Students challenged to provide solutions for bureaucracy reduction in public administration

The battle against bureaucracy is being fought on all fronts, and authorities are now looking to students to bring their own "weapons" to this fight. Students from all over the country are invited to register by November 1 for the "Romania Without a File" hackathon and offer their solutions for reducing bureaucracy in public administration using artificial intelligence. "The Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization has joined the fourth edition of the student hackathon "Romania Without a File,' a competition initiated by the University of Bucharest and the Chamber of Deputies. The hackathon will take place from November 10 to November 24, 2023, with the final event in Cluj-Napoca on November 24," the ministry informs. According to the organizers, competitors are expected to create digitization solutions using artificial intelligence and build communication campaigns to promote their own solutions. The Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization will present students with the project of the first digital public servant, a solution that hackathon participants will use to innovate in the area of public services provided by the Romanian state. Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, the Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization, stated, "Technology is changing the game. Administration needs to keep up with the development and implementation of advanced technologies. This is the only way to get rid of piles of paperwork, to have institutions without printers, and to excel through digitization. The students' solutions are extraordinary; I have been a mentor in the two previous editions of the hackathon, and I am delighted to work with young people. In this edition, I will participate in a working session with the students. The artificial intelligence-based solutions that win the competition can be implemented in concrete administrative processes." George Tuţă, a deputy of the Chamber of Deputies and the initiator of the competition, added, "Romanians need easy and integrated access to information about the services provided by the state. It is time to implement innovation in public administration and increase satisfaction levels in interactions with the government. The "Romania Without a File' project is based on the premise that young people are the future and, therefore, they should be the first to lay the foundations for a flexible administration, adapted to the present, and working solely for the benefit of the citizens." Students will work in mixed teams (IT & communication) to develop the two phases of the proposed project. Eligible students can come from any university in the country, enrolled in any year of undergraduate or master's degree programs at faculties with IT/technology or communication/administration/political science profiles. The teams will be mentored by 10 deputies and technically supervised by specialist teams from the Romanian start-up Humans.ai, the company behind the creation of the digital government advisor ION. The final day for registration is November 1, and the teams selected for the final round will receive a design thinking training provided by Ascendis, technical solution training from Humans.ai, and a working session with the Minister of Digitalization, Bogdan-Gruia Ivan. The "Romania Without a File" competition was initiated by the University of Bucharest and the Chamber of Deputies in 2022, and it is now in its fourth edition, involving practical activities for student teams who receive a brief and work under the guidance of mentor-deputies to create products aimed at reducing bureaucracy.