DIVINE News

Promoting DIVINE at EE4M Workshops

The Horizon Europe Divine Project had a fantastic January finale, being featured in three focus group discussions organized by the Erasmus+ Project EE4M from January 29 to 31 at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering NTUA, in Athens, Greece.

ICCS-NTUA showcased DIVINE’s innovative data-driven tools and approaches to an audience of approximately 40 professionals, recent graduates, and students with backgrounds in information and communication technologies (ICT), engineering, logistics and supply chain management, product development, and entrepreneurship among others.

This event strengthened collaboration with EE4M, which focuses on engineering education and professional development within the mobility value chain. Many smart solutions developed within DIVINE could be extended to EE4M, particularly in data-driven decision making, sustainable supply chains, and digital transformation, further driving innovation across sectors.

Divine 3rd newsletter

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲!

Dive into our recent breakthroughs in the data-driven agricultural sector! Check it out: https://divine-project.eu/newsletters/3/

What’s inside this edition?

This issue brings you exclusive insights from our 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀, each addressing distinct agricultural challenges in different countries across Europe. Discover each pilot’s:

• Objectives and intended applications
• Core activities conducted
• Anticipated benefits and key stakeholders involved
• Cross-pilot offerings
• Main challenges encountered
• and plans for future development

We also cover the 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 that highlight our journey toward building a resilient, data-driven economy for the agricultural sector.

Revolutionising Agriculture with HPC and AI: Real World Applications

On September 24th, 2024, the DIVINE Project was featured at the "Revolutionising Agriculture with HPC and AI: Real-World Applications" webinar, hosted by EuroCC SLING, the Slovenian Competence Center for High-Performance Computing (HPC). The event brought together experts to explore how cutting-edge technologies are transforming agriculture.

Tomaz Bokan from ITC - Innovation Technology Cluster delivered an engaging presentation titled “Exploring Cutting-Edge AI Tools Revolutionising the Agri-Food Sector through Innovative EU Projects”. He highlighted how AI-driven technologies and data space innovations within DIVINE and other Horizon Europe projects are advancing precision farming, food processing, and supply chain optimization—boosting efficiency and sustainability.

A key highlight was the progress of the DIVINE pilot in Slovenia’s Pomurje region and the livestock benchmarking platform, which supports:

• Optimizing milk production and pork advisory services
• Monitoring the carbon footprint on farms

The webinar attracted a diverse audience of businesses, engineers, researchers, and farmers, all eager to embrace the transformative potential of HPC and AI in agriculture, sparking vibrant discussions and fostering new collaborations.

Learn more about the webinar here.

62nd International Fair of Agriculture and Food (AGRA 2024)

Our Slovenian partners, ITC - Innovation Technology Cluster (DIH Agrifood) and Kmetijsko gozdarska zbornica Slovenije (KGZS - Zavod Murska Sobota), made a strong impact at the 62nd International Fair of Agriculture and Food (AGRA 2024) held from August 24th to 29th in Gornja Radgona, Slovenia. With over 1,700 exhibitors from 35 countries and more than 100,000 visitors, AGRA 2024 was Slovenia’s largest and most influential agricultural fair.

During the event, our partners showcased key achievements of the DIVINE Project, particularly focusing on how digital innovation and the DIVINE Agricultural Data Space Ecosystem are being applied to optimize milk production. Visitors had the chance to see the livestock benchmarking app in action, demonstrating how data sharing and digital tools can empower farmers and advisors to improve operations using data-driven insights. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and we are excited about the growing interest in our approach to digital transformation in agriculture.

The second edition of the Horizon Europe Divine Project newsletter is now available

The second edition of the Horizon Europe Divine Project newsletter is now available https://divine-project.eu/newsletters/2/!

This edition covers the significant strides we made during the last semester of our project. As we have recently completed the first period of the DIVINE project, we celebrated numerous technical and non-technical achievements.

In this issue, we delve into a major technical milestone: the development of the Reference Architecture of the #DIVINEecosystem.

You will also find updates on our latest activities, including:

• Plenary meetings of the project consortium
• Collaborations with related projects
• Participation in conferences and other international, European, and national events
• Virtual techtalks and magazine features

Stay connected and keep up with our journey as we pave the way for a robust data economy in the agricultural sector!

Horizon Europe Divine Project, co-organized the session "Innovation and Digitalization in Agriculture" at the WFO2024 Annual Meeting

Last week, Horizon Europe Divine Project, in collaboration with TRUSTyFOOD and World Farmers' Organisation, co-organized the session "Innovation and Digitalization in Agriculture" at the WFO2024 Annual Meeting held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome. The session delved into the challenges and opportunities of the digitalization transition in agriculture.

Our project coordinator, Ioanna Roussaki, Assoc. Prof. at National Technical University of Athens, ICCS - NTUA , kicked off with an insightful presentation titled “Exploiting agricultural datasharing for the benefit of farmers”. She shed light on the Agricultural DataSpace Ecosystem of DIVINE, which integrates common agridata spaces to support farmers to leverage the vast amount of valuable data that is generated by new technologies and innovative agricultural practices, ultimately helping them access new markets and boost profitability.

Then, Marianna Faraldi, Project Coordinator of TRUSTyFOOD from Tecnoalimenti S.C.p.A., presented “Barriers and drivers to blockchain technology application in agriculture.” She illuminated the fragmented landscape of blockchain in the #agrifood domain, clarifying the real benefits and opportunities of this emerging technology, particularly in enhancing traceability, transparency, and accountability within food supply chains.

We also heard from inspiring young farmers from both the Global North and South. Katariina Latva, Chair of the Finnish Young Farmers Select Committee and WFO Gymnasium Alumna, presented “From Field to Fork – through data and traceability”, while Mark Kiprono Kemei, WFO Gymnasium Alumnus from Kenya National Farmers' Federation (KENAFF), discussed “Transforming Agriculture with Information Technology: KENAFF’s Digital Initiatives”.

Delia Milazzo from Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA expertly moderated the session, and Andrea Porro, WFO Secretary General, warmly welcomed attendees from across six continents. The lively Q&A session at the end highlighted the global interest and engagement in these critical topics.

Thank you to all participants for a dynamic and enriching discussion! Let's continue to innovate and drive digital transformation in agriculture together.

Discover more here https://drive.google.com/.../1mKk4HLJ8mhBfhZHA65pgPP.../view and watch the session on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/live/jQnpFKARxSI

Horizon Europe Divine Project Partner Presentation at the SDS Conference 2024

Our esteemed partner Delia Milazzo from Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA delivered an enlightening presentation titled "Addressing Agricultural Data Management Challenges with the Enhanced TRUE Connector" during the "Data Science and Dataspaces: challenges, results, and next steps" session of the Statistics and Data Science (SDS) Conference 2024, which was organized by the Università degli Studi di Palermo, on April 11th and 12th.

This paper delved into crucial interoperability aspects addressed within the Horizon Europe Divine Project's Agricultural Data Spaces Ecosystem. Congratulations to all the authors: Sergio Comella, Delia Milazzo, Mattia Giuseppe Marzano, Giulia Antonucci, Susanna Bonura and Angelo Marguglio for their remarkable contributions.

Curious to learn more about how we are revolutionizing agricultural data management? Follow this link to gain more insights: https://gianluca-sottile.github.io/Statistics-and-Data-Science-Conference/invited3.html

Horizon Europe Divine Project 5th plenary meeting

The 5th plenary meeting of the Horizon Europe Divine Project is underway! Our partners have gathered in the beautiful city of Rome, Italy, to embark on crucial discussions encompassing the latest updates, milestones achieved over the past months, and collaborative problem-solving to address ongoing challenges.

Earlier in the morning, we delved into the insightful feedback obtained from the first round of our pilots which is about to be completed. These insights will serve as the bedrock for enhancing our applications and services as we gear up for the forthcoming second round of our pilots, which is scheduled to launch in a few months.

Continuing our momentum, we embarked on an enlightening session centered around the DIVINE ecosystem architecture and its seamless technical integration, laying the groundwork for enhanced operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Over the next two days, our agenda promises very interesting discussions on various topics, including the DIVINE Agricultural DataSpaces Ecosystem, knowledge extraction from agridata, and the development of decision support systems, as well as governance models and policy making frameworks for agridata sharing.

Grateful to our partner CREA - Ricerca for hosting this strategic meeting and for facilitating remote participation for additional members of our consortium!

Horizon Europe Divine Project presented at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference

Thrilled to announce that Horizon Europe Divine Project has been presented at the World Farmers' Organisation's stand during COP28 UAE – the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, held from November 30th to December 12th, 2023. The conference brought together negotiators from nearly 200 parties, world leaders, government representatives, and stakeholders with a shared goal: identifying global solutions to curb the rise in the global temperature and accelerate the green transition, ultimately achieving the Paris Agreement goals.

This year's COP was particularly noteworthy for its heightened focus on food and agriculture, underscoring its critical role in addressing the climate crisis. Our partner, World Farmers' Organisation (WFO), was there with over 70 farmer representatives collaborating in the Farmers’ Constituency. Together with their fellow farmers, they advocated for the crucial role of farmers in climatechange mitigation, pushed for increased global climate ambition in agriculture, and actively negotiated sustainable land management and food security. Their efforts substantially contributed to the Food Systems and Climate Action Agenda.

Natalia Lupi from World Farmers' Organisation took the opportunity to engage with hundreds of visitors at the WFO exhibition booth, showcasing the innovative solutions developed within the Horizon Europe Divine Project. More specifically, she shed light on the transformative power of agridata and the positive impact of boosting the data economy in agriculture to promote resilient and regenerative food production systems on the planet, nature, and the people. Farmers and other stakeholders in the agrifood sector who bear the brunt of the climate crisis were particularly interested in leveraging these data-centered approaches to mitigate climate change-induced damages.

Let's continue making a difference together!

Horizon Europe Divine Project presentation in the IEEE 9th World Forum on IοΤ

Soumya Kanti Datta, CEO of Digiotouch OU, presented the Horizon Europe Divine Project's Agricultural Data Spaces Ecosystem approach in the Cloud Computing Topical session of the IEEE 9th World Forum on Internet of Things (WFIoT2023), held from October 12th to 27th, 2023, in Aveiro, Portugal.

More specifically, he shed light on our project's vision, ecosystem, interconnected #dataspaces and technical architecture, highlighting some key technical challenges and targeted outcomes.

It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our commitment to advancing the agricultural field, and we're thrilled to contribute to the global conversation on IoT and cloud computing.

Our technical partners are putting in tremendous effort to provide the essential technical infrastructure. We are actively building the DIVINE Agricultural Data Space Ecosystem, implementing the required DataSpace protocol, developing predictive models, and extending the current agricultural Information Model

Horizon Europe Divine Project at European Big Data Value Forum 2023

Horizon Europe Divine Project at EBDVF2023: “Data and AI in Action: Sustainable Impact and Future Realities”

Our partner Delia Milazzo, from Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA, had the honour of representing Horizon Europe Divine Project at the European Big Data Value Forum 2023 (EBDVF2023), hosted by the BDVA - Big Data Value Association in Valencia, Spain from October 25th to 27th.

This year's forum was centred around the theme of "Data and AI in Action: Sustainable Impact and Future Realities" gathering hundreds of diverse stakeholders, including but not limited to industry professionals, business developers, researchers, and policy makers from across Europe and around the globe.

Delia Milazzo delivered a compelling speech and gave a presentation entitled "Cultivating AgriFood Data Economy: ADSE Insights & Business Models", in the context of the "DataSpaces for enabling AI solutions in AgriFood" session. She shared valuable insights from the innovative information and business models, as well as the Agricultural Data Space Ecosystem employed within the Horizon Europe Divine Project.

The session fostered engaging discussions among technology providers, the farming community and other stakeholders, with a focus on the current landscape, rising opportunities, and driving forces towards supporting the European Data Strategy's objective of establishing a single data market.

It's a remarkable journey, and we're excited to be at the forefront of shaping the future of #agriculture through data-driven solutions. Stay tuned for more updates!

Discussion with EC project officers about the Deliverable 3.1

Fostering a Common European Agri Data Space!

Last week, core WP3 partners of the Horizon Europe Divine Project had the chance to engage in a productive discussion with EC project officers about the Deliverable 3.1 “Agricultural Data Space Ecosystem – Release 1”.

The main focus of the discussion was on:

• Common Agricultural Data Model and Semantic Interoperability
• Data Management and Integration
• Data Transparency, Protection, Trust, Sovereignty, Traceability, and Usage Monitoring
• Agricultural Data Space Ecosystem Development and Data Stakeholder Interaction

Both sides made interesting remarks and shared knowledge and experiences to further facilitate the creation of a Common European Agri Data Space and address the challenges that lie ahead.

Presentation of the Horizon Europe Divine Project at IEEECOINS 2023

Our project coordinator, Professor Ioanna Roussaki, chaired the Agriculture Vertical Track at the IEEE International Conference on Omni-Layer Intelligent Systems (IEEECOINS), which was held from July 23rd to July 25th, 2023, in Berlin, Germany.

There, she had the chance to present the vision and the main outputs of the Horizon Europe Divine Project.

She discussed various aspects of the project with the session participants, received very positive feedback and interesting remarks, while she had the chance to establish new links of DIVINE with related initiatives and research groups across the globe.

We are excited about the positive reception that our project received, and we hope that these new partnerships will strengthen DIVINE’s global impact.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Presentation of the Divine Project at the online gymnasium of the World Farmers' Organisation

On July 4, our partners Anil Turkmayali (International Data Spaces Association), Giulia Antonucci (Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA), and Alessandra Diana (FARM EUROPE) presented the Horizon Europe Divine Project at the online gymnasium of the World Farmers' Organisation. Together, they shed light on the immense power of datasharing, dataspaces, and IDS in revolutionizing the agriculture industry.

The session was interactive, fostering engagement with young farmers through a survey. The key findings of this survey are the following:

1. Farmers require technical support and guidance to facilitate data sharing.
2. Farmers seek assistance in leveraging and maximizing the value of their data.
3. Farmers emphasize the significance of accessing high-quality data within a dataspace, as well as the need for an effective mechanism to assess and ensure data quality.

We are committed to addressing these needs and empowering farmers on their digital journey. Together, let's continue leveraging the transformative capabilities of data to drive positive change in the agriculture sector!

DIVINE Project in EU AgriResearch Conference 2023

Our project coordinator, Professor Ioanna Roussaki, represented Horizon Europe Divine Project at the 2023 EU AgriResearch Conference, which took place in Brussels on 31 May – 1 June. There, she had the chance to promote the work of DIVINE and initiate collaboration with other Horizon Europe projects, such as AgriDataSpaces.

The session on "Digital and Data technologies in agriculture: R&I for sectoral transformation" was of particular interest providing valuable insights into the main research and innovation needs and opportunities in the agriculture sector, as well as the respective barriers and challenges in place that need to be addressed. The implementation of a Common European Agricultural DataSpace is planned and DIVINE has already started preparing related outputs to support this initiative.

DIVINE Meeting with Commission and REA on Wed 19/4/2023

On Wed 19/4/2023, the Horizon Europe Divine Project was presented to EC policy officers from DGAgri and DGCNect units. We had a fruitful discussion on several aspects related to our proposed agricultural dataspace ecosystem, including but not limited to:

• Means to boost the agridata economy
• Targeted types of data and dataspaces under our radar
• Incentives to farmers for datasharing and
• mapping to policy needs and legislative requirements

Finally, we explored potential opportunities arising from cooperations with other sister projects.

Project presentation at EU Synergy Workshop

Representatives from DIVINE attended a recent technical workshop in Brussels focused on ‘Research and Innovation in Agricultural data – achieving synergies, mapping achievements, knowledge gaps and potentials’. The event was organised jointly by the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), the Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), and the Directorate‑General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD).

The workshop took place in Brussels on 16 and 17 November 2022. The main objectives were to:

• Take stock of R&I achievements in the field of agricultural data;
• Map planned R&I activities in the field of agricultural data and achieve synergies between projects, and
• Identify R&I needs to exploit the potential of data and data technologies for agriculture and policy monitoring.

DIVINE project coordinator, Professor Ioanna Roussaki (ICCS), and WP6 Leader, Szabolcs Zoldreti (Farm Europe), presented the project and initiated collaboration with related projects.

DIVINE participates in IOT WEEK 2022

DIVINE participated in IoT Week 2022 which took place in Dublin, Ireland from June 20-23rd. The IoT Week is a 4 day conference where leaders from the worlds of business, technology, science and academia shed light on the future of technology and its impact on business and life. Representatives from around the world attended over 135 sessions which took place across various sectors.