On May 29, 2024, the IDSA and Prometheus-X organized an engaging online IDSA Tech Talk highlighting the innovations of the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector and the Dataspace Protocol, cutting-edge solutions for the secure sharing of personal data. Discover in this article the highlights of this event, the noteworthy presentations, and the perspectives offered by these technological innovations.
Prometheus-X: A new infrastructure for sharing personal data in Europe
Matthias De Bièvre opened the event by introducing Prometheus-X, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating an interoperable infrastructure for data sharing in the fields of education and skills in Europe. The initiative aims to develop and implement open-source infrastructure components that enable secure, ethical, and efficient data exchange across various sectors, particularly in education, training, and employment.
In total, more than 19 organizations out of the 200 partner organizations of Prometheus-X are participating in the creation of these components. Prometheus-X is also involved in the adoption of these components through concrete use cases, covering various sectors across Europe.
Matthias De Bièvre then explained the unique approach of Prometheus-X and its member organizations with its unified governance model, common infrastructure, and pooled efforts, ensuring a coherent approach to data sharing. Additionally, the Prometheus-X approach introduces a new concept: the personal data intermediary. This intermediary provides individuals with the tools to manage their consents and rights without storing the data. Finally, Matthias De Bièvre presented an overview of the infrastructure architecture.
Practical applications of the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector and the Dataspace Protocol
Following this introduction to Prometheus-X, the event illustrated practical applications of these innovations, starting with the field of education.
Educational personal assistant
Benjamin André, CEO of CozyCloud, presented a use case in the education sector, using the Visions data space operating the Prometheus-X infrastructure, the educational personal assistant. In France, accessing learning traces and educational content remains a challenge. The numerous data sources complicate this task. To solve this problem, CozyCloud collaborated with the French Ministry of Education. Together, they created a personal digital space for each learner. This space helps students centralize their educational data. It facilitates the management of their journey and gives them access to connected school services. In this context, the educational personal assistant is offered to learners. This tool uses data to personalize the educational experience of users while ensuring the confidentiality and security of personal information.
Benjamin André then detailed the challenges encountered, notably ensuring that all students use this assistant. For this, the involvement of teachers is crucial to select and adapt educational content with AI. Finally, Benjamin André highlighted the essential role of the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector protocol in this project. This connector, based on IDSA’s standard, allows scaling the use of data and creating a secure ecosystem for personal data. Thanks to this infrastructure, the educational personal assistant operates optimally, providing an innovative and reliable educational solution.
Integration of Solid standards
The IDSA Tech Talk then explored the integration of Solid standards and the Dataspace Protocol, demonstrating how this technology can enhance personal data management. The Dataspace Protocol is developed by IDSA to simplify interoperable data sharing between the entities in a data space as well as the management of a data space, such as the agreement negotiations between the data space participants.
Tom Bergmans of IMEC demonstrated how to combine the Dataspace Protocol with Solid standards using the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector. With this approach, individuals can manage their permissions precisely and give their consent to share personal data stored in a Solid pod. This data can come from various sources such as smart watches, smartphone apps, governmental data sources etc. This integration allows optimized management of personal data, thus ensuring increased transparency and trust for individuals. This approach enables individuals to change their mindset and fully empower them over their personal data. This presentation was illustrated through a concrete example in the media data space.
Media Data Space
Continuing on the theme of Solid standards integration, Sylvain Le Bon, co-founder of Startin’blox and TEMS, presented the Trusted European Media Data Space (TEMS).
This project aims to disseminate content to media audiences under certain conditions, while meeting the growing demand for personalization and maintaining user trust. The Dataspace Protocol and the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector play a crucial role in this context. These solutions allow users to choose whether to share their personal data with trusted organizations to receive, for example, relevant content recommendations. This use case illustrates the practical application of the previously mentioned Solid standards integration, where personal data is managed optimally and transparently with Solid pods.
Technical exploration of the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector
To conclude the session, Félix Bole, CTO of Visions, presented a detailed technical exploration of the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector.
This connector facilitates the connection and interoperability with other data spaces and their systems, playing a crucial role in creating a coherent and interconnected data ecosystem. He also demonstrated how the connector’s functionalities comply with Gaia-X and IDSA standards. Félix Bole then explained the interaction of the connector with various components of the Prometheus-X infrastructure, such as the consent service, contracts, identity, and the catalog. A particular focus was placed on the catalog service, which offers reference models for:
- the roles of participants in a data space use case,
- economic and pricing models to help participants create offers,
- data usage policies used in contracts.
Félix Bole emphasized the importance of this service in the data exchange protocol operated by the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector. He also highlighted the integration of personal data intermediaries, a key innovation that gives individuals full control over their personal data. This approach allows users to manage their permissions and consents precisely, ensuring increased transparency and security in data sharing.
This event clearly demonstrated how the Prometheus-X Dataspace Connector and the Dataspace Protocol can transform the sharing and use of personal data. By adopting these solutions, organizations can offer robust solutions for data security and regulatory compliance.
For those who were unable to attend live, the replay of the event is available here.
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