Learning about smart cities
published on 11.03.22
During a visit to the Upc tech Talent Center, TBS students from the Master in Management, who are doing their discovery semester in Digital Transformation, had the opportunity to learn about smart cities from the perspective and experience of two great professionals in the field: Jordi Cirera Gonzales, Director of the Knowledge Society Office at IMI, Barcelona City Council and Miquel Perez, Digital Advisor.
Jordi Cirera: responsible for ICT projects in Environment and Urban Services, also leading the development and implementations of Sentilo Sensor Platform project and the creation of its Open Source Community.
Miquel Perez: business professional with more than 25 years of experience at management level on Information Technology, with a solid background on emerging technologies.
Presentation:
This learning day started with a brief theoretical explanation about what cities are. Regarding Barcelona, Jordi explained its evolution during different historical stages, its problems as a city when expanding and its major needs as a metropolitan area.
“The main value of a smart city is the ability to get knowledge.”
– Jordi Cirera
Knowledge engineering:
Smart cities:
For Jordi Cirera, to create a smart city, there are 3 main points that must be aligned:
- Political – Strategic
- ICT
- Urban Services
Politicians are needed to believe in the concept and communicate the vision to the rest of the organization. They have to see the advantages that the new model can represent for them and claim resources. While the ICT department explains the benefits and costs of the project. And last, the urban services design and implement the ICT architecture.
Finally, the day culminated with a tour of the buildings in the area of the Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou.
