Social Program

During ISIT 2026, the IT Society has scheduled several events that are open to all attendees but require registration so that catering can be arranged appropriately. Seats for some of these events are limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The program at a glance (PDF file) is available here.

Alumni in Industry

When? June 29, 2026 (Monday) 13:00-14:00

Where? Room 603B

Description: Join us for a panel session exploring how information theory drives the industrial frontier, as networks transition toward 6G and intelligence-native architectures and translate theoretical limits into practical systems.
This year’s event features senior technical leaders and visionary researchers from both the industry and academia. Through short, focused presentations, our panelists will discuss the roadmap for 6G physical layer technologies, AI-empowered air interfaces, and the role of information theory.
Come by to ask questions related to careers in industry, how to build connections, and also learn about the use of information theory in other fields. Lunch will be provided.

ITxAI: From Information Age to AI Age (Panel sponsored by Chaspark)

When? June 29, 2026 (Monday) 14:00-15:20

Where? Room 602B

Organizers: Qunying Zhang (Chaspark, China) and Bo Bai (Huawei Theory Lab, China)

Moderator: Tingyi Wu (Huawei, China)

Description: Grounded in the origin of information theory and closely aligned with the cutting-edge transformative trends of the deep convergence between communications and artificial intelligence, this panel focuses on key scientific challenges at the interdisciplinary crossroads to conduct in-depth discussions. Centering around five major propositions—AI-empowered non-linear channel coding innovation, the reconstruction of information performance evaluation frameworks for semantic-driven token communications, the back-feeding of classical optimal sequence decision theory to optimize large model generation paradigms, overcoming the inherent hallucination bottlenecks of large models based on information-theoretic causal modeling, and the cross-disciplinary mutual learning between communication reception and diffusion denoising mechanisms—the session assembles leading experts in the field for critical exchange, explores new paths for cross-domain breakthroughs in information science, and drives the innovative evolution of next-generation intelligent communications and native AI theoretical frameworks. The panelists are:

• Lizhong Zheng (MIT, USA and HKUST, China)
• Ioannis Kontoyiannis (University of Cambridge, UK)
• Lei Li (Chinese Academy of Science, China)
• Bo Bai (Huawei Theory Lab, China)

WITHITS

When? June 30, 2026 (Tuesday) 13:00-14:00

Where? Room 603B

Description: The WITHITS and D&I Networking Lunch event offers a vibrant, supportive space for women and allies in the Information Theory community to connect. This one-hour event is planned to be a highly interactive networking event in a round-table format. 

Attendees will be seated at round tables, each anchored by senior mentors. The conversations within the tables are encouraged through curated slides that explore topics: adapting classical research in the age of AI, cultivating mentors, balancing work and personal life, overcoming paper rejections, navigating the evolving choice between academia and industry roles and more. Lunch will be provided.

Unconference: Generative AI and LLMs

When? June 30, 2026 (Tuesday) 14:10-15:20

Where? Room 603B

Description: Join us for an unconference on the impact of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) across research, education, and industry. This event encourages students and seasoned researchers to openly discuss how they integrate these cutting-edge technologies into their academic tasks and explore their profound influence on education, research, and their future careers—whether in academia or beyond. This year's focus is on the impact of AI, particularly generative AI and LLMs, on the labor market and employability in areas related to information theory. We will invite industry and academic leaders share perspectives and spark conversation. Please consider joining this collaborative discussion and explore how generative AI and LLMs are transforming the way we work.

Answer this survey (it takes 3-5 minutes) to help us shape the discussion: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfCtySVwF2-7QCZLRoE5z86EAv4EzDNh4eUg3mmZW4s8kE6xQ/viewform?usp=dialog

Meet the Shannon Lecturer

When? July 2, 2026 (Thursday) 13:00-14:00

Where? Main Hall

Interviewer: Hamdi Joudeh and Alfonso Martinez

Description: Join us for lunch as we interview the 2025 Shannon Lecturer, Frans Willems of TU Eindhoven, about his youth, education, technical and non-technical interests, and perspective on the future of information theory.  After the interview, you will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to this year’s Shannon Lecturer in a live Q&A session. Lunch will be provided.

The Evolution of Information Theory in China (Panel)

When? July 1, 2026 (Wednesday) 13:00-14:20

Where? Room 602B

Moderator: En-Hui Yang (University Professor, University of Waterloo, Canada)

Description: Information theory has revolutionized communication and digital infrastructure worldwide. In China, its impact is particularly pronounced: before the early 1990s, having a landline telephone at home was a rare privilege; today, high-speed mobile connectivity and digital services are ubiquitous. Behind this remarkable transformation lies decades of research, education, and innovation shaped by the development of Information Theory.
Bringing together leading scholars and industry experts, this panel offers a multi-dimensional perspective spanning historical development, institutional traditions, global exchanges, and the interplay between theory and large-scale system deployment. It traces key phases from early foundational work in the 1950s, through the reform-era expansion that opened Chinese research to the international community, to the more recent integration of information-theoretic ideas into industrial innovation, engineering standards, and cryptographic infrastructure. The discussion will conclude by looking forward, examining the evolving scope of information theory and its growing connections to security and artificial intelligence, as well as emerging frameworks in semantic communication—efforts to extend classical information theory beyond syntactic transmission toward the meaning and utility of information itself.
By combining historical insight with forward-looking discussion, this panel aims to provide both context and inspiration for researchers, practitioners, and students interested in the continuing evolution of information theory in China and around the world. The panelists are:

• Xinmei Wang (Professor Emeritus, Xidian University, Mainland China)
• Weiling Wu (Professor Emeritus, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Mainland China)
• Shuwang Lü (Professor Emeritus, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mainland China)
• Zhen Zhang (Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California, USA)
• Raymond W. Yeung (Chair Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
• Yunghsiang Han (Professor Emeritus, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan; Professor, Great Bay University, Mainland China)
• Chih-Lin I (Chief Scientist, China Mobile Research Institute, Mainland China)

Mentoring and Outreach

When? July 1, 2026 (Wednesday) 13:00-14:20

Where? Room 603B

Description: This mentoring event includes a series of roundtables moderated by various members of the IEEE ITSoc and industry focusing on topics relevant to the experience of students, postdoctoral students, and young faculty members. We look forward to your participation in this event as an opportunity to network and exchange ideas with all members of the community. Lunch will be provided.

Information Theory in the Age of AI/ML (Panel)

When? July 2, 2026 (Thursday) 15:40-17:00

Where? Room 602B

Organizers: Sidharth Jaggi (University of Bristol, UK) and Wei Yu (University of Toronto, Canada)

Moderators: Jun Chen (McMaster University, Canada) and Wei Yu (University of Toronto, Canada)

Description: What can information theory offer to the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)? What can AI/ML offer information theory? What are the theoretical breakthroughs that will impact the future development of AI/ML? How will AI/ML change the way data compression algorithms are designed in the future? How will AI/ML impact coding and wireless communications? Will large language models and agentic AI revolutionize the way information theory research is conducted? What are some of the security/privacy implications? This panel will open a dialogue on these tantalizing questions and postulate how the information theory community will evolve in the age of AI/ML. The panelists are:

• Yuejie Chi (Yale University, USA)
• Henry Pfister (Duke University, USA)
• Parastoo Sadeghi (University of New South Wales, Australia)
• Jun Zhang (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China)