Published on 31.01.2024
It has become a small tradition for us in the FinEst Centre to host our Smart City Exchange Forum in January. This time, our aim was to bring together our research community from TalTech and Aalto University, to find common interests across various smart city research themes.
This time we had a cozy gathering at Aalto’s campus and throughout the day, the focus was on fostering cross-border collaboration.
Our distinguished speakers added depth to the discussions and brought many practical examples. Prof. Michael Batty from University College London gave the opening keynote. In his speech, he explored the evolution of smart cities, talking about AI, Big Data, Smart Cities, their historical context, and future predictions.
Prof. Batty is a distinguished researcher who has worked on computer models of cities and their visualization since the 1970s and has published several books.
Prof. Raivo Sell from Tallinn University of Technology gave the second keynote of the day. He showcased a real-world example of cross-border collaboration, highlighting TalTech’s successful partnership with Florida Polytechnic University in autonomous vehicles research.
To get a better overview of how European programs are put together and what kind of cycles they behold, we had the pleasure to have Ryan Titley from ERRIN sharing insights into EU research and innovation policies. He emphasized the crucial role of networks like ERRIN in fostering collaboration among EU regions.
Claudia Dell’ Era from Aalto University provided valuable tips on proposal writing and how to support this process. One important takeaway from her talk is a suggestion to take 1-1,5 years to create a strong proposal.
Külle Tärnov from the FinEst Centre shed light on our smart city piloting program, hinting at an upcoming new round for collecting urban challenges and engaging researchers for creating innovative solutions.
In the second part of the day, we centered on our team’s research and projects. Early-stage researchers as well as more experienced experts presented their articles, projects and research in various themes across the smart city theme. They provoked good discussions around smart energy, mobility, data analytics, urban lighting, well-being, and more. Engaging discussions unfolded, hopefully planting seeds for future collaborations.
If you are interested or active in smart city research, take a look at the presentations from the recording and contact us if you find a fascinating topic matching your interests.
You can find timestamps in the description.
