The ExcellCity Winter School 2025, held from October 27 to 31, 2025, at the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (ULSIT) in Sofia, brought together distinguished academics, researchers, and students from across Europe for an intensive five-day training dedicated to “Big Data, Agentic AI & Microservices for Smart and Secure City Environments.”
Organized in collaboration with the University of Murcia (Spain) and the University of Messina (Italy), the Winter School served as a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange, research collaboration, and innovation in the field of smart and secure urban ecosystems.
Day 1 – Opening and Foundations
The event opened with welcoming remarks from ULSIT’s academic leadership, setting an inspiring tone for the week ahead.
Lectures introduced participants to the evolution of the FIWARE platform, applications of Artificial Intelligence, and security in digital environments, laying the groundwork for deeper exploration in the following days.
Day 2 – IoT, AI, and Smart Environments
The program continued with expert-led sessions focused on the intersection of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and data security.
Highlights included the lecture “IoT and AI for Smart Agro” by Prof. Antonio Skarmeta (University of Murcia, Spain), and a practical workshop on Security in FIWARE.
Participants also engaged in hands-on activities connecting IoT sensors and creating digital twins for smart city applications.
Day 3 – Big Data Analytics and Cloud Orchestration
Day 3 featured an advanced module on Big Data management and cloud-edge orchestration led by experts from the University of Messina (Italy).
Prof. Antonio Celesti presented “Advanced Big Data Warehouse with OLAP”, exploring modern techniques for large-scale data analysis, while Prof. Maria Fazio introduced participants to “Orchestration of Resources in the Cloud and at the Edge.”
Hands-on sessions on Big Data Analytics and Kubernetes provided participants with practical skills to deploy scalable solutions for smart environments.
Day 4 – Research, AI, and Edge Analytics
The fourth day centered on research presentations and academic exchange, showcasing PhD projects and discussions moderated by Prof. Massimo Villari, Prof. Maria Fazio, and Prof. Antonio Celesti from the University of Messina.
Afternoon sessions focused on AI-based workflows in distributed systems and Edge Analytics, encouraging collaboration and idea-sharing in a dynamic academic atmosphere.
Day 5 – Agentic AI and Closing Ceremony
The final day of the Winter School highlighted cutting-edge developments in Agentic AI, Big Data in practice, and AI inference models at the Edge, with lectures delivered by Prof. Massimo Villari and Prof. Antonio Celesti.
The event concluded with a roundtable discussion dedicated to future research initiatives and joint academic projects, reinforcing the strong partnership among the participating universities.
Fostering Collaboration and Innovation
Throughout the week, participants explored how Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and microservice architectures can transform urban environments into smarter, safer, and more sustainable cities.
The Winter School successfully strengthened collaboration between ULSIT, the University of Murcia, and the University of Messina, promoting interdisciplinary research and fostering the next generation of innovators in smart city technologies.
ULSIT extends its gratitude to all lecturers, researchers, and students for their active participation and to its European partners for their contribution to this enriching academic experience.
The project is financed by the European Union-Next GenerationEU through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, project № BG-RRP-2.005-0003.
