Cluj Innovation Days (CID), an annual conference organized by the Cluj IT Cluster, the largest and most representative professional association in Romania, gathered several hundred participants over three days, which once again marked the positioning of Cluj as a true center of innovation.

The eleventh Cluj Innovation Days conference gathered over three days almost 500 participants interested in getting the latest information from the innovation ecosystem of Cluj. The event was held under the motto: Tech Nation – Building a bright future for Romania through technologyemphasizing the need to use solutions like those offered by Cluj IT and its members to build a bright future for Romania through technology.

The most important moment of the conference was the official launch of the Center for Digital Innovation for Society – eDIH4Society, which over the next 3 years will provide services worth almost 4 million euros, helping to accelerate the digital transformation of public institutions in the field of management and health care, such as manufacturing enterprises of the North Western region.

Proposed by a consortium headed by Cluj IT Cluster and consists of Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Bistrita-Năsăud Chamber of Commerce and Industry and University of OradeaeDIH4Society is the most important regional digitization initiative, its role is important in the implementation of the program Digital EuropeEuropean Commission.

In particular, eDIH4Society will provide specialized services related to the use of solutions in the field of cyber security, robotics and process automation, will provide the transfer of experience and know-how, as well as provide advanced courses for the development of digital skills and advice on attracting funding for digitalization.

“On the occasion of the 11th edition of Cluj Innovation Days, we noticed the growing interest of companies and organizations in digitalization and technologies. Hundreds of companies came to our annual conference wanting to learn more about what they can do in this area. And I’m sure they didn’t leave disappointed. The event was the perfect context for us to launch the Center for Digital Innovation for Society, through which we will bring digitization closer to companies in the North West region. We are preparing to make available free services for SMEs, public administrations and institutions in the field of health care, services that will cover the real needs of the respective organizations from the autumn. And one more thing I noticed: there is more and more talk about the importance of a specific approach to sustainability, including in the business environment. Europe has been discussing this topic for a long time, and now we have reached the point where the European Parliament has passed a law. I believe that the Romanian business environment should also take the necessary steps in this direction as soon as possible, and therefore Cluj IT proposes to dedicate a special event to this topic, which we will organize this autumn. We want to shed more light on this and together understand what the future challenges and opportunities are. We will come back with details to all concerned,” he said Andriy Kelemengeneral director of IT cluster Cluj.

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca participates in the eDIH4Society project with 14 laboratories for fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, digitization and digitization, also on the cybersecurity and distributed services side, offering consulting services, design, and the use of equipment that the Technical University has. In turn, University of Oradea participates in the project with three laboratories: the innovation laboratory, the production laboratory and the so-called intel build laboratory, all of which are part of the Faculty of Management and Technological Engineering. In addition, within the framework of eDIH4Society, the University of Oradea offered to support 120 SMEs and 30 institutions in the process of digital transformation.

The third partner of Cluj IT Cluster, Bistrita-Năsăud Chamber of Commerce and Industryintends to promote among its members the opportunities offered by eDIH4Society in order to accelerate digital transformation.

Last but not least, the DigiSkills project consortium was also presented at Cluj Innovation Days, where Cluj IT Cluster is a partner of Bistrița-Năsăud Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as Business Saga consulting company. Thanks to this project, small and medium-sized companies that want to take concrete steps towards digital transformation, either by making decisions to digitize their activities or by giving their employees access to courses that will help them acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to go into a leg up on current issues, they were informed and advised to better understand the benefits of participating in this project.

The free courses offered by this consortium have attracted particular interest, especially those aimed at experienced programmers, such as courses in Java, Python, RPA and software testing. The most important aspect noted by the event participants was the opportunity offered by the project to pay for certification costs.

Right now, those who want to take their Java knowledge and skills to the next level and have at least two years of experience can register for the free Advanced Java course by filling out the application form. After completing the course, they can get an international ORACLE certificate or equivalent.

The DigiSkills stand was part of the project “inFORMAT 4.0” (DigiSkills) – ID 140659, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund, Operational Program “Human Capital” for 2014-2020 and is carried out by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bistrica-Neseud in partnership with Business Saga and CLUJ IT Cluster.

Cluj Innovation Days was also distinguished by the constant presence of the young generation, both from the point of view of companies and from the point of view of those who came as a conference participant. This is a very good signal for the future of the industry, proving that Cluj is a city of innovation.

Days of innovation in Cluj this is an event that has proven itself to be the main event in the IT industry of our country. Detailed information about events during the conference can be obtained on the website: https://clujinnovationdays.com.