The ADFABER Association has officially opened registration for the seventh edition of the National Database Design Competition, “EDB StartUP,” organized in partnership with Tudor Vianu National College of Computer Science in Bucharest and sponsored by Oracle Academy. The competition is completely free and open to high school students in grades 9–12 across Romania, as well as to the teachers who choose to mentor them, regardless of their previous experience in the field.

Registration is open until November 27, 2026, via the competition’s official webpage: adfaber.org/edb-startup. Since its launch, EDB StartUP has brought together more than 1,500 students and nearly 800 teachers from across the country, with more than 400 teams completing projects. According to the organizers, database design is one of the skills most frequently sought after in the technology job market, regardless of the industry.

According to education and human resources specialists, the need for digital skills remains one of the biggest challenges facing Romania’s education system. Many high school graduates enter university or the job market without ever having worked on a real technical project. EDB StartUP aims to address precisely this gap by giving high school students the opportunity to have their first hands-on experience with database design — a fundamental skill now required in almost any technology-driven field, from finance and healthcare to public administration and retail.

In most Romanian high schools, computer science is taught primarily through theory: algorithms on paper, individual exercises, and assessments. EDB StartUP was created to offer students passionate about technology something different — a real project developed as a team, based on a concrete problem in their own school or community, and carried through from the initial idea to a functional product presented to an evaluation panel.

At first glance, the theme chosen for the new edition appears to be one of the most technical so far: “An Activity Management System for an AI Agent Team.” In reality, the organizers explain, the theme was selected precisely because of its relevance. Over the past two years, artificial intelligence has become part of almost every discussion about the future of work, and high school students are increasingly curious about understanding what happens “behind the scenes.”

Students are not required to build a functioning artificial intelligence system. Instead, they must design the data that such a system would generate, ideally starting from a real process in their own school, such as the recurring questions received by the school office or preparation of the school newsletter.

EDB StartUP is open to high school students in grades 9–12 from any educational institution in Romania. Each team can include up to three students and one supervising teacher. A teacher may mentor several teams simultaneously, including teams made up of students from different grades or schools.

Each registered team receives access to Oracle Academy learning materials designed for beginners, as well as support from the ADFABER team throughout the competition — from developing the initial project idea to submitting the final version.

Schedule for the 2026–2027 edition

The competition takes place in four stages between October 2026 and February 2027:

  • 19 October – 27 November 2026: Registration period
  • 30 November 2026 – 15 January 2027: Project development and submission
  • 18 January – 12 February 2027: Project evaluation by a panel of database specialists and IT trainers
  • 22 February 2027: Announcement of the three winning teams

The top three teams will receive prizes. At the end of the competition, all participants will receive digital certificates of participation, which can be added to their personal portfolios or university application files.

Register online on the competition webpage through November 27: adfaber.org/edb-startup.

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