Romania has a new European Digital Innovation Hub with a strengthened focus on artificial intelligence: FIT EDIH 2.0 - Accelerating AI-Driven Digital Transformation in Romania's Centru Region.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday, the project, funded through the European Union's Digital Europe Programme, brings together 15 organisations from Romania and Spain and will run for a period of 36 months, until April 2029.

FIT EDIH 2.0 aims to support the digital transformation of more than 140 beneficiaries - small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public sector organisations (PSOs) - in the Centru Region and the Bucharest-Ilfov area.

The project covers the Centru Region (Alba, Brasov, Covasna, Harghita, Mures and Sibiu) and Bucharest-Ilfov (for large public organisations), while the project coordinator is Iceberg Plus SRL (Brasov, Romania).

FIT EDIH 2.0 is the natural continuation of the FIT EDIH 1.0 project, one of the first European Digital Innovation Hubs mapped by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) as early as 2017. After five years of proven activity in the digital transformation of SMEs and public institutions in the Centru Region, the new stage significantly expands both the depth and the scope of the services provided, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence and tailoring each beneficiary's journey.

'The project responds to a documented need: a cross-sector study carried out by the FIT consortium, based on questionnaires and interviews with more than 600 organisations from the six counties of the Centru Region, confirmed that although digitalisation is recognised as a necessity, actual implementation remains fragmented - especially among small businesses and local public administrations. FIT EDIH 2.0 is designed to close this gap,' the project coordinator's release reads.

FIT EDIH 2.0 pursues four interconnected objectives aligned with the priorities of the Digital Europe Programme and the call for strengthening the European network of EDIHs with a focus on AI: accelerating the adoption of AI, HPC (High Performance Computing) and cyber security among SMEs and public organisations through accessible, secure and contextualised testing environments, sandbox pilots and technical assessments; increasing preparedness for generative AI and emerging technologies by integrating them into training, consultancy and demonstration services for both private and public actors; facilitating practical experimentation with European and local AI innovations - including open-source LLM models such as Mistral, BLOOM and OpenLLM-Ro (developed in Romania by Politehnica Bucharest, the University of Bucharest and ILDS), as well as voice technologies; increasing awareness, access to and effective use of European AI infrastructures - such as the AI-on-Demand platform and AI Factories - by project beneficiaries and regional stakeholders.

FIT EDIH 2.0 activities are structured around the four core services of a European Digital Innovation Hub: Test Before Invest - AI validation and experimentation in real-life conditions, technical consultancy and demonstrative pilots using sovereign European technologies; Skills & Training - modular curricula, including green AI, occupation-oriented reskilling and the training of more than 20 regional 'AI Champions'; Access to Finance - support for unlocking more than EUR 4.7 million in public and private investment for project beneficiaries; Innovation Ecosystem Building - community activation, technology matchmaking, open innovation hackathons and more than 20 cross-border collaborations.

These are complemented by innovative elements introduced specifically for this stage: the AI for Good Challenge, AI Champions Awards, monthly AI Cafe sessions and Digital Breakfasts, an Open Innovation Bootcamp, as well as a dedicated AI Help Desk - the first point of contact for beneficiaries wishing to adopt AI responsibly.

Until April 2029, the project will support more than 140 direct beneficiaries, namely around 80 SMEs and 60 public sector organisations. Target sectors include manufacturing, smart cities and smart villages, digital health (eHealth), creative industries, energy and clean tech, as well as digital public services.

The consortium brings together leading universities, national technology leaders, support organisations for SMEs and PSOs, national public innovation stakeholders and strategic actors within the European ecosystem: Iceberg Plus SRL, the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, the Brasov Metropolitan Agency for Sustainable Development, the Covasna Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Ropardo SRL, the Employers' Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Alba Iulia Intercommunity Development Association, the Cluster Association for Innovation and Technology, the General Secretariat of the Government, the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics ICI Bucharest, the Edge Institute Association, the Romanian Digital Innovation Hubs Association, Universidad de Navarra (Spain) and Grama Proiect SRL.

The Digital Europe Programme is the European Union funding programme dedicated to bringing digital technologies to the benefit of citizens, businesses and public administrations. The programme strategically invests in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing (HPC), cyber security, advanced digital skills and the deployment of digital technologies throughout the economy and society, including through the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Gherasi; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)