New products, services & applications
Ideas developed from the community’s real needs — built to be used by someone in Vrancea, not for a report.
Research and development in Vrancea
· 2026–2035 · 6 areas of workR&D Hub — Research & Innovation.
A place in Vrancea where young people can build and test prototypes: AI, sensors, robots, apps. Together with the community, not just for it.
- 2026–2035
- Digital education & AI
Project sheet
A research lab in a small town, not only in the big cities.
The R&D Hub gives young people the infrastructure, mentors and links to real research, so they no longer have to leave in order to innovate.
Project status
Concept · 2035 target- 1ConceptAnalysis & partners
- 2PilotFirst activities
- 3OngoingActive in the community
- 4ExpansionRegional scale-up
19,2%
of young people aged 15–29 in Romania are neither in education nor in employment
Eurostat, 2025 · [1]5.2%of companies in Romania use AIEurostat, 2025 · [2]
✓What already exists
- Robot and sensor prototypes built by young people
- The plan for the hub’s 6 areas of work
→Project objectives
- 20+ prototypes turned into real products or services (2035)
- A network of 500+ young researchers trained locally (2035)
- Permanent partnerships with universities and tech companies
R&D Hub · Research & Innovation · from the field
The project in pictures.
Photos from our workshops. Support the project so it can reach the next school too.
From idea to prototype: robots that learn
Sensors and algorithms for greener decisions
Anatomy of a line-following robot
Research and innovation for green solutions
The problem
Vrancea has no infrastructure for applied research.
Good technical ideas die for lack of equipment, advanced technical mentoring and links to real industrial research. Talented young people leave for the big cities or abroad to find laboratories, equipment and research and development projects they can contribute to.
300+Young people involved in applied research
20+Prototypes tested in the community
500+young researchers (2035)
The approach
How we work.
AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain, cloud, HPC, VR/AR
Emerging technologies made available to young researchers.
Industrial research & experimental development
Applied research in partnership with universities, companies and research institutes.
Prototyping, testing & validation
Every solution goes through real testing cycles in the community before it is considered ready.
Equipment & technology infrastructure
Laboratories, local servers and edge compute, IoT kits, 3D printers, VR/AR equipment — permanent infrastructure.
Research and development staff
Mentors, engineers and researchers who guide every stage — alongside ESC volunteers and university partners.
2035 targets
A place where Vrancea invents, not just uses technology.
Vrancea hosts a functioning, recognised R&D hub
20+ prototypes become real products or services, most through the incubator
Permanent partnerships with universities and tech companies
A network of 500+ young researchers and engineers trained locally
Turning pixels into oxygen
“A prototype built by young people in Vrancea can change the way a village breathes.”
Part of
The Digital education & AI programme.
Extended through the Green Innovation Hub
What we build next.
This programme feeds directly into the Green Innovation Hub initiatives, built on European models.
What we hope for · how you can help
Good ideas from Vrancea need a lab.
Choose how you would like to contribute.
Help equip the hub
3D printers, IoT kits, workstations.
Donate →Universities and institutes
Applied research alongside young people.
Propose a partnership →Engineers and researchers
Mentoring on prototypes.
Become a mentor →Project 2026–2035
This is a 10-year movement. Choose your role.
Sources and methodology
Where the figures come from.
Our own figures (young people trained, schools, localities) come from the association’s records and are published in the impact report. Context statistics come from official sources, with the year of the latest available edition.
- NEET young people (aged 15–29), Romania — the highest rate in the EUEurostat · edat_lfse_20 · 2025. See source ↗
- Companies (10+ employees) using artificial intelligence, Romania — last place in the EUEurostat · isoc_eb_ai · 2025. See source ↗
Portfolio 2026–2027
Technology built by young people, for resilient communities.
R&D Hub — Research & Innovation is part of the 2026–2027 portfolio of Asociația Grupul Verde: 43 programme lines in which young people build technology for nature, protected species, climate and democracy, with partners from Romania and the EU through Horizon Europe, LIFE, Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and CERV.
Technology, AI and resilience
Local experimentation spaces for the EU Missions
Schools and villages become test sites for the EU Missions on climate, soil and cities: young people prototype, the community decides what stays.
Target programme: Horizon Europe · Missions
Linked to: About the Hub, Centre 2035
Open science and research
European Researchers’ Night + Researchers at Schools
Researchers in classrooms and an open evening where young people show their prototypes: robots, sensors, apps for nature.
Target programme: Horizon Europe · MSCA
Linked to: Young Innovators Incubator, Youth, gender & activism
Technology, AI and resilience
Youth, digital innovation and disaster resilience
Secondary school students build flood, drought and earthquake sensors and a digital risk map that families and authorities can use.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Vrancea Ready, Resilient Communities
Open science and research
Youth, science and democracy (science literacy)
Pupils learn to read a study, spot a misleading statistic and build their own experiment with low-cost sensors.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Media & Democracy, AI in Romania
Democracy, memory and citizenship
Pupils and families in civic education
Pupils attend workshops with their parents on rights, voting and public services and build a small digital guide for the community together.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Civic and legal education, Citizenship & Rights
Technology, AI and resilience
AI in pre-school and primary education
Short activities, screen-free or with Marty the Robot, through which children aged 4–10 understand how a machine “thinks”. Young volunteers prepare them.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: First Steps, Digital education & AI
Support R&D Hub — Research & Innovation
Help this pilot get started.
Your donation goes straight into the activities of R&D Hub — Research & Innovation in Vrancea — materials, kits, trainers and transport for children and young people. Every amount counts.
Bank transfer with no fees · 3.5% of your tax · sponsorship with a contract