ERAdiate | Enhancing Research and innovAtion dimension of the University of Zilina

ERAdiate Lecture Series #4: Smart Cities for People
2018-11-27 10:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Paris) | Scientific Board Room, Nová menza, Vysokoškolákov, Žilina-Vlčince, Žilina, 01001, Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
ERAdiate Lecture Series: Smart Cities for People
27 November 2018,10am
Scientific Board Room, Nová Menza
Registration
ABSTRACT
‘Smart City’ and ‘Smart Mobility’ approaches promise technology-based opportunities to build more efficient, better connected and more creative cities. Real-time ICT infrastructure and recent technological developments on Big Data, the Internet-of-Things and Artificial Intelligence bring new opportunities for flexible parking services, intelligent traffic signalling for buses or cyclists, dynamic road pricing, real-time traffic information and management, multimodal mobility planning and ticketing etc. Realtime analytics are also expected to enhance the accountability in urban service provision and enable enhanced public participation. Overall smart urbanism is emerging at the intersection of visions for the future of urban places, infrastructures, new technologies, entrepreneurship and the governance of cities. Despite positive expectations, the smart transition brings several socio-technical challenges. What is ‘smart’? Is smart the same as sustainable? Is smart for everyone? Critiques have argued that emphasis on market-led technological solutions risk prioritising growth and the economy while disregarding the social, the environmental and the political – and in some cases it could lead to technological lock-ins and a corporatisation of city governance. This lecture series will explore from academic and practitioners’ perspectives what a Smart City transition means for people, and how the Smart City concept can contribute to enhanced quality-of-life.
The first presentation, entitled “Slovak Smart Cities – Opportunity or Fake?”, will bring a provocative question whether and to what extend is “smart city concept” a realistic approach for Slovak cities.
The second presentation has three main goals: to increase awareness of the smart transformation impact in society, to provide a framework for understanding this transformation that outlines the core issues and possible responses and to provide a couple of recommendations for future based on lessons learnt and past experiences in United Nations University.
The third presentation concerning an interesting case of study. Cities around the world are growing rapidly. In 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Already today big cities face enormous challenges when it comes to handling traffic and at the same time being a sustainable, attractive and healthy city for people. New technology and big data brings a new perspective on possible solutions in the Smart City agenda. But often cities take a top-down approach to the smart solutions and implement new big systems to solve transport issues. Often the end-user is forgotten in the top-down approach and the true effect on the user behaviour will most likely be small. Therefore, working with a user-centred design process for shaping future solution is essential to fully understand the user’s needs and scope investments.

Programme overview
10.00: Opening by Prof. Tatiana Kovacikova, ERAchair Holder, Univ. of Žilina (Slovakia)
10.10: Introduction by Dr. Yannick Cornet, ERAdiate Team Member, Univ. of Žilina (Slovakia)
10.20: Slovak Smart Cities, opportunity or Fake? by Erika Horanská, Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic
10.50: Smart Cities: a social perspective by Nuno Vasco Lopes, United Nations University (Portugal)
11.20: Smart solutions for sustainable mobility – Examples from Copenhagen by Maria Wass-Danielsen, UrbanCreators (Denmark)
11.50: Panel Discussion
13.00: Closing

PresentationsVideo

Slovak Smart Cities - Opportunity of Fake?
Erika Horanská

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55 downloads2.70 MB

Smart Cities: a social perspective
Nuno Vasco Lopes

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44 downloads7.46 MB

Smart Solutions for Sustainable Mobility - Examples from Copenhagen
Maria Wass-Danielsen

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57 downloads8.03 MB

Sustainable Mobility Innovation Course
2024-02-19 08:00 - 2024-04-26 17:00 | University of Zilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, Žilina, 01026, Slovenská republika
The University of Žilina (UNIZA) in collaboration with the InCITIES project partners are organizing the Sustainable Mobility Innovations course. The course is taking place between the 19th of February and the 26th of April 2024 with 9 weekly online modules and 1 week of on-site seminars. Upon completion of this course, you will walk away with:

Practical skills and strategies applicable to real-life urban mobility challenges
Analytical frameworks for critically thinking about mobility, inclusion, sustainability and resilience
Tools and methods for planning and assessing urban mobility innovations
Effective communication and teamwork skills among experts, stakeholders, and peers
An invaluable experience and professional connections
A certificate of competence from the University of Žilina, a world-leading transportation science university, equivalent to 3 ECTS

As the number of course students that can be accommodated is limited, the registrations will be reviewed after the registration deadline and attendance confirmations will be sent to the selected participants. Should you have any questions regarding the course and its organization, don’t hesitate to contact the UNIZA InCITIES project team at circular.incities@uniza.sk.

More About Event : Register here

PIONEER MSCA DN Webinar Series in June
2026-06-11 08:00 - 2026-07-26 17:00
SAVE THE DATE
PIONEER MSCA Doctoral Networks Training Series
The European alliance PIONEER is launching a training programme (2026–2027) to
support researchers in preparing competitive proposals for the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie Actions – Doctoral Networks (MSCA DN).
The series will focus on practical aspects of proposal preparation, resubmission,
evaluation criteria, cross-cutting dimensions and experiences from current DN
coordinators.
All sessions will take place online.
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