ITU researchers receive international award
AIS Impact Award goes to Danish researchers for the first time, recognising ITU research that sets the standard for ethical use of blockchain technology.
Blockchainbusinessethicsawards
Written 16 December, 2025 06:54 by Theis Duelund Jensen
Assistant Professor Asger Balle Pedersen and Research Assistant Signe Agerskov from the Digital Business Innovation section at the IT University of Copenhagen have received the prestigious AIS Impact Award at a ceremony in Tennessee, USA.
The award is presented by the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and was established in 2020 to highlight information systems research that has a documented impact on society.
Research with proven application
Asger Balle Pedersen and Signe Agerskov received the award for their publication Ethical guidelines for blockchain systems, presented at the European Conference of Information Systems (ECIS) in 2023.
Their guidelines have been adopted in several major European initiatives. For example, the EU Commission’s Expert Group on Blockchain Ethics has incorporated the guidelines, and they serve as a framework for responsible innovation in the SEEBLOCKS project focused on standardisation within the Blockchain/DLT domain. They are also used to align governance principles across jurisdictions in EBSI-VECTOR, act as a benchmark in the European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox and have been made mandatory within the European Blockchain Partnership.
Clear link between research and application
The AIS Impact Award is granted based on three criteria: strong grounding in information systems research, documented links between research and its application, and the depth and breadth of its significance. In this case, the award is primarily categorised as regulatory application, but the work also spans technological, organisational, economic, and societal dimensions.
Recipients are selected by an international committee with representatives from institutions and organisations including the University of Cambridge, Amazon Web Services, Google, and Nanyang Technological University.
“I am both professionally and personally proud of Asger and Signe’s achievement. The award is a strong testament to how thorough, responsible, and socially oriented research can create real change – even early in a research career,” says section head Louise Harder Fischer.
“That the AIS Impact Award is being presented to Danish researchers for the first time also underscores the international recognition of their work.”
Theis Duelund Jensen, Press Officer, phone +45 2555 0447, email thej@itu.dk