Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIG (Enhancing the research and innovation potential of Tecnico through Blockchain technologies and design Innovation for social Good)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2020-09-01 al 2022-02-28
BIG's goal is to expand the research and innovation potential of Técnico-Lisbon. BIG aims to develop a critical mass of interdisciplinary research in deploying and testing Blockchain technologies in strategic application domains aligned with Portugal and Lisbon’s smart specialization strategy. The BIG ERA Chair activity aims to unlock full potential of interdisciplinary research while strengthening innovation and knowledge transfer activities in close collaboration with industrial partners. The BIG ERA Chair will therefore contribute to the smart specialization strategy in Lisbon by stimulating the upcoming ecosystem of digital startups and their economic impact.
The BIG ERA Chair on Blockchain technologies and design Innovation for Social Good is pursuing the following strategic objectives:
-Upgrade the existing research and technological development capabilities by expanding the human potential and fostering a critical mass of researchers with interdisciplinary expertise in Blockchain and related technologies (distributed computing, security and applied cryptography, AI, machine learning, big data, and cloud computing) as well as design thinking. BIG will provide resources to design and other creativity-enhancing practices to explore innovative solutions for Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies via design studios. By developing unanticipated uses of technology, testing unusual application domain solutions, and working on social innovation/acceptance, BIG will investigate and support novel methods of examining and communicating the potential of blockchain technologies and guide and evaluate their impacts on critical societal challenges.
-Improve the innovation potential and impact of Portugal as an ideal platform in the Euro-Atlantic region of the EU through design-driven innovation for the data economy. By unraveling the implications of open innovation in Blockchain technologies on advanced training and knowledge transfer and expanding the human capital and the creative research capabilities of individuals and organisations with the ultimate goal of materialising opportunities offered by Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. These testbeds will enable the industry stakeholders to test and market solutions in Strategic application areas aligned with the smart specialisation strategy, for instance, tourism, transportation, mobility and logistics, creative industries, and the blue economy.
-Raise international awareness about the research institutes (LARSyS and INESC-ID) and connect Técnico and its industry affiliates to the global knowledge networks: work with mentoring institutes based at prestigious universities in Europe, which have agreed to serve as advisors to the project by sharing their knowledge and promoting the exchange of crucial personnel; continue to deepen the strong partnerships established with Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which include joint research and advanced training programs and help position BIG and Lisbon as a brokering platform in the Euro- Atlantic region for the data economy.
The BIG ERA Chair on Blockchain technologies and design Innovation for Social Good is pursuing the following strategic objectives:
-Upgrade the existing research and technological development capabilities by expanding the human potential and fostering a critical mass of researchers with interdisciplinary expertise in Blockchain and related technologies (distributed computing, security and applied cryptography, AI, machine learning, big data, and cloud computing) as well as design thinking. BIG will provide resources to design and other creativity-enhancing practices to explore innovative solutions for Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies via design studios. By developing unanticipated uses of technology, testing unusual application domain solutions, and working on social innovation/acceptance, BIG will investigate and support novel methods of examining and communicating the potential of blockchain technologies and guide and evaluate their impacts on critical societal challenges.
-Improve the innovation potential and impact of Portugal as an ideal platform in the Euro-Atlantic region of the EU through design-driven innovation for the data economy. By unraveling the implications of open innovation in Blockchain technologies on advanced training and knowledge transfer and expanding the human capital and the creative research capabilities of individuals and organisations with the ultimate goal of materialising opportunities offered by Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. These testbeds will enable the industry stakeholders to test and market solutions in Strategic application areas aligned with the smart specialisation strategy, for instance, tourism, transportation, mobility and logistics, creative industries, and the blue economy.
-Raise international awareness about the research institutes (LARSyS and INESC-ID) and connect Técnico and its industry affiliates to the global knowledge networks: work with mentoring institutes based at prestigious universities in Europe, which have agreed to serve as advisors to the project by sharing their knowledge and promoting the exchange of crucial personnel; continue to deepen the strong partnerships established with Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which include joint research and advanced training programs and help position BIG and Lisbon as a brokering platform in the Euro- Atlantic region for the data economy.
The ERA Chair Research team is now in place, and we are finalizing the recruitment of the ERA Chair Support team. Despite the challenges with coordinating an interdisciplinary project, the ERAChair holder and all of the members of the research team (100% outside of IST, 60% females and 60% international) have been recruited and are currently working onsite and establishing collaborations with different departments at IST. Given the reported limitations of IST as a public institutions, in recruiting highly experienced managers, we have proposed an amendment to allow the hiring through a 3rd party agreement with IST-ID, regardless an experienced project manager was recruited by ITI / LARSyS to exclusively support the ERAChair and her team, while additional administrative support is provided by IST. The ERA Chair research team and the Co-PIs worked together to submit funding applications to European and non-European Funding sources (almost €12M). The ERA Chair will receive training on Horizon Europe at the Institutional level and national and international levels. We are committed to making IST a national and internationally recognized hub for Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. We have started that by training our undergraduate and master students (480) on blockchain-related subjects. We are co-supervising 19 Master students, one of our Co-Pis, Dr. Augusto Esteves, Co-PI, in the context of his sabbatical, visited the Center for Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Research which resulted in two master theses.
Furthermore, we have 3 PhD and Master level exchanges. For summer 2023, we are planning a Doctoral Summer School programme in distributed ledger and blockchain technologies. We continue to work on the development and deployment of the BIG Lab. We have not only defined our strategy for Knowledge Transfer, Characterized our research Infrastructure, and planned our industry affiliation model. We started meetings with users to scope their needs. Lastly, we have disseminated the project at several venues, organized events and workshops, and committed to raising the BIG project profile on social media.
Furthermore, we have 3 PhD and Master level exchanges. For summer 2023, we are planning a Doctoral Summer School programme in distributed ledger and blockchain technologies. We continue to work on the development and deployment of the BIG Lab. We have not only defined our strategy for Knowledge Transfer, Characterized our research Infrastructure, and planned our industry affiliation model. We started meetings with users to scope their needs. Lastly, we have disseminated the project at several venues, organized events and workshops, and committed to raising the BIG project profile on social media.
The state of the art in blockchain and decentralization is a complex space as it is constantly shifting. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the work we are conducting, this complexity is compounded. We have therefore split the SoTA in several areas:
Computer Science – we aim to advance the state of the art in cybersecurity through an interdisciplinary approach to designing the lower-layer protocols of DAOs and associated technologies (e.g. AI). We aim to address the concepts of Access Control that need to be updated to better reflect our digital, decentralized world. Moreover, we will work to understand the notion of mobile protocols and their implementation around e.g. Byzantine Fault Tolerance.
Engineering: we aim to advance the start of the art in Engineering by addressing the role that Blockchain and associated technologies can play in delivering sustainable supply chains. We will address the role that blockchain can play in the delivery of 6G networks and advanced AI solutions from an engineering perspective.
Economics: we will advance the state of the art through understanding the innovation potential of the technologies in question – specifically, we will focus on DeFi, Web 3.0 uptake, innovation, and policy outputs that are required by the European Union and other governments.
Design: we will advance the state of the art through developing critical practice and theory from a design and HCI perspective that assists the world to understand and adopt decentralized technologies in a human-centric manner.
Potential Impacts:
Our current expected impacts are: contributing to the development of secure, robust smart contracts and the datasets required for correct policy development in Portugal and more broadly. We also intend to have a direct impact on the End-User Communities that we will engage with around social good – for example with companies and end-user communities that we will build solutions for and with. Finally, we expect to contribute to the development of highly-skilled and talented students who will help contribute to the economic growth of Portugal.
Computer Science – we aim to advance the state of the art in cybersecurity through an interdisciplinary approach to designing the lower-layer protocols of DAOs and associated technologies (e.g. AI). We aim to address the concepts of Access Control that need to be updated to better reflect our digital, decentralized world. Moreover, we will work to understand the notion of mobile protocols and their implementation around e.g. Byzantine Fault Tolerance.
Engineering: we aim to advance the start of the art in Engineering by addressing the role that Blockchain and associated technologies can play in delivering sustainable supply chains. We will address the role that blockchain can play in the delivery of 6G networks and advanced AI solutions from an engineering perspective.
Economics: we will advance the state of the art through understanding the innovation potential of the technologies in question – specifically, we will focus on DeFi, Web 3.0 uptake, innovation, and policy outputs that are required by the European Union and other governments.
Design: we will advance the state of the art through developing critical practice and theory from a design and HCI perspective that assists the world to understand and adopt decentralized technologies in a human-centric manner.
Potential Impacts:
Our current expected impacts are: contributing to the development of secure, robust smart contracts and the datasets required for correct policy development in Portugal and more broadly. We also intend to have a direct impact on the End-User Communities that we will engage with around social good – for example with companies and end-user communities that we will build solutions for and with. Finally, we expect to contribute to the development of highly-skilled and talented students who will help contribute to the economic growth of Portugal.