Michelle Iliev, State Secretary for Digitalisation and Innovation, Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalisation, Moldova

1) How do you use your role to ensure that technology and policy are truly inclusive?

Inclusion starts with how we design, not how we regulate. I use the same tools I used years ago in education and social innovation: listen first, map the real needs, build with people, test fast, adjust fast, and only then write policy. 

Technology moves faster than institutions. Linear, top-down policy cycles no longer work. We need iterative cycles. We need co-creation.

That’s why every consultation - with businesses, teachers, SMEs, young people, researchers, or the diaspora - is treated as real expertise, not a formality.

We don’t “approve drafts.” We build them together. 

Human Design teaches us that systems thrive when people operate in their natural strengths. I structure teams around roles, not hierarchy, and I treat feedback from the ecosystem as guidance, not criticism. And cybersecurity completes this picture: a digital society is only inclusive if it is safe.

Trust is not decoration. It is infrastructure. 

2) What’s a moment in your career when you saw firsthand how technology or a new policy changed a citizen’s life for the better?

I always return to 2014, when I joined the eGovernment Agency.

Moldova’s digital transformation was only beginning. Technology was expensive. And the idea of redesigning public services felt almost impossible.

Our use case was the birth allowance for new mothers - a heavy, fragmented process.

We began with shadowing. We followed mothers, staff, every form, every bottleneck. Only people, paper, behaviour. Then we interviewed mothers who were exhausted and overwhelmed. Their message was simple: “Please don’t make me run from office to office. I just had a baby.” 

For the first time, we brought everyone to the same table - mothers, public servants, policymakers, and our small digital team. This became Moldova’s first co-created service.

When we layered the service map with the newly built interoperability platform and MPay, we discovered we needed only three inputs to deliver the service online: the mother’s ID, the newborn’s ID, and the bank account. Everything else already existed in government systems. 

Today the service is fully proactive. Parents don’t apply. The system knows they became parents, pulls the data, and sends the allowance with congratulations. 

This taught me that digital transformation isn’t about technology. It’s about empathy, clarity, and reimagining the state from the citizen outward.

3) What was the most impactful project you worked on this year, and how did you measure its success in building trust and serving the needs of the public?

Two projects define this year, both anchored in trust. 

The first is Roam Like at Home, a promise to citizens and the diaspora. Behind this simple benefit stood the heavy work of transposing two EU telecom codes and multiple by-laws and standards. It was a disciplined, technical sprint with ANRCETI and operators. 

And it paid off. Starting January 2026, Moldovans will call, text, and use data across the EU at no extra cost. For the diaspora, this is dignity. For citizens, fairness. For the state, proof that European integration can be felt, not just discussed. 

The second project is FAIMA - the AI Factory Antenna, selected by the EU after we had only 10 days to apply. It marks a shift from outsourcing to building products, IP, and deep technology. Researchers now access HPC.

Startups can test prototypes on European-grade infrastructure. Students enter fields that didn’t exist before. 

Both projects show that when the state listens deeply and moves fast, trust becomes the natural outcome. 

4) What was one unexpected lesson you learned this year about designing for real people? This can be about a specific project or a broader lesson about your work.

I entered office in March 2025 - six months before elections, in the middle of accelerated reforms.

The agenda was already boiling. The vision was set. Deadlines were fixed. I had no time to plan, structure, or choose my team. 

I learned that designing for real people sometimes means designing while running. You rely on your inherited team. You respect the expertise already inside the institution. You collaborate more than you control. And you discover that precision comes not from perfect planning, but from collective strength. 

This year taught me that no reform is built alone. You need a village of experts - associations, industry, teachers, diaspora, entrepreneurs - guiding decisions in real time.

I expected to lead with plans. I ended up leading with trust. 

5) We hear a lot about AI. What's a practical example of how AI can be used to make government services more inclusive and trustworthy?

AI is meaningful when it reduces complexity.

One powerful use today is helping governments navigate the EU acquis and identify gaps in national legislation. Thousands of pages. Tight deadlines. Enormous pressure. AI speeds up understanding - but only if people are upskilled to guide it safely. 

The second use is citizen-facing: integrated AI agents that help people find information, understand procedures, and navigate the state without frustration. For rural citizens and small businesses, this is inclusion. AI becomes a bridge, not a wall. 

Trust grows when technology removes friction, not when it adds it. 

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6) How are you preparing for the next wave of change in the public sector? What new skill, approach, or technology are you most excited to explore in the coming year?

By building systems that can learn. Teams that can adapt. Processes that can iterate. 

We focus on two pillars.

 
Governance: aligning with the EU AI Act, Data Act, and Cyber Resilience Act - building risk frameworks, ethical standards, and secure-by-design rules. 

Human capacity: upskilling lawyers, engineers, civil servants, and analysts. Moldova cannot compete with hardware, but we can compete with talent. 

The technology I’m most excited about is AI as a decision-support partner. Not replacing humans - empowering them.

7) What advice do you have for public sector innovators who want to build a career focused on serving all citizens?

Start small. Fix one service. One form. One bottleneck. It will teach you everything. 

Don’t wait for perfect conditions - they never come. 

Stay close to citizens. They are your real compass. 

Build alliances. No one transforms a system alone. 

Stay curious - when you stop learning, you stop serving. 

And treat trust as your KPI. 

8) Who inspires you to build a more inclusive and trustworthy public sector?

President Maia Sandu.

Her leadership is built on integrity, calm strength, and commitment to people. She proves that honesty can be a governing strategy and that reforms are possible when citizens come first. 

9) If you had an unlimited budget, what would your dream project be?

I would build HiTech Park into the anchor of Moldova’s innovation future - a mini-city for R&D and technology. Not an office park, but an ecosystem where researchers, startups, engineers, and public institutions innovate together. 

I would connect it to a GovTech district, an AgriTech park, a Dual-Use tech zone, and a HealthTech campus - all powered by national cloud, HPC, secure hosting, and green energy.

Moldova is already building the missing layers: a Fund-of-Funds, an Innovation Fund, and a sandbox law. 

With scale, this becomes a European-grade testbed - a place where global products are built and deployed faster than anywhere in the region. 

10) Outside tech, what excites you the most?

Meditation. My children. And history.

 
Meditation brings clarity. My kids remind me that curiosity and joy are strategies. History shows the patterns behind progress. 

Together, they remind me why we build and why the future must be shaped with intention.