major, five-year Israeli grant to continue research on SDNs, produce more publications and train graduate students.
In particular, his joint conference paper on SDNs – the result of an Action short-term scientific mission that took him to Paris – gave him an edge over the competition.
It “was a big advantage for me during the selection process in Israel because I was able to show the consortium awarding the grant that I have solid knowledge about the topic at hand,” Haddad says.
Together with other TERRA participants, Haddad made waves with another joint paper in 2015 – cited more than 70 times – that presented a vision of what high-speed 5G next generation cellular networks, expected to launch around the world in the coming years, will offer.
In total, Haddad has written more than 10 publications related to COST Actions, saying these helped him obtain a permanent position at the Jerusalem College of Technology.
“These publications are critical because they date back to the first years of my career and enabled me to gain tenure,” says the now 36-year-old.
Several – including a joint paper and book chapter – arose from his involvement in the 2013-2017 Action ‘Autonomous Control for a Reliable Internet of Services’ (ACROSS), for which he was a Working Group leader.
Haddad gained additional career-enhancing exposure by being a Management committee member in the 2011-2015 Action ‘Cooperative Radio Communications for Green Smart Environments’ and the ongoing Action ‘Inclusive Radio Communication Networks for 5G and beyond’ (IRACON). He was also a scientific expert on a COST Open Call Review Panel in Brussels several years ago.
“COST really boosts your career in terms of exposure to the world, conferences, journals,” he says. “It brought me more contacts, more publications and more experience.”
All this combined, Haddad notes, helped him obtain the academic title ‘Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, Computer Science and Networks’ from France’s famed Sorbonne University earlier this year.
“Thanks to this diploma, I can now apply for professor positions at French universities and research institutes,” he says.
Spreading the word
Haddad has actively sought to promote the benefits of COST – both in his native Israel and abroad, including South Africa.
During a short-term scientific mission to the country in 2014, his host and the Ministry of Science saw an opportunity to advertise COST, Haddad recalls. He ended up giving numerous presentations in Pretoria, Cape Town and elsewhere.
“Many people were exposed to COST for the first time so I believe my visit made them aware of the possibility to collaborate with European researchers,” he says.
In the years since, Haddad says he has always tried to talk about how COST can help both early career and experienced researchers advance professionally.
“I would call myself a COST enthusiast, yes – and maybe an ambassador,” he says.
View the Actions:
https://www.cost.eu/actions/IC0905/#tabs|Name:overview
https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA15104/#tabs|Name:overview
https://www.cost.eu/actions/IC1304/#tabs|Name:overview
https://www.cost.eu/actions/IC1004/#tabs|Name:overview
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