UEFISCDI and UPT joint project

"Connecting Romania through Blockchain"

Responding to the strategic priority that Blockchain technology has in the European Union, two institutions recognized for research and innovation initiatives, the Executive Unit for Funding Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI - https://uefiscdi.gov.ro) and Politehnica University Timișoara (UPT - https://upt.ro) announces the launch of the project "EBSI4RO: Connecting Romania through Blockchain". The project is co-financed by the European Commission, through the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency – Department for Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and has an implementation period of 2 years.

The project will create a sustainable ecosystem for accelerating digitization and facilitating the learning and adoption of Blockchain technology and European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) by citizens, businesses, institutions and administration. EBSI is a project that takes place within the European Blockchain Partnership, founded in 2018, which was joined by 29 countries, including Romania.

The two partner institutions will install a new EBSI network node, in addition to the 27 existing EBSI nodes in Europe. The EBSI node will be used for a pilot application for certification of university diplomas provided by the RMU (Unique Enrollment Registry) system (https://rmu.gov.ro). Furthermore, the pilot application aims for the digital certification of micro-credits, and the validation of skills acquired via short-term courses.

UEFISCDI and UPT will run a series of training programs and online courses of MOOC type, on the UNICAMPUS platform of UPT (https://unicampus.ro), for universities, institutions and companies, for familiarization with Blockchain technology and the development of Blockchain applications using EBSI. Participation in these programs will be recognized through certificates in the EBSI network.

The EBSI4RO project is coordinated by Dr. Eng. Cosmin Cioranu, Ph.D., (UEFISCDI) and Prof. Dr. Eng. Radu Vasiu, Ph.D., (UPT), with a team with experience in implementing decentralized applications and in running education programs using Blockchain.

Prof. Dr. Eng. Adrian Curaj, Ph.D., states that “the project is an opportunity to develop the ability to understand Blockchain technology, to certify university diplomas and training certificates, and later for use in research infrastructures hosted in EERIS (https://eeris.eu).”

Prof. Dr. Eng. Radu Vasiu, Ph.D., states that "Politehnica University Timișoara benefits from research experience on Blockchain technology at the level of doctoral studies and wants to expand the acquired expertise, opening the way to other implementations, to increase the degree of digitization of educational and research services in Romania”.

In order to be up to date with information about the status of the project and to participate in the events, those interested are asked to express their interest at the email address contact@ebsi4ro.ro and follow the website https://ebsi4ro.ro.