The University of Rijeka Science and Technology Park – Step RI hosted one of a series of foreseen thematic information workshops as part of the EDIH Adria project.
A one-day workshop, ‘Smart Cities – Infrastructure Management’, was held for utility companies with a focus on water supply and drainage, attended by representatives of utility companies from Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria counties.
Twenty participants of the workshop had the opportunity to get basic information about the EDIH Adria project through the introductory part. The project director, Damir Medved, stressed that the concept of EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hubs), There are over 150 of them in Europe today., designed to enable the economic and public sectors to thrive by encouraging the use of new and advanced technologies. Europe has become aware of the fact that technology is available to companies and the public sector that can simplify business and increase efficiency (digitalisation of administrative and production processes, use of artificial intelligence, use of supercomputers, etc.), but that it is not used and applied sufficiently. There are several reasons for this: lack of specific knowledge and skilled staff, lack of financial resources, low level of interoperability in the economic and public sector, etc.
Solutions to these problems are partly offered by EDIHs, providing the economic and public sector with financial and expert assistance in the analysis, identification and strategic approach to the digital transformation process.
Practical examples of digital solutions specific to public and utility companies were introduced to participants by experts from Ericsson Nikola Tesla, EDIH Adria project partner. The topics of digitization of documentation and processes, IoT (Internet of Things) architecture for utility companies and interaction of utility companies with users were presented.
The present representatives of utility companies actively participated in the discussion held through a panel where they gave valuable inputs and information about real problems they encounter in business and in the field, and their thoughts on the process of digitalization of business. They all agreed that digitalisation is important and unavoidable in the near future, but also that utility companies will face many challenges in this process.
As special guests of the workshop, they also joined the Representatives of the BECKN Protocol – a community that develops and implements a set of specifications consisting of APIs, data models, reference architecture, transactional mechanisms and global standards that, when adopted by digital platforms, enable the creation of decentralised networks. This concept, which can be applied in both the public and economic sectors, starts from the idea that open networks will naturally stimulate innovation, integrate applications and platforms, launch opportunities for all sizes and forms of business and create seamless user experiences.
The workshop was concluded with an invitation to utility companies to join the EDIH Adria project in order to start their digital transformation.
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