Education bodies tenders for AI and immersive research labs
An applied informatics project to buy AI, VR and robotics kit shows how public education buyers are assembling advanced digital labs to boost research.
An applied informatics project to buy AI, VR and robotics kit shows how public education buyers are assembling advanced digital labs to boost research.
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A Greek university is overhauling its applied informatics laboratories with AI, virtual reality, eye and brain activity monitoring and robotics equipment, signalling a new phase in public-sector digital research capacity.
According to a contract notice published on 28th January 2026 for an Equipment Procurement for University Project, the University of Macedonia is planning a wide-ranging upgrade of its applied informatics research facilities.
The notice states that the university is seeking to acquire various advanced equipment to enhance its research capabilities in applied informatics. The list covers:
Taken together, this mix spans core AI compute, immersive environments, digitisation, physiological sensing and robotics. It points to a laboratory set-up in which human behaviour, digital content and physical machines can be studied and developed as a single system.
For a single higher education institution, bringing such tools together in one procurement moves beyond a routine IT refresh. It lays the groundwork for specialist research infrastructure more usually associated with dedicated technology centres.
The equipment list reads like a map of where applied informatics is heading. AI infrastructure and robotic arms underline the drive to automate tasks and optimise processes; virtual and mixed reality systems point to new ways of simulating environments; multimodal digitisation tools translate physical artefacts into data; eye activity monitoring and EEG devices capture fine-grained human responses.
Such combinations are increasingly common in research labs that sit between computer science, neuroscience, psychology and engineering. They allow researchers to test how people interact with complex systems, adapt interfaces, train AI models with richer data and prototype collaborative robots.
In a university setting, this kind of infrastructure can also reshape how students learn. Rather than working only with software simulations on standard computers, they can engage with full stacks that run from data capture and AI processing through to embodied action in robotic devices.
While tools like EEG and eye tracking are familiar from medical contexts, here they are positioned as components within a wider digital laboratory. That reflects a broader shift in which AI and biosignal technologies support productivity in fields far beyond healthcare.
The University of Macedonia’s plans sit within a wave of AI and immersive-technology investment across publicly funded institutions.
In October 2025, the research centre EK ATHINA published an Electronic Equipment and Software Procurement notice to buy an advanced computing cluster with GPU accelerators and audiovisual equipment for presentations and conferences for its ARCHIMEDIS Unit. The plan highlights how dedicated AI hardware is becoming standard in research environments.
That same month, Grad Rijeka set out a Specialized Equipment Procurement for an Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a photo and video studio, and a Game Development Classroom. This combines AI capacity with creative production spaces, showing how local authorities link digital industries with cultural and economic development.
Immersive technologies are also moving into design and spatial disciplines. In September 2025, the Universitatea de Arhitectura si Urbanism Ion Mincu advertised a Photogrammetry Equipment contract covering drones, virtual reality glasses, smart suits and holographic devices, to enhance students’ technological skills as part of its digital transformation project.
Universitatea Tehnica Gheorghe Asachi din Iasi followed in November 2025 with an IT Equipment for Innovation Center procurement focused on advanced industrial solutions for 3D simulation and offline programming, to support an eXtended Reality Innovation Center based on augmented and virtual reality and digital twins.
In November 2025, a regional finance secretariat issued a Computer Equipment Acquisition notice that includes laptops, interactive whiteboards, switches, access points, auditorium technology and AI tools for an Innovation and Digital Skills Center. Here AI appears as one element in a broader effort to modernise infrastructure and expand digital skills.
The trend is not confined to technical fields. In January 2026, the National University of Theatre and Cinematography I. L. Caragiale announced an IT Equipment for Digitalization project to strengthen digital infrastructure and educational activities, with a focus on archiving, information exchange and editing services.
At school level, education authorities are also investing in sophisticated hardware. In November 2025, the Agrupamento de Escolas Queluz-Belas in Sintra sought servers, structured network systems, audiovisual equipment, drones and robotics through a Procurement of Technology Equipment notice for its specialised technological centres.
Environmental protection is emerging as another testbed for AI. In August 2025, GREENSOFT published an Industrial Research Equipment notice to support the Romanian Artificial Intelligence Hub project by acquiring essential equipment for the Akolladex platform, which aims to monitor and prevent environmental incidents in critical infrastructures.
The organisational side of these upgrades is also evolving. In September 2025, the Institutul National de Neurologie si Boli Neurovasculare issued an IT Equipment Procurement for Healthcare notice to enhance health infrastructure with integrated information systems, digital transcription and medical imaging tools, organised into multiple lots for interested operators. That structure shows how buyers are segmenting complex digital projects to attract specialised bidders.
Viewed against this backdrop, the University of Macedonia’s applied informatics project is notable for its breadth. Instead of focusing on a single technology, it brings together AI infrastructure, immersive environments, digitisation tools, biosignal capture and robotics in one step.
For procurement teams, that raises questions around interoperability, standards and lifecycle support. AI infrastructure and high-performance robotic arms place demands on power, cooling, safety and maintenance that differ from those of conventional IT laboratories. Virtual and mixed reality systems and digitisation tools in turn depend on stable software stacks and high-throughput storage.
The notice does not spell out how the equipment will be packaged, installed or supported, nor how data governance and ethical use will be handled. Those issues will matter for any institution planning to work with behavioural and physiological data alongside powerful AI systems.
Suppliers that can combine hardware integration with training and ongoing support are therefore likely to be attractive partners in this kind of procurement, even where the tender itself focuses primarily on equipment. Patterns seen in other notices, including multi-lot structures and links to digital transformation projects, indicate that additional contracts for software, services and skills development often accompany such investments.
For now, the University of Macedonia’s equipment procurement marks a clear statement of intent: applied informatics will be equipped not just with faster computers, but with a full ecosystem of AI, immersive, sensing and robotic technologies. As similar projects in research centres, cities and schools progress, the key question will be how effectively public institutions turn this new infrastructure into practical gains in teaching, research and wider productivity.
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