Engineering Digital Sovereignty in AI-Enabled Information Systems: Principles, Architectures, and Emerging Research Directions

Organizers

Organizer: Sanjay Misra

Affiliation: Department of Digital Sovereignty, Institute for Energy Technology, Halden, Norway

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Biography: Sanjay Misra is a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway, and an internationally recognized researcher on Digital Sovereignty and applied informatics. He is the Founder of the International Conference on Digital Sovereignty (ICDS) and Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Digital Sovereignty and Global Data Governance, the first dedicated journal in the field. Ranked among Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Scientists since 2019, he has authored over 100 books and conference proceedings and delivered 100+ keynotes and invited talks around the world, establishing himself as a global leader shaping research, policy, and practice in Digital Sovereignty.

Organizer: Per-Arne Jørgensen

Affiliation: Senior Scientist, Institute for Energy Technology, Halden, Norway

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Biography: Per-Arne Jørgensen is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway, specializing in cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, and cyber-physical systems. With over 20 years of experience, he has led Security Operations Centers (SOC), ICT departments, and cybersecurity research initiatives. He has played a key role in establishing IFE’s IT/OT SOC and Cybersecurity Laboratory, while developing secure data platforms for critical infrastructures. His research focuses on industrial control system security, cyber resilience, IT/OT convergence, FIWARE technologies, and European Data Spaces, bridging advanced cybersecurity research with real-world industrial and societal applications.

Goal and specific area of interest

Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, and data-driven platforms are fundamentally transforming the way information systems are designed, deployed, and managed. At the same time, increasing dependence on global digital infrastructures has raised critical concerns regarding digital sovereignty,the ability of individuals, organizations, and nations to retain control over their data, technologies, AI systems, and digital infrastructure. This tutorial introduces the concept of Digital Sovereignty by Design, demonstrating how sovereignty principles can be integrated throughout the Information Systems Development (ISD) lifecycle. Rather than viewing sovereignty as solely a legal or policy issue, the tutorial presents it as an essential design principle for modern AI-enabled information systems.

Tutorial format

Part I: Digital Sovereignty: Why Information Systems Researchers Should Care (20 min)
Part II: Engineering Sovereignty into Information Systems(30 min)
Part III: Case Studies and Emerging Applications (25 min)
Part IV: Future Research Directions and Discussion (15 min)

Participants

The tutorial is intended for researchers in Information Systems, AI and Data Science, Software Engineers, PhD students, Government and industry practitioners

Value for Participants

Participants will:

• Understand the emerging concept of Digital Sovereignty and its relevance to Information Systems Development.
• Learn practical architectural principles for developing sovereignty-aware information systems.
• Discover how AI, cloud computing, and data governance influence system design decisions.
• Explore recent international case studies from smart cities, finance, Industry 5.0, and federated AI.
• Identify promising research directions and collaboration opportunities.

The tutorial provides both conceptual understanding and practical guidance that participants can immediately apply to research and system development.

Required Infrastructure

No software installation or specialized hardware is required. No prior knowledge of digital sovereignty is required.