Blockchain technology has been considered one of the major technological innovations of the last decade. Despite its popularity and multiple advantages, the technology has to offer, there are still many challenges, which prevent it to be put into practice and economic use. One of its main challenges is its inherent feature, which provides data immutability, which in turn makes it impossible to store personal data in blockchain networks due to regulations such as GDPR and the related right to be forgotten. We have filed a patent application with the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Patent Office, which covers an invention, whose subject solves the above mentioned technical problem. The invention can be used in any economic activity, where there is a need to use permanently immutable and decentralized storage, such as blockchain, for personal data storage. Until now, this has not been possible, resulting in poorer adoption of blockchain technology in the economy. The method and device presented in the invention allow the owners of the data stored in the aforementioned storages to control the inspection and at the same time to the right to forget. In the storing process, the proposed method separately deals with the actual and linking data. The content of the linking data is the direct or indirect identifier of an owner of the actual data (e.g., personal data), while de-identified several times, using various pseudonymization techniques supported by cryptography, before storing it in such storage. The process of re-identification of pseudonymized data by means of the proposed method and device allows the owner control over each respective inspection request into its data stored in the permanently immutable, distributed, and decentralized storage. The proposed method and device allow storing data in compliance with regulations relating to the processing of personal data.
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 22518294EduCTX is a digital platform for assigning, managing, storing, sharing, and displaying digital micro-certificates and is based on blockchain technology, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. The decentralized and distributed environment ensures that micro-certificates (i.e., diplomas, certificates, awards, commendations) are automatically replicated (distributed) among the platform's stakeholders, whereby no one has complete control over the data - everyone shares data equally. The solution manages digital certificates of various types, which serve as proof of acquired knowledge and skills, where the issuers of certificates are network nodes, i.e., educational organizations designated as certified entities. Currently, four higher education institutions are involved in pilot use as EduCTX nodes, one is UM FERI, the second is the University of Sarajevo, BiH, the third is the Fachhochschule Bielefeld, Germany, and the fourth is Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic. In 2019, the platform received the eAward - award for the best project in the field of computer science and informatics from the Slovenian Society of Informatics. To facilitate the expansion of the EduCTX network among educational organizations, at the beginning of 2020, we have established the first Slovenian node as a part of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), which can technically contribute to the further development of the platform at the European Union level.
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 21085718For many years we have been the organizers and initiators of the conference series OTS - Advanced Information Technology and Services. Since 1996, OTS has been one of the leading independent IT conferences in Slovenia, which connects companies and academia, enabling knowledge and experience transfer on advanced IS/IT approaches, tools, services and technologies. At the same time, it contributes to the development and enrichment of Slovenian professional terminology. The topics of the conference were constantly adapted to current trends in IS development and IT technology. The popularity and pervasiveness of the conference is also reflected in the number of participants, as their number in recent years has hovered around 250. The participants are experts in the field of informatics, as well as students and other stakeholders. In June 2018, we successfully carried out the 23rd conference OTS 2018. The conference was attended by more than 270 participants (including the 50 undergraduate or master students of the faculty). Twenty-five papers were divided into eight sections covering the following areas: blockchain (two sections), advanced architectures and solutions, cyber-security and data protection, agile processes and development approaches, data technology and intelligent services, and web technologies. In June 2019, we successfully carried out the 24th conference OTS 2019 Advanced Information Technology and Services. The conference was attended by more than 260 participants (including the 50 undergraduate or master students of the faculty). Twenty-nine papers were divided into eight sections related to the following areas: augmented intelligence, blockchain solutions and technologies, distributed infrastructures, cybersecurity and digital identity, agile processes and approaches for software development, architectures and tools, development of programming languages, web and mobile technologies. Two post-conference workshops were organized as well: Hyperledger Iroha Hands-on Workshop and Fundamentals of Deep Learning for Computer Vision. Additionally, in the year 2019, we organized a 23rd European Conference on Advances in Databases and Information Systems (ADBIS), which took place in Bled. One hundred eight participants from 32 countries have participated in the conference. The conference is being held each year in a different place in Europe. The Slovenian edition stood out due to excellent organization and the largest number of participants in recent years. In the scope of the conference, we organized four invited lectures, five workshops and 30 parallel sessions. The papers have been published in two Springer proceedings, 27 in LNCS series and 55 in CCIS series. Published papers covered areas of data mining and warehouses, machine learning, big data technologies, semantic data processing, and data modelling as well as applications of text databases, streaming data, and graph processing. It is no coincidence that we have been successfully organizing professional and scientific, domestic and international conferences for many years. Certainly, this is the result of hard work that also the awards received demonstrate. Member of our program group, prof. dr. Tatjana Welzer Družovec, received the honorary title of Congress Ambassador of Slovenia 2019.
F.18 Transfer of new know-how to direct users (seminars, fora, conferences)
COBISS.SI-ID: 96825345In January 2020, assist. prof. dr. Aida Kamišalić Latifić, a member of the program group, was awarded the Female Engineer of the Year 2019 title. Within the Female Engineer of the Year competition, ten individuals are presented each year, who with their interesting and successful stories make an important contribution to the promotion of engineering, science and innovation. In doing so, they set an important example for girls and offer an answer to their doubts about the appropriateness of choosing engineering professions. Out of 10 nominees, the judging panel was most convinced this year by a member of our program group. Research work of assist. prof. dr. Aida Kamišalić Latifić covers the field of advanced data technologies, mainly dealing with blockchain technology and distributed data storages. As a co-inventor, she has a registered patent in Slovenia and a co-authored application for an international patent, and she can also boast of important publications in journals with an impact factor. Her role as Female Engineer of the Year is to inspire young people for engineering careers. She has participated in numerous radio and television shows (COBISS.SI-ID: 12804937, 14980867, 14979843), as well as in numerous interviews for radio, television shows and newspapers (COBISS.SI-ID: 14843395, 14982659, 14895875). She brought the importance of our work closer to the general public, presenting our numerous projects for social good. Assist. prof. dr. Aida Kamišalić Latifić is also a supporter of the Ladies in Informatics initiative, which brings together members of the program group to inspire young women for engineering professions and reduce gender gaps in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as breaking down stereotypes about predominantly male professions.
E.01 National awards
COBISS.SI-ID: 14850563Nature-inspired algorithms are a very popular tool for solving optimization problems. Numerous variants of nature-inspired algorithms have been developed since the beginning of their era. To prove their versatility, those were tested in various domains on various applications, especially when they are hybridized, modified, or adapted. However, the implementation of nature-inspired algorithms is sometimes a difficult, complex, and tedious task. In order to break this wall, NiaPy microframework is intended for simple and quick use, without spending time on implementing algorithms from scratch. At the current state, the NiaPy comprises 39 algorithms and 40 benchmark functions.
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 21400854