FinEst Centre for Smart Cities

Happy People at a Doctoral Writing Retreat 📝🤩 From November 13–15, our PhD students Pauline Baudens and Dominik Beckers attended a doctoral writing retreat in southern part of Estonia, in Pühajärve. The inspiring event brought together social sciences PhD students from across Estonia. The dedicated workspace provided a focused environment, and the shared motivation among participants made staying on task much easier 🤓 Beyond the academic productivity, the retreat offered a serene atmosphere with beautiful lake views and relaxing amenities (hello, pool, jacuzzi, and sauna!), creating a perfect balance between work and leisure. One of the highlights was working together with fellow PhDs, particularly those in social sciences working on digital topics. The connections made during the retreat hold great potential for future collaborations between researchers at different universities. By the way, we at FinEst Centre are very open to collaboration! Reflecting on the experience, Pauline shared how the retreat was a valuable reminder that community and collaboration are essential drivers of academic progress. #PhDlife #SocialSciences #AcademicCommunity #AcademicWriting #DoctoralThesis

Smart City innovations on the Cityscape Global stage 🌍 Our Innovation Lead, Külle Tärnov, has had a busy month, spreading news and inspiration about smart city initiatives on stages across the globe. As part of the #Cityscape conference in Riyadh, Külle joined a distinguished panel "AI Without Borders — Building Global Partnerships for Innovation." Alongside global urban leaders like Nikola Barbutov (Deputy Mayor of Sofia), Jorge Saraiva (President of the European Network of City Policy Labs), and Stephen Yarwood (renowned urbanist and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide), the panel explored how AI can transcend boundaries to shape smarter, more inclusive cities. Külle shared examples of AI in action through Herbarium.ai and UrbanSplash solutions. These tools demonstrate how AI can drive the development of smarter, greener cities 🌱 However, she also discussed our Well-being Diagnostics solution, where the use of AI is more limited due to the complexity and diversity of human experiences—highlighting that some areas require a more human-centric approach. If you want to know more about our research-based solutions for smarter cities, look here 👉 https://lnkd.in/def6QzzQ #CityScapeGlobal #SmartCities #AIInnovation #UrbanInnovation

New project announcement 🔊 The FINEX project is here to accelerate the deployment and uptake of cleantech solutions across Europe! We're looking forward to the progress and impact we can create being part of this powerful collaboration bringing together Europe's leading innovation ecosystems, policy making advocates in cleantech sector and other centres of excellence, to support the green and digital transformation. 📲 Follow FINEX project updates on linkedin. 🔗 Read more about the project & partners: https://lnkd.in/dYj7AtgY A glimpse of the team at the kick-off meeting 👇 #GreenTransition #DigitalInnovation #Cleantech #EUEcosystems #InnovationHubs #CleantechStartups #DeepTech

International Entrepreneurs Night explored Europe & Mobility 🚲🚋 Anniki Puura, Postdoctoral Researcher at our centre, introduced Estonian mobility technologies. 💭 Take a look at Anniki's main thoughts: The growth of mobility technologies in Estonia is closely tied to the country’s evolution as a digital nation. Despite its small size, Estonia is home to many established and emerging mobility tech companies and startups. This success is the result of strong collaboration between entrepreneurs, universities, and government agencies, including local governments, where these technologies are being and will be implemented to improve the urban (mobility) landscape. Something to take from the event and looking ahead, is that it's crucial to focus on shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs. This means fostering an innovative mindset and creating an environment that encourages collaboration, empowering them to turn their innovative ideas into reality. Thank you UnternehmerTUM for this meaningful event! #Mobility #SmartMobility #FutureMobility #SmartCities #UrbanInnovation

AI Without Borders —Building Global Partnerships for Innovation 👉 our Innovation Lead Külle Tärnov will join other industry leaders at Cityscape Global to discuss on this fascinating topic. The discussion on AI without borders will take place on November 14 with experienced experts and practitioners on urban developments: Deputy Mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov, President of European Network of City Policy Labs Jorge Saraiva, and highly respected urbanist, the former Lord Mayor of Adelaide Stephen Yarwood. If you're at the event, make sure to catch Külle for conversations & listen the panel on November 14: https://lnkd.in/ed9eYr-J #SmartCities #UrbanInnovation #Partnerships #UrbanDevelopments #ArtificialIntelligence #Cityscapeglobal

Our team has arrived to Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona! 🌆 Boldly approach Sille Sepp, Helen Sooväli-Sepping and Anneli Simm for meaningful conversations on smarter and more livable cities for all. You can also spot Anneli at the Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC) networking event on November 6th. If you're there, enjoy the expo and fresh ideas! #SmartCities #SCEWC #SCEWC2024 #Barcelona #UrbanInnovation

Putting people and well-being at the heart of Smart Cities 🌆🌍 How can we create cities that are sustainable, connected, and centered on well-being? Meet Anneli Simm, Business Development Manager at FinEst Centre, supporting to bridge research and innovation to empower the development of smart cities. Discover her insights and the projects paving the way for a brighter urban future (link in comments) 💭 For those who want to reach out: 📍 Anneli will be heading to the Smart City Expo World Congress and participate in a session titled "Urban Innovation: Creating Cities for All" on Tue, November 5th (https://lnkd.in/dktCCvgS) 📍 She’ll also join the Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC) networking event on November 6th. Reach out to Anneli for insights and discussions! #SmartCities #CitizenWellBeing #UrbanDevelopment #UrbanFuture #BusinessDevelopment

We recently had the pleasure of hosting two exciting visits from international delegations, sharing our ongoing innovation efforts 🎯🤝 First, we welcomed the Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차) Smart City Innovation team, where we explored the potential of autonomous vehicles and urban safety, hydrogen and robotics integration, as well as support for diverse user needs. We also showcased CitySense and innovations in air quality and energy efficiency through projects like #DigiAudit and EDIAQI EU. We wrapped up by brainstorming a pilot cooperation model tailored for Hyundai! In another visit, VARIO Flemish Advisory Council for Innovation and Enterprise met with the rector of TalTech, Tiit Land, and the entrepreneurship center, to explore university's innovation landscape and science to business transfer. We had the chance to present the research based developments done on #SmartCities, fostering great discussions on future collaboration opportunities. 📷 Anna Suzdalev & VARIO Flemish Advisory Council for Innovation and Enterprise #Innovation #SmartCities #Collaboration #AutonomousVehicles #UrbanTech #ResearchAndDevelopment

90% of our lives are spent indoors, and improving air quality can prevent thousands of health issues annually. But what could drive that change: public awareness or strong policies? 💭 Join the webinar organised by EDIAQI EU project 👇 #IndoorAirQuality #PolicyMaking

GITEX GLOBAL Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World took place last week and Külle Tärnov delivered an exciting vision of planning urban greenery during the Digital Cities Track 🌱 Külle presented a case study on how urban greenery can be digitally and efficiently planned, sharing key insights on transforming green spaces in cities. She highlighted our #GreenTwins solution and platform as a powerful tool for this transformation. In addition, it was a great opportunity to introduce our Smart City Challenge piloting programme, which is fostering the development of new solutions. Fascinating experience at #GITEX event and looking forward to the GITEX EUROPE, taking place in Berlin in May 2025! See more about it here: https://lnkd.in/dYGYmYPS #GITEXGLOBAL #GITEXAFRICA #GITEXEUROPE #ArtificialIntelligence #UrbanGreenery #UrbanPlanning