The Innovation Cluster for Digital Society (Biztonságos Digitális Társadalom Innovációs Klaszter – BDTIK) held its inaugural meeting on July 27, 2021, with the participation of SZTAKI. At the same time, it launched innovative projects aimed at the development of e-government and e-public services, the performance of law enforcement tasks, and the application of artificial intelligence for administrative purposes, which could not yet meet the needs of citizens. The cluster brings together industry-leading public IT service providers, and higher education and academic institutions, to combine their research and development activities to further support a digital society through their innovations. The cluster operates within the framework of the National Laboratory for Infocommunications and Information Technology.
One of the aims of the National Laboratory for Infocommunications and Information Technology is to contribute to the purposeful and conscious use of national data assets and to the creation of the necessary professional environment. Government and administrative bodies are committed to coordinating resources with cybersecurity, law enforcement and e-government research and development. Another key focus of the Laboratory is the development of competencies related to the research listed above. Achievement of these goals is aided by research that increases service capability and efficiency.
The strategic objective of the Innovation Cluster for Digital Society, implemented within the framework of the National Laboratory, is to effectively and innovatively promote the application of artificial intelligence in e-government. In this way, it can effectively support the utilization of national data assets and the coordination of e-government research and development activities. Collaborations will involve leading public IT service providers, higher education and scientific institutions in the field, with the goal of achieving results that can be used in the medium term.
The founding members of the cluster are IdomSoft Informatikai Zrt., the National Infocommunications Service Company Ltd. (NISZ), ELKH SZTAKI, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
The cluster plans to use the results of research and development and innovation primarily to perform public tasks. In the future, some of its results may be utilized in accordance with the wider interests of the Hungarian State and in the international space or market environment. At the senior management event preceding the inaugural meeting of the cluster, those present unanimously emphasized that a professional collaboration will take place that can form a connection with the new technologies and challenges of the 21st century. This is an essential step in the innovative development of public tasks. The membership of the cluster is constantly expanding to include new organizations, with the whole professional circle of organizations soon to be involved in the developments. Citizens will also soon be able to come up with new innovative solutions in their administration.