- The Cardano Foundation and the University of Brasília have formed a strategic technical partnership focused on blockchain research, education and public sector innovation.
- The collaboration will establish the first Cardano Project Development Lab in Latin America, with a focus on applied use cases in government, identity, AI and digital infrastructure.
The Cardano Foundation is strengthening its position in Latin America through a new partnership with the University of Brasília, one of Brazil’s most important public universities and a clear entry point into the country’s policy and public-sector ecosystem.
We're proud to announce a strategic partnership with the University of Brasília (@unb_oficial), and the launch of the first Cardano Project Development Lab in Latin America.
Together, we're advancing blockchain research, education, and real-world applications across the region.…
— Cardano Foundation (@Cardano_CF) May 6, 2026
Cardano enters Brazil’s public-sector research corridor
The agreement with UnB is designed to advance blockchain education, applied research and real-world use cases across Brazil and the wider region. The location matters. Brasília is not just another academic center.
It sits close to the federal government, public agencies and policy institutions, which gives UnB a different kind of relevance for technology projects aimed at public administration.
That makes this more than a standard university partnership. The focus is not only on training developers or publishing research papers.
The broader question is how blockchain can be tested in environments where transparency, auditability, digital identity and data integrity have direct institutional value.
Public sector adoption has always been one of blockchain’s more difficult promises. Governments do not adopt infrastructure simply because it is technically interesting.
They need systems that are secure, explainable, compliant and useful in messy real-world processes. That includes identity records, public procurement, supply chains, document verification, social programs and citizen-facing services.
“The convergence of global expertise from Cardano Foundation and academic leadership from University of Brasilia creates a unique environment for responsible innovation in the public sector,” said Claudia Jacy Barenco Abbas, professor at UnB’s Engineering Faculty.
For Cardano, this is a natural area to push. The network has long positioned itself around formal methods, governance and long-term infrastructure rather than short-cycle speculation. A partnership with a major public university in Brazil gives that positioning a more practical test.
A Cardano lab built for applied use cases
At the center of the partnership is the first Cardano Project Development Lab in Latin America.
The lab will operate as a multidisciplinary hub covering Cardano infrastructure, artificial intelligence, IoT, digital identity, governance systems and sustainable digital infrastructure.
That mix is important. The most useful public-sector systems are rarely built from one technology alone.
A digital identity project may need blockchain for verification, AI for process automation, IoT for data collection and traditional databases for existing government records.
The lab is meant to sit at that intersection, where academic research can be turned into pilots and, eventually, deployable systems.
The two sides will also work on academic programs, full-semester Cardano lectures, postgraduate and executive training, research projects and workshops for policymakers and public-sector leaders. That last group is crucial.
Blockchain adoption in government often fails not because the technology is unavailable, but because decision-makers do not have enough technical understanding to evaluate where it actually helps and where it does not.
Rafael Fraga, LATAM business development lead at the Cardano Foundation, said the goal is to create conditions for “sustainable blockchain adoption in Latin America,” while supporting local talent, research and entrepreneurship around use cases that can scale beyond the region.
For Cardano, the lab gives the network a stronger institutional foothold in a region where digital public services, financial inclusion, identity systems and administrative transparency remain major policy themes.
For UnB, it brings a direct channel into a global blockchain ecosystem, with access to technical resources and applied project development.
