HIGHLIGHTS
AIOTI response to the Cybersecurity Act Consultation
In the response AIOTI welcomes the revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA2) as a positive step toward strengthening cybersecurity across the European Union through greater harmonization, standardized certification schemes, and internationally recognized technical standards. The organization emphasizes that cybersecurity frameworks should remain based on objective, measurable, and technically verifiable criteria rather than non-technical risk considerations that could create fragmentation among Member States.
AIOTI advocates for harmonized EU-wide cybersecurity baselines, initially through recommended measures and progressively through mandatory safeguards adapted to different sectors and critical infrastructures, while ensuring proportional obligations for SMEs. The response also highlights emerging cybersecurity risks linked to advanced AI systems, stressing the need for robust governance, ethical safeguards, continuous testing, human oversight, and accountability mechanisms.
Empowering Energy Infrastructure Workshop: The Role of 5G/6G and Edge Intelligence
On 7 March in Brussels, the Empowering Energy Infrastructure Workshop brought together stakeholders from energy, IoT, and communication networks to discuss smart energy systems, 5G/6G convergence, edge intelligence, and sustainable digital infrastructures. The workshop served as a collaborative space for researchers, industry professionals, and technology experts to exchange insights on energy infrastructure.
The opening remarks highlighted the European Commission’s vision for decentralised and digitalised energy systems, followed of the presentation of the CEI Energy Sphere, a collaborative framework connecting stakeholders across sectors. Key questions addressed included adoption levels and integration timelines for commercial deployment.
Presentation of the AIOTI Energy Working Group members along with 6G IA representatives presented the white paper on 5G/6G convergence, and finalizing with two panels discussions about 5G/6G and Edge Intelligence for Smart Energy Infrastructure and Pilots, Challenges, and Opportunities in Smart Energy Solution.
SCODIHNet Updates
The Smart Connectivity DIH Network has mainly worked on the following topics.
EDIH Network Award for Excellence 2026
Three outstanding digital innovation projects have been shortlisted for the EDIH Network Award for Excellence.
Across Europe, hundreds of organisations are using digital technology to solve real problems, from the way food reaches a school canteen to the way a city warns its residents of danger. The EDIH Network Award for Excellence exists to bring the best of these stories to light.
This year, 69 success stories were submitted by European Digital Innovation Hubs across 12 countries. Three have been selected by the European Commission as finalists. The winner will be announced at the EDIH Network Summit on 9 June 2026 in Brussels.
1/ Advancing Peatland Restoration through Digital Modelling Austria | Crowd in Motion EDIH.
2/ Differentiated Alert System for Kharkiv Emergency Department Ukraine | Eastern Ukraine EDIH.
3/ “AI instead of Waste”: Predictive Analytics to Cut Food Waste in School Catering Germany | EDIHDO More information available at https://european-digital-innovation-hubs.ec.europa.eu/news/m…
In addition, five projects from across Europe are competing for an award with a difference: the winner is decided not by a jury, but by the EDIH Network itself.
1/ Empowering energy consumers through IoT and blockchain Spain | DIH4CAT
2/ Innovative digital solutions for sustainable farming Italy | CHEDIH
3/ AI-based robot Robic helps in social services Czechia and Spain | EDIH NEB and EDIH Madrid Region
4/ Hyperspectral imaging to detect foreign bodies in meat products Spain | IRIS
5/ Towards simplified regulatory compliance for innovators Finland | HHFIN More information av ailable at https://european-digital-innovation-hubs.ec.europa.eu/news/m…
The EDIH Annual event is organized in Brussels 9&10 June, registration is open at https://european-digital-innovation-hubs.ec.europa.eu/events…
NEW MEMBERS
PROJECT NEWS
Code the Continuum
A two-day hackathon will be hosted by the University of Cagliari on 30 June – 01 July organised by CEI-Sphere, O-CEI and COP-PILOT.
Code the Continuum will unite students, developers, researchers, innovators, open-source communities, pilot teams, and solution providers for two days of hands-on collaboration focused on the cloud-edge-IoT continuum.
The event will offer a practical environment for experimentation, co-creation, and knowledge exchange, where participants tackle real-world challenges related to open technologies, interoperability, and the reuse of assets across large-scale pilot environments.
Register here.
Women in Digital Index
The Women in Digital Index is an interactive platform designed to support organisations in advancing inclusive digital transformation.
At index.widigital.eu/index/, you can explore the complete country ranking across all five stages of the pipeline, compare your country’s performance with the EU average through interactive spider charts, and examine individual indicators ranging from girls’ PISA science results to the ICT gender pay gap across all 27 EU Member States and four benchmark countries (UK, USA, Brazil, and India). The data can also be used to shape policy positions, guide research priorities, or inform programme development.
The Index will be refreshed in 2026 with a new wave of data, but the baseline has now been established.
Whether you work in digital policy, education, HR, research, or women’s advocacy, this evidence-based tool is designed to help drive meaningful change.
You can consult the Index here.
EVENTS
AIOTI Days 2026
AIOTI Days 2026 will explore how Generative AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Edge Computing are transforming the digital landscape, highlighting the transition from early experimentation to tangible real-world impact.
The event will bring together industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers to examine how these technologies are reshaping businesses, services, and society, while showcasing practical applications and success stories that demonstrate their growing influence across sectors.
Register here.
Instar Final Event: Impact through international cooperation in ICT standardisation
INSTAR Final Event: Impact through international cooperation in ICT standardisation.The INSTAR Final Event will take place on 23 June 2026, 15:30-18:00, held at the AFNOR venue in Paris. This session will be co-located with the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 41 Internet of things and digital twin plenary.
During the event, INSTAR will present concrete examples of impact achieved through international cooperation on standardisation priorities alignment with its target international partners (such as Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, etc.) across its six Task Force technology domains. The event will also highlight how the European Commission and European Standardisation Organisations can leverage these results to enrich their activities, and outline INSTAR’s plan to valorise the outcomes beyond the project’s lifetime.
The event takes place alongside the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 41 Internet of things and digital twin plenary, which is particularly relevant as SC 41 covers one of the key ICT domains addressed by INSTAR’s Cloud/Edge/IoT Task Force.
It will be hosted at AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation).
Women in Digital Summit 2026
The event will showcase the Women in Digital Index and Scoreboard, along with the Annual Women in Digital Report and its key findings. It will also include discussions on policy recommendations aimed at increasing women’s participation in ICT, while addressing the digital skills gap and the need for more advanced training, supported by examples of best practices.
During the event, the Women in Digital Forum will present and share the recommendations developed by its Thematic Working Groups. More broadly, it will help reinforce collaboration between industry, government and the education sector, encourage new partnerships around digital skills and gender diversity, and contribute to shaping the long-term evolution of the digital workforce.
You can register here
OWASP Italy Day 2026
OWASP Italy Day 2026 will take place on June 18th, 2026, in Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy) — returning to one of the most inspiring locations for cybersecurity innovation and collaboration.
This will be a free, one-day, in-person event focused on application security, AI security, DevSecOps, and secure software development, bringing together researchers, professionals, and students to exchange ideas, share experiences, and strengthen the AppSec community.
The main conference will start on June 18th at 3:30 PM, following a day of training sessions and workshops on June 17th (and optionally the morning of June 18th).
Registration and more information here: http://www.cyberjourney.it/