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Thunderbird School of Global Management
Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Excellence
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Overview
This Certificate provides an in-depth multidisciplinary orientation on the topic of Smart & Resilient Communities. It explores the history, present, and future of the ‘smart city’ concept, frames the future of our cities within the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution, provides a platform for a rich sharing of insights and best practices by experienced leaders from across the globe, and introduces the building blocks for successful digitalization and innovation strategies for communities, cities and regions.
Key Benefits
Who should attend
The certificate is aimed at leaders in both public and private sectors, practitioners, academicians, and civic innovators.
Faculty
Bas Boorsma
Professor of Practice, Thunderbird School of Global Management
Diana Bowman
Assoc Dean (ACD) for International Engagement and Professor
Landry Signe
Professor and Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution
Lev Gonick
Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University, Professor of Practice in the School of Public Affairs, and smart city architect
Jason Whittet
Digital innovation Lead, Amazon Web Services
Curriculum
Micro-cert: Smart Communities: Definitions, Myths, History, & Future
When we consider Smart Communities, what definitions do we choose and what assumptions and premises do we embrace? How does the phenomenon of a ‘smart city’ fit into larger sociological and technological traditions, trends and thoughts? There are varying agendas that drive the purpose of a smart community - environment, technology, ‘the citizen,’ and, in a post COVID-19 world more important than ever, resilience of communities. What will the agenda look like in the forthcoming ten years and how do we prepare?
Objectives
- Recognize, contextualize and explain different definitions, myths, agendas, premises and assumptions of Smart Cities as they exist or have existed in this domain.
- Develop a preferred definition of Smart Communities, including goals, desired impact and, where needed, means you deem central to the mission, learning needs included.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the ‘smart city’ concept within the context of sociological perspectives, technology trends, and differing agendas requiring an innovation strategy for communities (i.e., resilience in a post-COVID-19 world).
- Differentiate between digitization and digitalization and give examples of how you would apply these concepts in the urban innovation space.
Delivery: Online I Duration: 1 week I Start: On Demand I $199 I Certificate of Completion
Micro-cert: The 4th Industrial Revolution and the City
How do we define the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and why does it matter to our communities today? The challenge with big shifts like the 4IR is that the past ceases to be a source for guidance as to how to deal with the present or future. If we accept that truism for city management and the larger urban innovation agenda, then what are the criteria we apply as we navigate our smart community futures? What design principles do we articulate as we move forward? What are the required leadership skills in the 4IR era? What does effective governance look like in driving successful community innovation and digitalization initiatives? The first two decades of this century produced a series of digital evangelists stating connectedness would bring our communities enhanced resilience. Where do we stand? What is the role of digitalization (as opposed to digitization) in (re)shaping our communities and our markets? What is the balance between connectedness and self-reliance in conducting the art of resilience?
Objectives
- Identify how different technologies and innovations have transformed or are transforming the city and its governance, and the implications of this transformation on societies, economies, governments, and people’s lives.
- Recognize the benefits of and tools for agile governance of the city.
- Develop an agile regulatory approach for a given scenario.
- Design a use case that leverages a given digitalization fundamental that is relevant to (y)our community.
- Give examples of how digitalization and the fourth industrial revolution represent an organizational paradigm shift as opposed to a technology trend.
Delivery: Online I Duration: 1 week I Start: On Demand I $199 I Certificate of Completion
Micro-cert: Smart Community Strategies: Lessons from the Past, Building Blocks for Success
In this session, we cover design considerations for community innovation and digitalization strategies. What can be learned from past smart city endeavors? What are the design principles and critical building blocks of a successful community innovation and digitalization strategy? Which building blocks deserve priority and why?
Outcomes
- Recognize typical pitfalls of current and past smart city initiatives/approaches and ways to counteract each.
- Assess failed smart community initiatives to determine root causes of smart community hardships.
- Apply the “Effective Smart Community Strategies” framework to existing smart city initiatives for increased effectiveness.
Delivery: Online I Duration: 1 week I Start: On Demand I $199 I Certificate of Completion
