586677-EPP-1-2017-1-BE-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB Generated on: Oct 8, 2020

Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals

Action Type: Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees

Project Title

MSc in Smart Cities and Communities

Project Coordinator

Organisation UNIVERSITE DE MONS

Address PLACE DU PARC 20 000 , 7000 MONS , Extra-Regio NUTS 2 , BE

Project Information

Identifier 586677-EPP-1-2017-1-BE-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB

Start Date Sep 15, 2017

End Date Sep 14, 2023

EC Contribution 3,069,000 EUR

Partners DIETHNES PANEPISTIMIO ELLADOS (EL) , HERIOT-WATT

UNIVERSITY (UK) , UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL
HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA (ES)

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586677-EPP-1-2017-1-BE-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB Generated on: Oct 8, 2020

Project Summary

The world is experiencing a period of extreme urbanization. In China alone, more than 250 million rural
inhabitants will move to urban areas over the next 15 years. This will require building new infrastructure to
accommodate nearly the equivalent of the current population of the EU in a matter of a few decades. Cities in the
21st century will account for nearly 90% of global population growth, 80% of wealth creation, and 60% of total
energy consumption. It is a global imperative to develop systems that improve the livability of cities while
dramatically reducing resource consumption. This proposed EMJMD focus on understanding the complexities of
cities and communities through the use of four of the most important factors in the sustainability of a city such as
are the energy, transport, buildings and ICT. This unique combination is expected to bring solutions for
high-density cities with the design of these systems being resilient, scalable, and reconfigurable. Today,
academic research and industrial applications in the area of Smart Cities and communities seek to optimize
existing city infrastructure, networks, and urban behavior through the deployment and utilization of different
approaches. Cities and communities that employ optimization techniques have reported improvements in energy
efficiency, water use, public safety, road congestion, and many other areas. However, optimization has its limits.
Research and investments in new urban systems are fundamentally critical because optimization will have little
effect for rapidly urbanizing cities which experience around the clock congestion. This EMJMD proposes a
combination of actions for Smart Cities and Communities by focusing on disruptive innovations in technology,
design, planning, policy, and strategies that can bring dramatic improvements in urban livability and sustainability
something that makes it unique among any other existing degrees while offering a really international approach.
The consortium that is geaographically distributed in all of EU aims at a strong involvement from Industry through
cooperation in course development, internships and thesis work. The Joint Master will benefit the following target
groups: (1) Students & Young professionals learn new skills and acquire new state-of-the-art knowledge. This will
improve chances on labour market and contribute to the development of sustainable transport. (2) Academic
staff: The MSc provides opportunities for research and the exchange of expertise. (3) Universities: International
cooperation will increase and a larger source of students to carry out advanced research programmes will lead to
greater prestige. (4) Companies: The proposed MSc provides a source of knowledgeable and skilled workers, at
regional and transnational levels. (5) Society will benefit from the innovation on Smart Cities and Communities
and the research on the different proposed fields related with this exciting broad field.

Link to project card: Show project card

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