Let's lead urban innovation
together

In short

We are open to join forces in shaping the future of cities worldwide!

FinEst Centre for Smart Cities has attracted funding from over 10 competitive grants, both locally and internationally. As a reliable partner, we have strong experience with Horizon Europe, with several ongoing projects and a successful track record of securing funding.

Our international team is highly skilled and experienced in areas such as energy management, smart mobility, built environment, digital twins, and data & governance. There is theoretical, as well as practical knowledge and experience from multiple demanding projects.

We are always open to including new team members who bring fresh ideas and expertise to the team.

If you’re interested in collaborating, let us know.

20+

researchers working in the FinEst Centre

100+

academic publications annually

16+

international projects dealing with cyber security, circular economy, urban air mobility, biodiversity, energy and much more, mainly financed by the European Commission

6+

smart solutions developed, next 7 will be developed by 2028

Get to know our research & innovation themes!

Looking to collaborate on Horizon or other EU-funded projects? At FinEst Centre, our research and innovation community works across five core themes: Natural & Built Environment, Smart Mobility, Intelligent Energy Solutions, Data & AI, and Smart & Sustainable Governance. We're combining academic excellence with practical solutions for human-centric, sustainable cities. Explore our themes and discover opportunities to join forces with us on joint proposals, pilot projects, and international research collaborations.

Learn more

International
collaboration projects

We are already collaborating with experts from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Ukraine, and several other countries. Explore our international projects and join us.

NetZeroCities
data sharing
data spaces
Urban Learning Center
Indoor Air Quality
Urban Air Mobility
FinEst Twins project

What's new?

News
October 01, 2025
Estonia accelerates Cleantech innovation through FINEX project
Evaluating EV-batteries’ Repurposing as Energy Storage System: The Estonian Perspective
Environment
News
September 26, 2025
Evaluating EV-batteries’ repurposing as energy storage system: The Estonian perspective
News
Pilot projects
September 16, 2025
Reusing old buildings – is the future hidden in the past?
Photo by Sina Bahar on Unsplash
News
September 08, 2025
Meet Mahtab: Turning Big Data into Smarter, Safer Cities and Ports
Photo by Petr Slováček on Unsplash. Belvedere di San Michele in Bosco, Salita di San Benedetto, Bologna, Metropolitan City of Bologna
News
August 29, 2025
Meet Lauriana: Scholar, innovator, and advocate for women navigating urban space
News
October 01, 2025
Estonia accelerates Cleantech innovation through FINEX project
Evaluating EV-batteries’ Repurposing as Energy Storage System: The Estonian Perspective
Environment
News
September 26, 2025
Evaluating EV-batteries’ repurposing as energy storage system: The Estonian perspective
News
Pilot projects
September 16, 2025
Reusing old buildings – is the future hidden in the past?
Photo by Sina Bahar on Unsplash
News
September 08, 2025
Meet Mahtab: Turning Big Data into Smarter, Safer Cities and Ports
Photo by Petr Slováček on Unsplash. Belvedere di San Michele in Bosco, Salita di San Benedetto, Bologna, Metropolitan City of Bologna
News
August 29, 2025
Meet Lauriana: Scholar, innovator, and advocate for women navigating urban space
Events
News
April 28, 2025
Reigniting an Open, Bold & Collaborative European Digital Economy Amidst €200bn AI Ambitions
Data
Events
News
April 14, 2025
Seminar: Increasing Digitalisation Awareness and Readiness of Estonian Communities
Smart City Exchange Forum 2025
Events
Governance
Urban analytics & data
April 10, 2025
A smart city is a collaborative city
Urban Innovators Meetup by FinEst Centre
Events
News
May 21, 2024
Urban Innovators Meetup: Greater impact leads to higher returns
EU Regions Week workshop_urban regeneration
Events
News
September 05, 2023
EU Regions Week: Engaging communities for urban regeneration
News
Pilot projects
September 16, 2025
Reusing old buildings – is the future hidden in the past?
News
Pilot projects
June 17, 2025
CitySense turns public vehicles into moving data collectors
News
Pilot projects
May 29, 2025
Six new pilots tackle real-world challenges in Helsinki
News
Pilot projects
February 27, 2025
From lab to life: FinEst Mini-Piloting Programme for research-based innovations
Photo by Yoshihiro on Unsplash
News
Pilot projects
January 14, 2025
UrbanDip Launches Water Quality Assessment Pilot – Meet the Team Behind It
Smart City Challenge 2024 finalists
News
Smart City Challenge
January 07, 2025
Meet the Six Finalists of Smart City Challenge 2024
Smart City Solutions workshop
News
Smart City Challenge
September 26, 2024
Next steps for Smart City Challenge 2024 pilot project proposal
urban challenges
Pilot projects
Smart City Challenge
June 04, 2024
Discover and solve: Urban challenges awaiting solution ideas
Smart City Challenge 2023 preparing smart city pilot projects proposals
News
Smart City Challenge
April 25, 2024
Smart City Challenge 2023 finalists gaining tips for final proposals
News
Smart City Challenge
April 01, 2024
Introducing six finalists of Smart City Challenge 2023

Contact us

Keep making
a difference

Be part of a team that transforms urban environments, tests groundbreaking ideas, and builds cities for people.

Explore our research community

Explore and join our research community to work with curious minds and shape the future of urban living.