On 22–24 September 2025, the CEI-Sphere project team was in Madrid for this year’s AIOTI Days and the Open Source Community Day. Both events brought together innovators, policymakers, and researchers to explore how emerging digital technologies are shaping Europe’s future.
Co-organised by CEI-Sphere and the Eclipse Foundation, and held alongside AIOTI’s flagship annual event, the Open Source Community Day 2025 served as a key meeting point for Europe’s Cloud-Edge-IoT (CEI) community. Together, these two events showcased how open collaboration, standardisation, and community-driven innovation are helping build a resilient and competitive European digital ecosystem.
During the AIOTI Days 2025, experts discussed how technologies such as AI, data continuum infrastructures, and digital twins are transforming cities and industries. Sessions on Collaboration and Standardisation, Green Enablement, and Virtual Twins and Verses emphasised the need for interoperability and cross-sector cooperation to ensure that technology serves both people and the planet.
A highlight of the programme was the session moderated by Antonio Kung (CEI-Sphere), "Standardisation Leveraging the Hourglass Approach", which introduced the Hourglass Model developed under CEI-Sphere. This conceptual framework provides a clear structure for understanding how different layers of digital systems, from IoT devices to applications and governance, can interconnect through open standards. The discussion explored how the model can guide EU-funded projects and policy initiatives towards greater interoperability, security, and scalability.
Open Source Community Day: Building Europe’s Collaborative Digital Backbone
The Open Source Community Day 2025, co-organised by CEI-Sphere and the Eclipse Foundation, gathered developers, researchers, and industry representatives to discuss how Europe can strengthen its role in open source governance and align innovation with EU values and strategic autonomy.
Through community sessions, poster showcases, and project presentations, participants exchanged insights on open source’s role across domains such as data spaces, AI, digital twins, cybersecurity, and semantic interoperability. Several EU-funded projects (including O-CEI, COP-PILOT, HEDGE-IoT, LICORICE, SPADE, and CONNECT), demonstrated how they are using the Hourglass Model to improve interoperability and foster trust in complex CEI environments.
Trust-IT’s Role
As the communication, dissemination, and engagement partner for CEI-Sphere, Trust-IT Services played a key role in ensuring that the discussions and insights from these events reach the wider CEI ecosystem. By facilitating community exchanges and promoting collaboration among research projects, industry stakeholders, and open source communities, Trust-IT helps strengthen Europe’s capacity to deliver an open, interoperable, and sustainable digital future.
Looking Ahead
The insights and connections made in Madrid mark an important step forward in aligning European research, innovation, and policy around the Cloud-Edge-IoT continuum. CEI-Sphere will continue supporting the O-CEI and COP-PILOT Large-Scale Pilots and further refine the Hourglass Model as a shared tool for cooperation across the ecosystem.
Stay tuned for upcoming events and opportunities to engage with the CEI-Sphere community as Europe moves toward a more connected, competitive, and sovereign digital future.
