Bloxberg becomes the first Association for the Advancement of Science and Blockchain e.V. during summit organised by UNIC
The fifth bloxberg summit took place as a hybrid conference in Protaras, Cyprus, from October 26-27. The annual Consortium meeting was organized for the fifth time in a row by the University of Nicosia, one of the bloxberg founders, in collaboration with the Max Planck Digital Library (MPDL). Twenty-two institutions took part in this year’s summit, hosted at the Sunrise Pearl Hotel by UNIC. Next to the sessions on member activities, bloxberg projects, and working group updates, a significant change took place regarding bloxberg’s legal status.
Originally, bloxberg started as a project in 2019 with eleven research organisations from ten different countries. With the groundbreaking decision made at the last summit in London, the bloxberg consortium agreed on founding the bloxberg Association for the Advancement of Science and Blockchain e.V. under German legislation. At this bloxberg summit, that decision was finalised.
Soulla Louca, Professor at the University of Nicosia and Chair of the Executive Board of the Association noted: “I feel honored that our University has organized this far-reaching fifth summit for bloxberg. The University of Nicosia is part of bloxberg from the beginning, and I am very happy about the further development of this wonderful initiative. We are looking forward to continue our collaboration with this vibrant, global academic community.”
Roman Beck, Professor at the IT University Copenhagen and founding member of the bloxberg project and Association explained: “Bloxberg is an amazing project that now reached its next milestone. What started with eleven research institutes in 2019 became the biggest proof of authority DLT system with over 50 universities from around the world, creating a unique ‘blockchain for science’ decentralized infrastructure. With the incorporation as Association according to German law, bloxberg has reached its next level, which allows the network to grow and provide more services for science in the future.”
Tomaso Aste, Professor at University College London said: “The fact that bloxberg was initiated in a Bavarian castle during a snowstorm makes it already legendary. With bloxberg, we are laying down the backbone for a robust recording of scientific activity through a dedicated blockchain infrastructure. This will help research, academia, and society at large. I am honored to be one of the founding members and to serve on the bloxberg executive board.”
Sandra Vengadasala, bloxberg initiator and deputy manager of the Max Planck Digital Library stated: “In 2019, we started with a small consortium with the intention to do a blockchain project together. Three years later, we are the largest Proof of Authority network in the world, with over 50 research institutions as node validators! Therefore, the transformation from a consortium to a legal Association marks a new era for bloxberg. Let’s be excited to see what will happen in the next three years!”
About Bloxberg
The Association was initially established with an in-person signing ceremony by 13 founding members, with eleven research organisations and two individual members: Max Planck Society, Faculty of Organization and Informatics at University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organization and Informatics at the University of Zagreb, University College London (UCL), IT University of Copenhagen, University of Geneva, University of Kassel, University of Nicosia, Westfälische Hochschule University of Applied Sciences, Wrocław University of Science and Technology and Zhejiang University.
Bloxberg has been growing as a project for nearly five years and has over 50 members at the time. With the status of an Association, all former consortium members can become Association members now by signing an Association membership. By joining the Association, institutions have the possibility to shape the future of bloxberg collectively.
Bloxberg’s mission is to advance science with its own blockchain infrastructure and to enable society as a whole to secure data with the reputational proof of research organizations worldwide. It broadens the scientific landscape of regionally and nationally governed blockchain networks. This makes it the first globally maintained decentralized scientific network for scientists. Dedicated to this mission, the bloxberg Association facilitates and accelerates the decentralized blockchain bloxberg and scientific applications running on top of it. The excellent reputation of the participating research organizations encourages scientists worldwide to utilize the bloxberg network and the applications built on top of the infrastructure.
About the Institute For the Future, University of Nicosia
Nicosia (UNIC), aimed at advancing emerging technologies and contributing to their effective application in industry, government and education as well as evaluating their impact on employment, wealth inequality and our lives and societies in general. UNIC|IFF operates the world’s first academic programs in digital assets, including its flagship MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency program and the first 100% on-chain university course “Introduction to NFTs and the Metaverse” along with a MOOC on Decentralized Finance and a MOOC on Blockchain and Digital Currencies.
Twitter: @IFFunic
