PhD Symposium

Title: A PhD is not about the thesis

Abstract: A PhD is much more than writing a thesis or publishing papers. It is a journey shaped by curiosity, uncertainty, collaboration, and continuous learning. In this keynote, I will share my personal experience throughout the PhD process, from my early research on context-aware IoT systems to later work on AI-driven Digital Twins, adaptive edge–cloud architectures, and real HPC infrastructures. Beyond the technical contributions, the talk aims to provide an honest and motivating perspective on how research ideas evolve over time, how unexpected opportunities shape our path, and how a PhD ultimately becomes a process of building both knowledge and identity as a researcher.

Bio: Daniel Flores-Martin is Head of the Systems and Supercomputing Department at COMPUTAEX, the Extremadura Supercomputing Center (Spain), and a lecturer at the University of Extremadura. He received his PhD in Information Technology from the University of Extremadura in 2023, with international mention and Cum Laude distinction, after completing his research under an FPU fellowship in the areas of IoT and Cloud Computing. He previously graduated in Computer Engineering and later completed MSc degrees in Computer Engineering and ICT Management, receiving several awards for academic excellence throughout his studies. His research interests include the Internet of Things, Context-Awareness, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile and Cloud Computing, Digital Twins, and High-Performance Computing. He is co-author of multiple international publications and has participated in several national and international research projects, research stays, teaching activities, and academic management tasks.