IT experts who participated last week decided to establish Romania’s first regional cybersecurity HUB under the umbrella of Cluj IT Cluster and eDIH4Society. According to a statement from the organizers, the 12th edition of Cluj Innovation Days (CID), the annual conference organized by Cluj IT Cluster, took place last weekend under the motto „Digital Innovations for a Sustainable and Secure Future.” Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, emphasized at the event that Cluj-Napoca city is synonymous with innovation. „There are many success stories coming from Cluj-Napoca to the European Union. It is among the top ten European cities in terms of quality of life, and I congratulate you for that,” stated Vălean, according to the cited release.
The second day of the conference was entirely dedicated to the subject of cybersecurity, with the most significant moment being a roundtable where industry stakeholders decided to establish the country’s first regional cybersecurity HUB under the umbrella of Cluj IT Cluster and eDIH4Society. „It is an innovative but ambitious initiative aiming to align and consolidate important actors in the cybersecurity sector at the level of the Northwest Region. The initiative subscribes to the objectives assumed by the Digital Innovation Hub for Society – eDIH4Society, through which Cluj IT and its partners contribute to accelerating digitization and digital transformation at the level of our region. It is a regional premiere through which we wanted to facilitate an honest conversation about future collaboration among those present and other actors, as needed, to create a hub of excellence specialized in this sector, which is increasingly important in society,” said Professor Stelian Brad, president of Cluj IT Cluster.
Representatives from state institutions were present at the discussions, such as the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania represented by President Dragoş Cristian-Vlad, the National Directorate for Cybersecurity represented by Deputy Director Maria-Manuela Catrina, the Special Telecommunications Service represented by Colonel Viorel Jurca, academic institutions such as Babeş-Bolyai University, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, and University of Oradea, as well as representatives from the private sector, especially companies specialized in the cybersecurity domain, and representatives from NGOs in the field and even heavy users of cybersecurity services.
Participants analyzed, in several working groups, different perspectives regarding the main current challenges, while also reflecting on the subject of the main priorities of such an initiative in the field of cybersecurity.
„Through each edition of Cluj Innovation Days, we try to bring to the public’s attention, especially to innovation ecosystems, current or perspective subjects for our country. In this year’s edition, we launched two major themes which, in our opinion, allow us to build projects and programs that can generate added value for Romanian society. These themes are the convergence of digital and sustainability, and cybersecurity. On both dimensions, we proposed activating important initiatives, with national impact, which have aroused the interest of many important actors. In the following stages, we will consolidate these efforts, hoping that in the near future, we will bring good news regarding progress in both directions,” said Andrei Kelemen, CEO of Cluj IT Cluster.
Cluj Innovation Days has established itself over time as a major event in Romania’s IT industry. This year’s conference was funded by EEA Grants / Norway Grants – grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.