This September, the O-CEI project marked a significant presence at two major events in Madrid: AIOTI Days 2025 and the Open-Source Community Days (OSCD). Participation at both gatherings underscored the project’s commitment to fostering cross-domain collaboration, advancing open-source solutions, and promoting sustainable, scalable digital infrastructures across Europe. The visibility and engagement generated during these events highlight the growing importance of O-CEI’s work and the strong interest it sparks among industry leaders, researchers, and innovators.
AIOTI Days 2025: Spheres, Open Call, and Standardisation
At AIOTI Days, O-CEI played a central role in shaping discussions around interoperability, large-scale digital pilots, and open innovation.
On September 22, the CEI-Sphere workshop introduced its Spheres framework and demonstrated how these align with the O-CEI and other large-pilot projects, providing a concrete view of how distributed intelligence can support resilient, sustainable infrastructure. The workshop also emphasized Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) through O-CEI’s Open Calls, and Ignacio Lacalle Úbeda (UPV) presented detailed specifications for each of the project’s eight pilots. SMEs and startups were actively encouraged to participate, and the session generated lively discussion around challenges, funding, and opportunities, reflecting the high level of interest and engagement from attendees. BluSpecs, the O-CEI WP6 Leader, contributed substantially to enhancing the project’s visibility and impact within the community.
Later that day, O-CEI partner Trialog moderated the workshop “Standardisation Leveraging the Hourglass Approach”, focusing on the widely adopted hourglass framework for promoting interoperability and scalability in technology. The session highlighted how this standardisation model can support EU-funded projects and align with EU policies on infrastructure, offering a robust path toward creating resilient, adaptable, and long-term compatible systems.
On September 23, O-CEI co-organized the “Projects on Edge Cloud Continuum” session with the aerOS project, showcasing the transfer of key results from the MetaOS cluster to large-scale pilots. Dr. Andreu Belsa (UPV) presented O-CEI’s blueprints, marketplace concept, and deployment strategies across energy-related sectors, further demonstrating the project’s capacity to advance innovation across Europe’s digital infrastructure landscape.
Throughout AIOTI Days, the Open Call opportunities were a recurring topic, attracting questions on funding, eligibility, and application processes. In addition, interactions with one member of the O-CEI Advisory Board allowed for productive exchanges on the project’s global outlook and long-term potential. The networking sessions and panel discussions enabled O-CEI consortium to forge new connections and position the project as a key player in the European digital ecosystem.
Open-Source Community Days: Openness, Standards, and Collaboration
Following the AIOTI Days, O-CEI was actively represented at the Open-Source Community Days, organized in Madrid by Eclipse Foundation – O-CEI’s Open-Source leader. The OSCD event featured a broad program of presentations and discussions, with European Commission officials highlighting the strategic importance of open-source development for EU-funded research.
The project showcased its open-source strategy, emphasizing alignment with OSS initiatives and the adoption of open licenses such as Apache 2.0 to ensure transparency, collaboration, and the long-term sustainability of its results.
O-CEI’s participation included a session on “Open Source and Standardisation”, moderated by Antonio Kung (Trialog) and Rosaria Rossini (Eclipse Foundation). The discussion highlighted the crucial role of open-source implementations and formal standards in driving technology adoption and interoperability across the cloud-edge continuum. Cécile Rabrait (Trialog) presented O-CEI’s specific standardisation activities, showing how the project leverages these approaches to foster collaboration and ensure conformity across diverse digital infrastructures.
As a satellite session to AIOTI and OSCD, Trialog coordinated the “Hourglass Model Synergy Event”, bringing together representatives from the O-CEI, CEI-Sphere, LICORICE, and HEDGE-IoT projects, as well as ECLIPSE Foundation. This panel provided an excellent opportunity to present O-CEI’s objectives, highlight synergies with complementary projects, and establish meaningful connections with their representatives for potential future collaboration.
O-CEI’s active presence at both AIOTI Days 2025 and the Open-Source Community Days demonstrated the project’s pivotal role in advancing collaboration, standardisation, and open innovation across Europe’s digital ecosystem. From active participation within the Spheres framework to highlighting Open Call opportunities and open-source strategies, O-CEI showcased how its initiatives drive scalable, interoperable, and sustainable solutions. These events not only strengthened the project’s visibility and partnerships but also reinforced its commitment to shaping a connected, resilient, and innovation-driven future across industries, cities, and the broader cloud-edge continuum.