UNIVERSITATEA LUCIAN BLAGA DIN SIBIU

Their core work

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu is a Romanian public university that combines humanities research — particularly in literary history and cultural studies — with applied digital technology work in cyber-physical systems and digital innovation hubs. On the technical side, they support SMEs through model-based development platforms and digital twin initiatives. They are also active in science communication and citizen engagement, regularly participating in EU-wide public outreach events like Researchers' Night. Their flagship research effort is a major ERC-funded project reconstructing Romanian literary history within a transnational European framework.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), ULBS focused on science outreach events and began entering digital technology projects around personalized learning and cyber-physical systems. From 2019 onward, two clear shifts emerged: a deepening commitment to citizen science and public engagement (three projects in 2020–2021), and the launch of their landmark ERC grant in literary history — a significant step up in research ambition and funding scale. The digital strand continued with DIGITbrain, but the overall center of gravity moved toward humanities research and science-society engagement.

ULBS is pivoting from a supporting digital-tech participant toward a research leader in humanities and science-society engagement, anchored by their ERC grant running through 2026.

How they like to work

ULBS operates overwhelmingly as a consortium partner (7 of 8 projects), contributing specialized capabilities rather than leading large-scale coordination. Their single coordinated project is the ERC grant TRANSHIROL, which reflects individual PI excellence rather than consortium management experience. With 82 unique partners across 19 countries, they have built a broad but relatively shallow European network — typical of a mid-sized university joining diverse calls rather than anchoring repeated partnerships.

ULBS has collaborated with 82 distinct partners across 19 countries, indicating wide European reach built through diverse project types — from small outreach grants to large innovation actions. No single geographic cluster dominates, though Romania-focused outreach events suggest strong national networks alongside EU-wide digital and research consortia.

What sets them apart

ULBS offers an unusual combination of digital technology capacity (cyber-physical systems, digital twins for SMEs) and deep humanities scholarship — a rare dual profile among Romanian universities in H2020. Their ERC Consolidator Grant signals internationally recognized research quality in cultural studies, while their repeated participation in citizen science projects shows strong public engagement infrastructure. For consortium builders, they bring both technical credibility and the ability to handle science communication and dissemination work packages.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TRANSHIROL
  Their only coordinated project and an ERC Consolidator Grant (EUR 1.45M) — represents 69% of all their H2020 funding and signals top-tier individual research recognition in literary studies.
• HUBCAP
  Largest digital-sector project (EUR 278K), focused on building a collaborative platform for cyber-physical systems and connecting SMEs with digital innovation hubs.
• iRead
  Their longest-running digital project (4 years), developing personalized learning tools — shows sustained capacity in educational technology and applied ICT.