New consortium leading blockchain innovation in Europe

Europe’s largest public-private innovation partnership, the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum (EUBOF), is gaining more and more momentum. The new consortium behind the EUBOF is working to facilitate blockchain innovation and development.

INTRASOFT International is leading the EUBOF consortium together with the University of Nicosia and Greece’s National Centre for Research and Technological Development (CERTH). Sub-contractors include technology leaders, top universities, as well as research organisations. With solid expertise on the global blockchain ecosystem, each member of the consortium brings a unique set of strengths and all have demonstrated their strong commitment on blockchain advancements.

Launched as a European Parliament pilot project in 2017, EUBOF remains committed to its mission: to facilitate meaningful dialogue between European policymakers and Europe’s blockchain thought leaders and community.

For Europe to take a leading role in blockchain, it is essential that the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum plays a key role as the centre of knowledge production, a repository of the technology, as well as bringing together the ecosystem for policymakers, regulators, developers and the community as a whole,” notes Pēteris Zilgavis, the Head of Unit, Digital Innovation and Blockchain, Digital Single Market Directorate, DG CONNECT.

Upcoming events and reports

The renewed Observatory will host its first workshop online on 24 September 2020. Experts and stakeholders from the European Union and beyond will explore “Blockchain and Healthcare Applications”. Moderated by Bryant Joseph GILOT, MD CM DPhil MSc, Institute for Translational Bioinformatics, Universitaets Klinikum Tuebingen, Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen and INTRASOFT’s Gerasimos Michalitsis, this virtual meeting will delve into the challenges facing today’s healthcare industry and how blockchain might be used to address them.

Speakers have been invited from industry-leading blockchain enabling companies and a physician-led healthcare organisation. For instance, Ingrid Vasiliu Feltes is a healthcare futurist serving as Chief Quality and Innovation Officer at MEDNAX Healthcare Solutions. Marco Cuomo from Novartis is an Applied Technology Innovation Manager focused on blockchain’s use cases for the pharmaceutical industry. Mike Davie is the founder and CEO of Singapore-based Quadrant who has been leading the commercialisation of disruptive mobile technology and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure. Sînică Alboaie is co-leader of the architecture work package in the ambitious Pharmaledger European research project. Wendy Charles, chief scientific officer for BurstIQ, has 28 years of experience in managing clinical research, regulatory compliance, and blockchain.

The next workshop on 29 October will cover the important topic of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). It will bring together experts to discuss the role of blockchain technology in CBDC, which  could play an important role for automating way machine 2 machine payments. A third workshop in November will explore blockchain’s role in promoting sustainability in view of the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The renewed Observatory will publish a revamped version of the website with a more dynamic crowdsourced map of hundreds of blockchain initiatives in Europe and around the world. Also, the Observatory is working on its first Blockchain Trends Report which will be published soon. This report will shed light on the latest developments and trends on blockchain technology with a special focus on market developments, technological advancements and news on legislation and framework conditions. Also, two thematic reports about EU blockchain ecosystem developments and healthcare applications will be published on the platform by December.

The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum welcomes all media inquiries. Please direct your request to infoeublockchainforum [dot] eu (info[at]eublockchainforum[dot]eu)

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