Huawei Opens Mathematics Research Center in France:
Leveraging Local Advantages in Basic Research to Create a Favorable Academic Ecosystem
Paris, June 14, 2016 – During its fourth European Innovation Day, Huawei announced the opening of a Mathematics Research Center in France, the second of its kind in the company. Huawei’s first Mathematics Research Center is located in Russia. This is another move by Huawei in its pursuit of basic scientific research, particularly concerning mathematical algorithms. In the future, Huawei aims to work more closely with French academia to create a favorable academic ecosystem, combine France’s advantages in basic research with Huawei’s capabilities in applying research results in actual business scenarios, and help bring France’s talent and technologies to the rest of the world, thus promoting the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
Guests present at the opening ceremony included Thierry Mandon, Minister of State for Higher Education and Academic Research, and William Xu, Huawei’s Executive Director of the Board and Chief Strategy Marketing Officer. William Xu remarked, “Mathematics is the tool used to make everything possible. For example, mathematical logic and algorithms are the foundation for effectively managing massive amounts of data traffic. Now, mathematical research is leading to brand-new breakthroughs in the ICT industry. France has been the birthplace of many world-class mathematicians.” Xu continued, “Huawei is committed to innovation and has been investing in R&D in the area of massive data traffic transmissions over the past 29 years. We invest 10%–15% of our sales revenue in R&D every year. It is our long-term, patient investment that has led to strategic breakthroughs. For example, Huawei’s Russian mathematicians have made revolutionary breakthroughs in algorithms for 2G and 3G systems. The integration of algorithms has enabled Huawei to produce more competitive, lighter, and smaller products.”
Thierry Mandon explained: “The opening of Huawei mathematics R&D Center is proof of the excellence of the French school teaching of maths and more widely in the quality of research in France recognized worldwide today.”
The research center will be led by Mérouane Debbah, full professor at CentraleSupélec and specialist in the field of telecommunications. He said, “We will inevitably face physical barriers or homogeneity problems as the information society continues to develop. Mathematics is crucial for developing advanced, high-performance, and differentiated chips and software products. To support communications and information processing with lower latency, higher bandwidth, and better power efficiency, we need to make theoretical breakthroughs. This Mathematics Research Center will conduct in-depth research on mathematical algorithms, design new architecture and algorithms, apply new mathematical tools and models to the ICT sector, and build a new theory system. Meanwhile, Huawei will forge close partnerships with Supélec, Eurocom, Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies (IHES), Télécom ParisTech, and other colleges and universities.”
Currently, this research center employs over 80 researchers, all of whom have a doctorate degree or higher. Mérouane Debbah added, “One of our goals, beyond technological research, is to train more young French talent for the global ICT industry. The center will present great opportunities for mathematicians. I believe many young experts will have the opportunity to work with our research teams around the world and begin their career in an international environment.”
Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, this research center is dedicated to exploring France’s basic mathematical resources, and conducting basic research into the physical and network layers of communications, distributed and parallel computing, data compression and storage, and other basic algorithms. In addition, the research center will focus on strategic projects (e.g., 5G) and short-term products, and design an overall architecture for distributed algorithms. Thus far, Huawei has established 16 research centers worldwide, including the France Research Center, under which there are four teams respectively focusing on design, digital imaging, mathematics, and home devices.
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to build a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei’s 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world’s population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.
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