In February 2026, I carried out a secondment at Telefónica in Barcelona, as part of the ENSURE-6G Staff Exchange Programme.
During this visit, my work focused on decentralised federated learning for 6G networks. We explored how my previous research can be adapted to operate in decentralised settings, moving beyond traditional federated learning approaches that rely on central coordination.
Together with the Telefónica team, we discussed how these methods can be modified to better fit the requirements of distributed 6G architectures, improving scalability, resilience, and privacy.
The secondment provided a valuable opportunity to connect academic research with real-world challenges in next-generation networks. As an outcome of this collaboration, we are currently working on a joint scientific publication on decentralised federated learning for 6G.
Many thanks to the Telefónica team for the warm welcome and inspiring collaboration, and for the sunny days in Barcelona that made the experience even more enjoyable.
Tijana Markovic
University of Portsmouth
