TOPICS
Smart and sustainable communities and the built environment
The community itself, and the quality of life it supports. Here 'built environment' is meant broadly, covering buildings, public space, infrastructure and planning, not construction alone. It covers:
- A sustainable and regenerative built environment: climate-neutral and circular construction and renovation; urban regeneration and the adaptive reuse of the built environment; heritage protection and transformation; positive-energy neighbourhoods; nature-based solutions; and people's well-being.
- Participation, co-creation and well-being: citizen participation and co-creation; social sustainability, health and well-being; age-friendly and lifetime neighbourhoods; and value, equity and urban facility management.
- Urban innovation and emerging technologies: how communities take up and apply new technologies, for example through urban living labs and demonstrations.
Project delivery, governance and cross-sectoral collaboration
How the projects and programmes that build communities are initiated, delivered and governed, and how they are organised when no single actor is in charge: front-end planning and the creation of value; governance structures and decision rights; the delivery of community, urban and infrastructure projects, major programmes and megaprojects; multi-organisational and inter-organisational projects; collaboration and coopetition across the public, private, academic and community sectors; the roles of municipalities, industry and universities; and questions of contract, trust and social value.
Managing digital transformation and digital projects
The management and organisation of digital transformation in projects and communities: changes to work processes brought by digitalisation; organising and governing large digital development programmes; agile and hybrid project management; autonomy versus control, and the scaling of agile practices; and evaluating the benefits of digital product development. Submissions are expected to speak to the managerial, organisational or community dimensions of technology rather than to technical development in itself.
Project-based learning, competence development
How the field trains and develops its people: project-based learning and unlearning; competence development and continuing education; support for early-career researchers; cross-project and organisational learning, and capacity-building; and a session on publishing in the field's journals.
Engineering Smart Cities
Systems engineering merges the perspectives of technologies, processes and people. Smart cities are an example for complex socio-technical systems. So how will we engineer complex systems in future? How will we manage the complexity? What does this mean for our projects?
Smart Cities & Society
This topic focuses on the impact of the transformation towards smart cities & regions on our society. Take this opportunity to share your research, projects, and insights on how will the resilient society reflect our different ethnicities, religions, and cultural interests? Why do women and men not experience living, working, and playing in the same way? How do smart cities affect aging society and how could society benefit from it?
Technology & Engineering Management
Engineering the future is a complex tasks which requires a holistic view to achieve a positive impact. Projects deliver the methods and tools to focus engineering on creating innovations which serve society and economy. Engineering projects are developing innovations for smart cities and regions.
Digital Transformation
The Digital Transformation is the driving factor for smart region development. What use will we make from digital technologies like AI or VR/AR for our cities? How do we manage the digital transformation successfully? How do projects help in doing so? Will people be able to cope with the pace and build the required capabilities and competences? What will be the impact on the quality of life?
Sustainable & Circular Economy
Sustainability is more than protecting nature. It is working with the end in mind. How can we steer such an enormous trend like urbanization into the right direction? Which tools and perspectives do we need? And how do we incorporate sustainability into the management of our smart city projects?
Education in Engineering & Management
It is important to highlight what we need to learn for the future challenges and how we need to learn for a resilient society. It is crucial to understand how we could implement lifelong learning for all citizens, help develop their competencies, deal with educational challenges in our educational institutions, and reflect other important training and educational issues.
Resilience of Organisations, Networks and Cities
The pandemics, geopolitical shifts, climate emergency and other challenges pose constant threat to our way of life. The research on resilience and antifragility is now important more than ever. We invite to discuss how companies, supply chains, and cities become more resilient and able to cope with economic, environmental and social hazards.
Modern Project Management in Smart Regions
Smart Regions utilize digital technology and innovative practices to enhance residents’ quality of life, particularly accelerated by advancements like generative AI. Modern Project Management intersects with smart regions by influencing project processes and enabling the implementation of digital transformation projects that facilitate this regional evolution. The particular challenge for project managers in the context of smart regions’ initiatives is the combination of a complex scope and a diverse stakeholder landscape.