Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nikolay Vassilev Tcholtchev

Education & Career

Nikolay Tcholtchev holds a PhD in engineering and a diploma degree in computer science from the Technical University of Berlin. He currently works for the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS), where he conducts projects in the areas of Smart Cities (Open Urban Platforms), Data Platforms, Network and System Management, Cybersecurity, Autonomic Communications, Virtual and Softwarized Networks and Testbeds, VoIP Emergency Communication (NG112), Blockchain, Smart Energy, Firewall/IDS/IPS, Model Checking, IPv4/6, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Model-based Testing and Testing for Critical Infrastructure Security Aspects, and Quantum Computing.

The current responsibilities of Nikolay Tcholtchev include the following activities: Team management of the group “Quality Engineering for Urban ICT and Quantum Computing”, technical project management (industrial projects, Horizon Europe, H2020) and reporting (BMBF/BMWK, H2020, Horizon Europe, industrial projects) as well as project acquisition (BMBF/BMWK, Horizon Europe, industrial projects). He also supervises Master's and Bachelor's students in their theses on the above-mentioned topics. Nikolay Tcholtchev is a regular participant in international conferences and publishes regularly in conference proceedings and journals.

Nikolay Tcholtchev coordinates the BMWK EniQmA project, which is a consortium (consisting of the University of Stuttgart, DB Systel, IBM, FU Berlin and Fraunhofer) working on providing methods and tools for the systematic development of hybrid quantum-based systems and services.

In addition, Nikolay Tcholtchev is a recognized reviewer/assessor expert (for signalling, telecommunications and electrical engineering (STE)) of the German Federal Railway Authority with a focus on IT security within the framework of the projects bbIP (bahnbtriebliches IP-Netz) and DSTW (Digitales Stellwerk) of DB Netz AG. Furthermore, he was appointed by the responsible Federal Ministry to a science and innovation advisory board for the implementation of one of the major digitization projects in Germany. With his team, he has carried out a number of projects and studies for the scientific service of the EU Parliament and for the EU Commission, evaluating different technologies and their roles for the development of the European Union.

• Since 02/2020: Head of the group “Quality Engineering for Urban ICT & Quantum Computing” with 15 employees, personnel responsibility, resource and budget planning, project acquisition, customer management, development of the topic quantum computing in the business area Quality Engineering
  
  
• Since 01/2008: Scientist (Senior) and Project Manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) Berlin: Smart Cities (Open Urban Platforms), Network and System Management, Cybersecurity, Autonomous Systems, Virtual and Software-based Networks and Testbeds, VoIP Emergency Communication (NG112), Blockchain, Smart Energy, Firewall/IDS/IPS, Model Checking, IPv4/6, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Model-based Testing and Testing of Security Aspects
  
• 04/2007 - 10/2007: Software developer at Nokia Siemens Networks Berlin
• 10/2006 - 03/2007: Software developer (working student) in research & development, Siemens Networks Berlin
• 06/2003 - 10/2006: Software Developer (working student) in Research & Development, Quality Assurance, Department for Software Technology & Tooling Siemens ICM/COM Berlin

Working areas

• Project management and team management
• Quantum computing, quantum key distribution and 5G
• Data Platforms
• Smart Cities - Open Data, Open Urban Platforms, Mobility-as-a-Service, IoT
• Model-checking
• Network and System Management
• Railway and Telecommunications
• Digitalization in healthcare
• Virtual and Softwarized Networks and Testbeds
• VoIP Emergency Communication (NG112)
• Blockchain
• Cybersecurity - Firewall/IDS/IPS
• IPv6 Testing and Simulation
• Model-based Testing with UML2.0 and TTCN-3
• IPv4/v6 & Ethernet - configuration and error management
• Network simulation - IP addressing and routing in GNS3, OMNET++ ...
• Autonomous systems and networks
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Future Internet - revolutionary and evolutionary approaches
• Fault tolerance and resilience in distributed systems
• Testbeds and experimental platforms
• Test-Management
• Software, network and test architecture

Projects

Current Projects:

• Consulting for German and European cities in the field of Smart City Technologies, Open Urban Platforms and ICT Reference Architectures for Sustainable Urban Development
• Stadt-Land-Fluss - AI based optimization of food supply chains
• Organization of workshops to present relevant Smart City topics to industry as well as to cities
• BMBF CHARMS - Integration of historical building stock of urban regions into a modern and energy-efficient society
• Study/consulting on “Social Transitioning to Smart Cities” for European institutions
• Large industrial projects in the railway sector
• DIN SPEC 91480 Benchmarking quantum computers
• BMBF KIVEP - Preventing and detecting compromised IoT devices through protocol anomaly detection
• H2020 SPATIAL - Security and Privacy Accountable Technology Innovations, Algorithms, and machine Learning
• BMWK EniQmA - Enabling Hybrid Quantum Applications
• BMWK SeQuenC - Sovereignty for Quantum Solutions in the Cloud
• BMWK Qompiler - Standardized Quantum Software Stack
• Training courses for federal authorities in the field of quantum computing
• Quantum Technology Professional - Preparation of a training program for practical quantum computing

Completed Projects:

Smart Cities, Data Platforms, Open Urban Platforms and Technology Overview:

• Open Cities - European project focusing on technological infrastructures for Smart Cities
• Gemo - Community Electric Mobility
• OGDD - Open Government Data Germany
• GovData.DE - the platform for Open Government Data in Germany
• Daten.berlin.de - Open Data Platform for the City of Berlin
• ProSeMo - Proactive Seemless Mobility (competition phase)
• Netzdaten-berlin.de - Open Energy Data in Berlin
• European Innovation Partnership Smart Citites and Communities (EIP SCC) - regular participant, involved in the work of the WS2 ICT Reference Architecture
• DIN SPEC 91357 - Reference Architecture Model Open Urban Platform (OUP)
• DIN SPEC 91367 - Urban mobility data collection for real-time applications
• DIN SPEC 91397 - Guidelines for the implementation of digital systems for neighborhood management
• Urban Data Spaces - Study, concept and definition of an urban data space on behalf of BMBF
• Morgenstadt - Smart City Network of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
• Study/ Consulting on “Blockchain in International Trade and Supply Chains” for European Institutions
• Study/ Consulting on “Key enabling technologies for Europe's technological sovereignty” for European Institutions
• Study/ Consulting on “Standards Landscaping and Gap Analysis on the Safety of Autonomous Robots controlled by Artificial Intelligence” for European Institutions
• WindNODE - Use of Blockchain in the field of Smart Energy
• H2020 Triangulum - Definition of an ICT Reference Architecture for Smart Cities

Cybersecurity & Quality Assurance:

• DIAMONDS - Development and Industrial Application of Multi-Domain Security Testing Technologies
• Industrial project with focus on model checking for the firewall implementations within a large-scale telecommunication infrastructure
• Industrial project focusing on the definition of the security function of an industrial IoT solution and related standardization activities
• Industry project focusing on functional and security testing for one of the key components of a large-scale telecom infrastructure.
• H2020 FORTIKA - Cybersecurity for SMEs (Firewall/IDS/IPS)

Network and Telecommunications Technology and Network and Systems Management:

• EFIPSANS - Autonomic Network and Systems Management in IPv6 networks
• Autonomic Network Architecture (ANA)
• Industry projects in the framework of the IPv6 Testing Labs
• IPv6 Phase 2 for Public Administration - Routing, Addressing and Network Simulation for Security Oriented Policy-based Routing for Public Sector ICT Architectures
• Industry project focusing on load and performance testing for one of the key components of a large-scale telecom infrastructure
• Bizware - Model and Software Factory
• H2020 EMYNOS - NG 112 VoIP Emergency Communication and IoT Integration

Activities & Memberships

• DIN SPEC 91357 - Reference Architecture Model Open Urban Platforms (OUP)
• DIN SPEC 91367 - Urban mobility data collection for real-time applications
• DIN SPEC 91397 - Guideline for the implementation of digital systems for neighborhood management
• DIN SPEC 91480 (Initiator) - Benchmarking quantum computers
• DIN Smart City Forum
• CEN/CENELEC Focus Group on Quantum Technologies
• EIP SCC - European Innovation Partnership Smart Cities and Communities
• Morgenstadt - Steering Board Member for Fraunhofer FOKUS in 2018, on behalf of Prof. Dr. Ina Schieferdecker
• Reviewer/Assessor (for signaling, telecommunication and electrical engineering (STE)) of the German Federal Railway Authority with focus on IT security in the context of the projects bbIP (bahnbetriebliches IP-Netz) and DSTW (Digitales Stellwerk) of DB Netz AG
• Member of the Science and Innovation Advisory Board for the implementation of one of the planned major digitization projects in Germany

Scientific work

Participation in scientific peer reviews:

• IEEE Access Journal
• ACM Transactions on Quantum Computing
• Springer Software and Systems Modelling Journal
• SAGE Open Journal
• Springer Journal on Mobile Networks and Applications
• International Journal of Network Management
• IEEE Internet of Things Magazine
• IEEE Micro Journal
• Elsevier Journal on Urban Governance
• MDPI Sustainability
• MDPI Energies
• MDPI Entropy
• International Journal of Green Energy
• AIIPCC 2019 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Information Processing and Cloud Computing
• Workshop on Edge Systems, Analytics and Networking (EdgeSys)
• DASA: International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Applications
• eConf: Conference on e-Services and e-Systems
• Evaluator for the development of the SENAI ICT Institute in Recife (Brazil)
• Evaluation services for the EU Commission
• Evaluation services for Dutch Research Council (NWO)

Teaching assignments - supervised bachelor's, master's, and diploma theses and internships:

• Master's thesis, Michell Boerger, “Leveraging Blockchain Technologies to Build Short-Term Energy Flexibility Markets,” December 18, 2020, TU Berlin, Prof. Manfred Hauswirth
• Master's thesis, Denis Rangelov, “Design and Development of a Solar Energy Forecasting Method based on Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques,” June 07, 2021, TU Berlin, Prof. Manfred Hauswirth
• Bachelor thesis, Niclas Kullig, “Prototypical Implementation and Evaluation of a Client Blockchain Component on IoT Devices,” March 07, 2019, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Gober
• Diploma thesis, Rene Richter, “A DevOps-based method for generating test reports suitable for certification,” June, 2019, Free University Berlin, Prof. Katinka Wolter
• Bachelor thesis, Denis Rangelov, “Design and Development of a Front-End and Business Logic Components for Blockchain Utilization in the Energy Domain,” 2019, Technical University Berlin, Prof. Ina Schieferdecker
• Internship report, Niclas Kullig, 2018, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
• Master thesis, Ramon Barakat, “Design and specification of an experimental platform for the transmission of eHealth sensor values in the context of the Next Generation Emergency Call System NG112”, 2018, Technical University Berlin, Prof. Ina Schieferdecker
• Master's thesis, Yuang Chen, “Providing the Infrastructure for SICCT Protocol Tests with Focus on Service Discovery and Pairing,” 2018-07-01, Technical University Berlin, Prof. Ina Schieferdecker
• Bachelor thesis in Cognitive Science, Robert Scholz, “Design and Implementation of a CKAN-Plugin for Data Harvesting to the Hadoop Distributed File System”, October 12th 2015, University of Osnabrück, PD Dr. Helmar Gust
• Master thesis, Philipp Lämmel, “Securing services in the cloud based on the combination of OpenID and OAuth, Berlin”, September 04, 2014, Free University Berlin, Prof. Ina Schieferdecker
• Master's thesis, Faruk Catal, “Development of a framework for visualizing IPv6 packet traversal using the network simulation environment GNS3 as an example”, 2014, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Prof. Edzard Höfig.
• Bachelor thesis, Faruk Catal, “Migration of urban data platforms to the cloud,” April 21, 2013, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Prof. Ina Schieferdecker
• Internship Report, Faruk Catal, 2012, Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Computer Engineering BA program.