BDVA welcomes 15 new Members!

On the 26th of November BDVA General Assembly (GA22) officially welcomed 15 new members amongst which 5 Full Members and 10 Associate Members. It also validated the promotion of 2 Associate Members to Full Members. 

New members come from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Turkey. Amongst the new members we count 9 organisations from Academia or Research Centres, 3 Small and Medium Enterprises and 3 organisations/associations belonging to the "Other" category.

We are happy to welcome the following new FULL MEMBERS (in alphabetical order):

• Consorzio Intellimech: Intellimech is a consortium of 39 companies (in 2020), mainly from Lombardy, dedicated to research in the field of Mechatronics, including advanced electronic design, information technology, and ICT systems in general and mechanics, data analyst, without limitation of application in industrial sectors. The objective is to develop R&D activities and interdisciplinary experimentation of pre-competitive technology platforms and the creation of prototypes for innovative applications. 
• Dublin City University - ADAPT Centre: ADAPT, the world-leading SFI Research Centre for Digital Media Technology of the DCU focuses on developing next generation digital technologies that transform how people communicate by helping to analyse, personalise and deliver digital data more effectively for businesses and individuals. ADAPT researchers are based across seven leading Irish Higher Education Institutions: Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, University College Dublin, Technological University Dublin, Maynooth University, Cork Institute of Technology and Athlone Institute of Technology.  ADAPT research is spearheading the development of next-generation digital technologies that enable seamless tech-mediated interaction and communication.
• Fondazione Bruno Kessler: FBK is one of the most successful and influential European RTO. FBK pursues the creation of economic and societal value through excellence in science. FBK has over 400 permanent researchers, 140 doctoral students, 200 visiting fellows and thesis students, 700 affiliates and accredited students. FBK has a superb track record in ICT, including Artificial Intelligence (30+ years of experience), Data Science, Cyber Security. FBK's impact targets areas such as Public Services, Health&Well Being, Manufacturing Industry, Finance, by developing digital solutions addressing stakeholder's needs.
• Metaphacts: metaphacts GmbH is a privately held software company headquartered in Walldorf, Germany with a core specialization in the area of software and services for knowledge graphs. The company offers solutions for describing, interchanging and querying graph data, as well as a user-oriented open platform for creating, visualizing, and interacting with knowledge graphs. The main company product - metaphactory platform - is an end-to-end platform to create and utilize enterprise knowledge graphs - from semantic graph data management to data-driven application development.
• University of Twente, Digital Society Institute: The focus of the research institute DSI (Digital Society Institute) of the University of Twente is on seamless, responsible digitalization means paying attentions to both adopting and developing of digital technologies that one can effortlessly use and rely upon. For the development of integral solutions, both technology- (e.g. data science and AI, privacy & security, human-machine-interaction, mechatronics, IoT & sensor systems, robotics) and ELSE (ethical, legal, societal and economic) readiness are addressed to create scientific and societal/economic impact. DSI is coordinator of the university-wide research & innovation programs ‘Smart Industry’, ‘Embedded Artificial Intelligence’, ‘Hybrid AI’ and ‘Robotics’.

Warm welcome to the following new ASSOCIATE MEMBERS (in alphabetical order):

• Asociación de Usuarios de Internet: The ASOCIACION DE USUARIOS DE INTERNET (Internet Users Association or AUI) is a spanish non-profit organisation. The Association of Internet Users participates in various European projects related to the proper use of personal data, is creating a forum of citizen associations in the U.S. interested in supporting systems of data exploitation focused on users and respectful of their rights (such as MyData, PIMS and others) and is interested in raising awareness among citizens so that they know the use made of their data and can exercise their right to privacy and control them.
• Centre for Social Science: The Centre for Social Sciences (Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence) is a research institution where 200 Hungarian and international researchers engage in exploratory and innovative national and international research projects in the Social Sciences. Researchers at the Centre have actively engaged in international projects with EU’s H2020 research funding scheme. The Centre acts as work package and project leader of several ongoing H2020 projects i.a. CODE EUROPE or OPTED. Interdisciplinary research using artificial intelligence, based on big data sources and the methodology of network research is decisive and growing importance in the research profile of the Centre which is also suitable for examining the social, economic, political and legal (regulatory) aspects of the opportunities provided by new technologies in a complex way. 
• Consorzio Topix: TOP-IX (TOrino Piemonte Internet eXchange) is a non-profit consortium founded in 2002 with the aim of creating and managing an Internet Exchange (IX) for the exchange of Internet traffic in North-West Italy. In 2011, TOP-IX helped the Piedmont regional government to create the first Italian portal dedicated to open data (dati.piemonte.it). In October 2012, TOP-IX inaugurated its full immersion training course, BIG DIVE (bigdive.eu). Big Dive boasts 9 editions open to the public and several custom workshops / courses delivered to corporates and organizations. The community of BIG DIVE Alumni currently counts more than 150 People. In 2019, leveraging BIG DIVE experience, TOP-IX launched 2 additional hands-on training initiatives. TOP-IX is part of AI and Data local ecosystem with a well established role in the Turin area and Piedmont region.
• Demos Research Institute oy: Demos Helsinki is an independent think tank, working together with the public sector, private sector, and NGOs. Demos Helsinki aims to impact the ongoing global transformations actively and aim to build sustainable and fair post-industrial societies. Demos is an independent transformation research institute, bringing together several social sciences, humanities, urban studies and future studies experts. It has worked long on the futures and social implication of emerging ICT technologies. In its research, Demos wants to focus on aspects of inclusion, politics, gender and governance of the emerging ICT technologies - big data, AI, IoT, robotics. The institute also uses big data and machine learning on its own social sciences research like in content topic modelling. 
• Eötvös Loránd University: Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest is one of the largest and most prestigious universities in Hungary.ELTE is a founding member of the Hungarian Artificial Intelligence Coalition worked on the National AI Strategy. ELTE is a consortium member of the Hungarian AI Laboratory, the Industry 4.0 National Technology Platform Association and a full member of EIT Digital. ELTE maintains a close industrial relations system in the field of artificial intelligence and big data with joint research projects and industrial departments. Several research groups at ELTE are involved in AI and big data research and education. Ethical and legal aspects are tackled in collaboration with the Faculty of Law of ELTE.
• Institut Mihajlo Pupin: The Institute “Mihajlo Pupin” is a leading Serbian R&D institution in information and communication technologies, the largest and oldest in the whole South Eastern Europe. At Pupin Institute, the projects of critical national importance have been conducted, combining systems engineering and information technology to develop innovative solutions in the area of environmental management, water resource management, traffic management, power systems management, innovation management, policy advisory, etc. The Mihajlo Pupin Institute is the most successful Serbian institution when it comes to internationally funded research, being involved in 93 international research projects since 2004.
• MET Communications GmbH: MET Communications, Germany, is an IT and consulting company focused on knowledge and innovation management, inter-enterprise business process engineering, and artificial Intelligence. In the field of artificial intelligence, the organisation's work is focused on Data Utilization and Risk Management. Recent publications include N. Jastroch. Trusted Artificial Intelligence - On the Use of Private Data. MET Communications is also a member of the EU AI Alliance.
• Sestek: SESTEK is a global technology company helping organizations with Conversational Solutions to be data-driven, increase efficiency and deliver better experiences for their customers. SESTEK’s AI-powered solutions depend on text-to-speech, speech recognition, natural language processing and voice biometrics technologies. SESTEK is an R&D performer company, which has been operating in speech and NLP fields. SESTEK develops the patented products by keeping touch closely customer portfolio and taking in account customer's requirements. Data is essential for development the machine learning models and artificial intelligence algorithms.
• University of Szeged: The University of Szeged is a prestigious higher education institution, rich in traditions committed to maintaining quality education on all levels including Bachelor, Master, Doctoral programmes, higher education specializations, advanced specific trainings, providing quality health care, basic and applied research, research & development, fine arts and music. Our student body grew to 21000, in which the number of international students exceeds 4000 coming from 115 countries. The Institute of Informatics and particularly the Software Engineering Department and our Research Group on Artificial Intelligence are involved to a number of research projects and activities related to Big Data and AI.
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel: Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. Through tailor-made high quality research and education, VUB wants to contribute in an active and committed way to a better society for tomorrow. VUB and more specifically research group AVRG  is interested to strenghten our cooperation with the broad European Big Data/AI community, facilitating synergies with the Data Economy and other EU partnerships and initiatives such as the 5G PPP, Next Generation Internet, FIWARE.

We are also proud to announce that 2 BDVA Associate Members are becoming FULL MEMBERS: 

• ENGIE Lab CRIGEN: ENGIE Lab CRIGEN, part of the ENGIE Labs network, is ENGIE Group’s corporate center for R&D and high-level expertise devoted to new energy resources (hydrogen, biogas and gas liquefaction), new energy uses in towns and cities, the buildings and industries of tomorrow and emerging technologies (computer sciences and Al, drones and robots, nanotechnologies and sensors). ENGIE is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum
• Teknopar: Teknopar is an R&D performing SME, founded in 1996 and based in Ankara. It is one of the leading providers of automation systems and solutions in Turkey for the industrial facilities, energy and mobility sectors. Teknopar provides a wide range of services and end-to-end solutions where integrated applications of mechanics, hydraulics, automation, electric-electronics and information technologies have been supplied. Teknopar provides on site ICT solutions regarding big data analytics, machine learning and middleware development in industrial domain.