Upholding Autonomy, Security, and Compliance in Research and Education
The Gordon Institute of Artificial Intelligence (GIAI) operates a self-managed digital infrastructure spanning Europe and Asia.
Our systems are designed to guarantee long-term data sovereignty, privacy compliance, and institutional independence, ensuring that GIAI’s research, education, and community services remain secure, interoperable, and sustainable across jurisdictions.
1. Institutional Philosophy
At GIAI, technological independence is a core part of our mission.
Rather than outsourcing to commercial cloud vendors, GIAI maintains its own network of servers and enterprise applications.
This approach allows us to:
- Protect all user data within regulatory boundaries.
- Preserve institutional continuity independent of third-party platforms.
- Adapt flexibly to the legal frameworks of the European Union, the Gulf region, and East Asia.
Our infrastructure reflects the same principle that defines our academic work — rigorous control of data, transparency of process, and integrity of governance.
2. Architecture Overview
GIAI’s infrastructure integrates a set of open-source enterprise frameworks into a unified digital ecosystem.
Each component supports a specific layer of our institutional mission:
| Institutional Function | Framework Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Research Publishing Framework | Academic CMS | Hosts the SIAI and The Economy platforms, providing editorial and peer-review workflows for scientific and policy publications. |
| Scholarly Discussion Network | Community System | Powers the The Economy Senate and affiliated discussion forums (SIAI Square, SIAI Summit), facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue among members, alumni, and partners. |
| Learning Management System | Educational Suite | Supports educational programs operated by the Swiss Institute of Artificial Intelligence (SIAI), such as Gordon School of Business (GSB) and SIAI Class, enabling secure course delivery and institutional licensing. |
| Institutional Operations Platform | ERP & CRM Layer | Manages internal administration, communications, and inter-campus coordination within the GIAI network. |
These frameworks are federated under a modular domain architecture, allowing GIAI to host multiple services — research, community, education, and operations — under one compliant and scalable infrastructure.
3. Data Residency and Privacy Compliance
All GIAI systems are hosted on European-managed servers under the jurisdiction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Sensitive user data is encrypted at rest and in transit, and backups are maintained exclusively in EU-based data centers. No user data is transferred to or processed by commercial third-party analytics or advertising platforms.
Where applicable, regional privacy frameworks such as the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and the Korean Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) are observed in full compliance.
4. Independence and Long-Term Sustainability
By maintaining our own infrastructure, GIAI ensures:
- Full control of intellectual and research data.
- No dependency on commercial SaaS ecosystems.
- Immediate adaptability to evolving privacy laws and institutional needs.
- Continuity even in the event of vendor discontinuation or geopolitical disruption.
This self-managed model is consistent with practices of leading European academic institutions and research consortia that prioritize digital sovereignty over convenience.
5. Governance and Oversight
All system operations fall under the supervision of the GIAI Council on Digital Infrastructure, composed of technical directors and data governance officers from the institute’s European and Asian divisions.
Regular audits are conducted to ensure system integrity, data protection, and alignment with institutional ethics.
6. Commitment to Transparency
GIAI believes that digital transparency is integral to institutional legitimacy.
By publicly sharing our infrastructure principles, we affirm that technological sovereignty is not merely a technical preference, but a reflection of GIAI’s broader mission:
to advance research and education under conditions of independence, accountability, and trust.