Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) and the European organization 28DIGITAL are strengthening their partnership by signing a new collaboration agreement to support the innovation ecosystem. The signing of the addendum took place on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at UBB headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two institutions: Prof. Dr. Daniel David, rector of UBB, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christian Săcărea, vice-rector of UBB and Mr. Federico Menna, CEO at 28DIGITAL.
“The strengthening of this partnership demonstrates Babeș-Bolyai University’s determination to act as a driver of innovation. This collaboration provides our academic community with direct access to prestigious European networks and supports the sustainable development of the regional digital ecosystem.” – stated Prof. Dr. Daniel David, rector of UBB.
“At 28DIGITAL, we believe that Europe’s competitiveness will be defined by its ability to connect talent, technology, and ecosystems across borders. Strengthening our partnership with Babeș-Bolyai University is a concrete step in that direction, anchoring a strong local presence while enabling access to a broader European innovation network to build a truly integrated European innovation ecosystem”, stated Mr. Federico Menna, CEO at 28DIGITAL.
The main directions of the agreement include UBB providing a free workspace to host the 28DIGITAL Romania Hub for a period of at least three years, starting in March 2026. At the same time, the partners commit to actively collaborating to identify additional funding sources from local and national authorities, with the aim of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the office. The agreement enters into force immediately and aims to ensure the continuity of education, innovation, and entrepreneurship activities in the region.
28DIGITAL (former EIT Digital) is a European organization dedicated to digital transformation and supporting the innovation ecosystem.
Tradition and Excellence with Culture-Science-Innovation since 1581
Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca (UBB) is the university with the most complex academic profile in the country (by its number of programmes and multicultural profile featuring three official academic languages: Romanian, Hungarian, and German), and with the oldest academic tradition in Romania (established 445 years ago – 1581), accounting for the largest academic community in the country (with a staff of more than 55,000 people, from 15 cities and 12 counties). Ever since its establishment, UBB has been one of the most prestigious and influential universities in Romania; for several years now, UBB has consistently ranked among the top 5% of the world’s universities (out of approximately 30,000), with an advanced academic infrastructure (e.g. RDI units integrated into European networks, up-to-date teaching laboratories integrating virtual/augmented/mixed reality through the UBB-EON-XR Centre, etc.). Recently (2021), following the international QS STAR audit, UBB was officially ranked as the first world-class university (QS*****) in Romania, and in 2020 UBB was included in the GUILD, the organisation of the most prestigious European world-class/research-intensive universities, it was awarded the European HR Award for Excellence, and as of 2021/2022 it is a member of the EUTOPIA alliance of European universities.
