University of Nicosia to act as advisor to the European Commission in shaping Europe’s Blockchain Future

UNIC is a core partner in the renewed consortium that will operate the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum over the next 30 months

The European Commission has just selected a new partner to operate the renewed and widened EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, in its drive to position the EU as a global leader in the field. The consortium includes the Cyprus-based University of Nicosia (UNIC), through its Institute For the Future (IFF), a leading global research and education provider in digital currencies and blockchain. UNIC|IFF will be working alongside INTRASOFT and the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) over the next 30 months, advising the European Commission on all related matters. The Consortium’s efforts will be aided by subcontractors Bitfury Group, OpenForum Europe AISBL, White Research, and PLANET S.A.

The University of Nicosia will play a pivotal role in the following key areas of the Observatory’s work:

• Mapping, monitoring and analyzing blockchain trends, initiatives and relevant players in the EU and worldwide.
• Clarifying existing and emerging issues, as well as proposing guidance on how to address challenges. UNIC will lead the Consortium’s efforts to identify the most pertinent blockchain-related challenges, prepare sectoral case studies, and draft thematic papers and reports on each of them, with the collaboration of external experts from the EU and around the globe.
• Growing and nurturing the European blockchain community, as well as creating a platform for collaboration to reinforce the ecosystem.
• Strengthening synergies with existing and upcoming European and international blockchain initiatives.
• Becoming a training hub on Blockchain and DLTs for Europe. UNIC will be leading this effort by conducting a blockchain skills survey across Europe to bridge the gap between supply and demand for education in this area, map the available training offerings, identifying gaps, liaising with other education initiatives, and developing new training paths and education material.

According to Professor George Giaglis, Executive Director of UNIC|IFF: “We are extremely proud and honored to have been selected by the European Commission, in a very competitive selection process, to operate and expand the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, together with our partners, for the next two and a half years. Participating in this very important project will allow us to leverage UNIC’s know-how in blockchain education and research since 2014, as well as reinforce the University’s position as a leader in the field across Europe. We are looking forward to working with our partners and the European Commission to bringing all stakeholders (industry, academia and policy makers) to a common platform that will allow Europe to claim its position as a global leader in blockchain, DLT and digital assets”.

European Blockchain Observatory and Forum

The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum plays an active role in helping Europe to seize new opportunities offered by Blockchain, build expertise, and show leadership in the field. With the support of the European Parliament, it has gathered and analyzed trends on development and deployment of blockchain technologies, issued expert recommendations to address challenges, and explored blockchain’s socio-economic potentials. Since its launch in February 2018, the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum has organized 18 workshops, and issued 9 expert reports on different topics. It has also mapped 700+ global blockchain projects on an interactive map available on the website. The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum has approximately 2100 members on the online forum, and 9.5k followers on twitter (@EUBlockchain) as of May 2020. During its first period, it was operated by ConsenSys and the subcontractors: University of Southampton, the Knowledge Media Institute at the Open University, University College London, and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences.