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News: Focus group of the Skills4Cities project in Sofia

23/9/2022

On 21.09.2022, at the Launchее Center, we held a discussion meeting in connection with the implementation of the Smart Skills for Smarter Cities (Skills4Cities) project, Erasmus+ No 2020-1-BG01-KA202-079071, which has been implemented since 2020 by a consortium with a leading partner Cluster Sofia Knowledge City. We thank the 14 experts from universities, professional organisations and businesses who participated in the discussion. Special admiration to Innovative Sofia, that joined the discussion with their representative on this topic, to which they have a special concern and which is directly related to their activities.

Our aim was to obtain expert opinion and feedback on the proposed competences and qualifications required to fulfil three closely related (as a qualification) job roles that we believe can ensure the success of smart city projects, namely Smart Cities Project Developer, Manager and Management Consultant.

Participants in this focus group were asked:

Is the competence model developed under the project appropriate and applicable and how relevant are the profiles of the three job roles related to the development, implementation and management of smart city projects?
To what extent the described competencies and specified EQF qualifications for each of the three job roles meet their expectations.

In the context of the project, the discussion was directly related to the needs of cities for experts with new and/or upgraded competences, knowledge, skills and abilities, with which they can effectively manage the digital transformation process.

In summary, the result of this discussion is as follows:

Digital skills are far from the most important for the success and sustainability of smart cities. As a system in a system, a smart city requires different competencies in many disciplines and areas, without which the city is doomed to failure or low efficiency.
The smart city project is at the heart of digital transformation and despite the diversity and scale, there are common rules and approaches to their management, which require an appropriate qualification to build on university education and even post-graduate qualifications. The appropriate term for this is "continues professional development" (CPD), which is usually achieved through training and certification, thereby enhancing the recognition of trainees' skills by the smart city stakeholders.
There is a newly discovered trend in the corporate world to change the attitudes of top management in corporations. Freelancing is increasingly preferred over corporate careers. This trend is a further argument for our focus on the three proposed job roles.
The problems and challenges, key success factors and reasons for failure of smart cities are manifested in their purest form in the process of developing, implementing and managing smart city projects. The three proposed work profiles cover the three phases in the life cycle of a project 1. ideation and design; 2 implementation and management; 3 sustainable developments.
The proposed competency model with 40 competences is relevant to the three professional roles, it is a contribution to a better understanding of the role of the three chosen professions and it is a good basis for creating an environment to increase the qualification of those that are engaged with the smart city projects.
Potential candidates for in-service training and certification should have university degrees (economic or technical), i.e., be at level 7-8 of the recommended EQF qualification frame, to be able to upgrade their knowledge and skills through individual training programs, based on the competency model proposed under this project.
It was agreed that for the upskilling needs of each of the competencies of these three roles, no lower than 4 and no higher than 6 EQF level is applicable.

As a result of the discussion, it was accepted that the proposed competency model and the EQF level for each competence for the three job roles are applicable and suitable for use, giving reason to consider that this stage of the project has been verified and its results can be used in the next phase related to the validation process.

You can learn more about the project and its outputs here.

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Blockchain and smart cities

5/9/2022

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Technology has a significant influence in the emergence of smart cities as a hot subject in contemporary urban life and new developments for the foreseeable future in terms of city design. Understanding the benefits and opportunities that various technologies may offer is crucial, since smart cities rely on technology to improve accessibility, infrastructure, sustainability, government services, for the lives of its citizens. Today, we would like to take a closer look at the various ways that Blockchain Technology might positively affect the growth, support the growth and presence of smart cities in a variety of ways.

First and foremost, we need to understand what Blockchain is. Blockchain is a distributed ledger, which lets network participants share data in a trusted, transparent and tamper proof way and without the need of a third party acting as an authenticator.

Data Exchange & Financial Transactions

Arguably one of the “easiest” reasons for implementing Blockchain is to use it as an easy and secure way to exchange data and to facilitate safe, borderless financial transactions.

This lets businesses become faster and more efficient in many day-to-day tasks, as the need for third party authentication is no longer needed. Moreover, financial transactions can be facilitated regardless of the time of day or currency one wants to transact in. With a blockchain based payment system, people are not dependent on the opening hours of banks and do not have to face currency conversion transactions.

Improved Mobility

With activity on blockchains inherently being trackable, the transportation sector can hugely benefit from its implementation. One example can be creating a secure vehicle tracking system, where owners can act better and faster, in case their vehicle gets stolen. Further, building such a network, where vehicle data gets stored on the blockchain the sale and resale process of vehicles gets enhanced, as a record of all the information about a vehicle is safely stored and accessible on the Blockchain.

For more info on an initiative, which is using blockchain technology to build an urban mobility alliance, check out https://bloxmove.com/.

Further, https://dlt.mobi/, is developing the Web3 digital infrastructure for connected vehicle and IoT commerce, with the goal of making “transportation more efficient, equitable, decentralized, and sustainable, all while preserving the data privacy of users and providers alike”.

Real Estate Ownership

Blockchain can provide a secure database with all the information about a property and its history in one place, and further ease up the buying and selling process through the use of smart contracts.

All in all, smart city developers should seriously consider taking advantage and incorporating as many technologies as possible, when planning and establishing a smart city.

References
1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/naveenjoshi/2022/04/07/6-ways-in-which-blockchain-makes-your-smart-city-even-smarter/
2 https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/smart-city-and-blockchain-when-innovation-meets-technology/
3 https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/pages/financial-services/articles/blockchain-for-smart-cities-article-3-of-3.html
4 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/government/resources/smart-cities

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News: Focus group of the Skills4Cities project in Sofia

Blockchain and smart cities

Data Exchange & Financial Transactions

Improved Mobility

Real Estate Ownership

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