SmartCitiesWorld Podcast SmartCitiesWorld

In this episode of the SmartCitiesWorld podcast, we’re dive into the smart city work of Sunderland. Our guests, Liz St. Louis, Director of Smart Cities at Sunderland City Council, and David Conway, Director of Technical Services at Sunderland University, give us an exclusive look at Sunderland's journey to create ubiquitous connectivity across the city.
Sunderland's primary goal as a smart city is to leverage digital infrastructure to enhance the quality of life for its residents, making it a fantastic place to live, work, and play. We discover how aim to provide inclusive services and ensure that no one is left behind on their smart city journey, and how this is reflected in David’s work at the University, creating equal access to education and leveraging technology for research and student experience.
We hear about the city’s efforts to form strategic partnerships with organisations both locally and globally, and how the council ensures that the partnerships it forms will truly serve the local community.
The podcast highlights how the digital fabric underlying the city's initiatives extends to various sectors, contributing to sustainability, the digital economy, and creating a connected and efficient city.
Flexibility is a key part of achieving Sunderland’s smart city roadmap, with a focus on real-world problem-solving and staying open to new opportunities. We discover how the council is aiming to impact various fields, from health to education and beyond, making a tangible difference in people's lives.
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In our latest episode of the SmartCitiesWorld Podcast, senior editor Luke Antoniou speaks with Hong-Eng Koh, Global Chief Public Services Industry Scientist for Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group.
With more than 30 years of knowledge and experience in public sector operations and ICT applications, Mr Koh is particularly well placed to explain how digital transformation at government level can drive forward digital public services and the digital economy for governments at all levels, from cities to central.
Here, we discover why digital public service infrastructure is the root of smart city offerings, what this type of infrastructure encompasses, and the need for incremental improvements. Beyond this, we also speak to Mr Koh about how the different development paths and processes that exist in each individual city shape the approach that governments must take to overhauling digital public service infrastructure, as well as the role that Huawei plays in supporting these efforts.
We’re introduced to a number of leading case study examples of digital public service infrastructure transformation during the conversation, from ranging from the Spanish city of Alicante and its more than 8 million visitors each year, to Dubai and its role as a leader in digital public services.
Beyond technology requirements, we also hear from Mr Koh on the eight common factors that should shape all digital public service infrastructure development paths, beginning with leadership and vision, and ending with the need to build a wider technology ecosystem, via data strategy, security and sovereignty.
You can find more from Mr Koh in his latest opinion for SmartCitiesWorld on digital public service infrastructure here.
For more information from Huawei, take a look at their whitepaper on Public Services Digital Infrastructure.
About Hong-Eng Koh
As a former Singapore Government official and subsequently leading the implementation of the first generation Singapore’s nationwide mega e-government project, Hong-Eng Koh has more than 30 years of knowledge and experience in public sector operations and ICT applications. Before joining Huawei in 2016, he spent 16 years in Oracle on various regional and global leadership roles in the government, education and healthcare segments. Throughout his career, Hong-Eng has been involved in the transformation of public sector agencies in 70-plus countries. He has also authored various papers on the digital transformation of the public sector, even resulting in the development of corresponding solutions. Hong-Eng is widely recognised internationally and has received various awards. He is a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator.

What is a smart city? It’s a question that has been asked time and time again, and with a definition that has shifted significantly in recent years, it’s one that doesn’t always have a firm answer.
In this episode of the SmartCitiesWorld Podcast, we’re joined by Chris Dymond, Founder and Director of digital capacity-building agency Unfolding, and Academic Director of the Smart Cities Management Programme at Zigurat, to re-assess what smart cities are in today’s context, and how the taxonomy for developing smart city strategy must now extend to include tech, environment, and people all at once.
There’s also discussion of how the cities and local authorities can begin to unpick bad habits and break down siloes through digital transformation, along with the need to strike a tricky balancing act between upskilling workers for a digital future without adding to digital inclusivity challenges as a public sector employer.
Listen to our latest episode now and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you don’t miss our next episode.
For more information about Unfolding, Sheffield Digital or the Zigurat Smart Cities Management Programme, use the links below:
https://www.unfolding.co.uk/
https://sheffield.digital/
https://www.e-zigurat.com/en/smart-cities-masters-program/

Marc talks about why Ofwat introduced the Innovation Fund and its aims to accelerate innovation in the water sector, which has historically been more risk-averse and slower to innovate than others. 
He explains how a central pillar of its efforts to drive innovation are Ofwat’s competitions and challenges, which have seen the regulator invest £60m into 40 projects so far. He talks about some of the individual projects and how he is keen to address the gap for more early stage innovation.
One of his aims is to promote greater collaboration outside of the sector to remove the insularity of only looking internally for solutions. He talks about his hopes for the £4m Water Discovery Challenge, which aims to attract innovators working in cities and transport to help tackle challenges at a critical time for his sector.
Ofwat are one of the many organisations speaking during the Cities Climate Action Summit, 18-20 April. To find out more, head to: https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/cities-climate-action-summit-2023
 
Information accurate at time of recording, 6/3/23

The latest podcast from SmartCitiesWorld sees editor Luke Antoniou welcome Venturous Group’s Benson Tam and Arup’s Michael Kwok to talk all things collaborative in city technology.
Together, there’s discussion of the role that Venturous Group and Arup are playing – both together and individually – in driving forward a partnership model to help develop smarter cities. This includes understanding of the state of play within Venturous Group’s citytech network, and insight into the development of the Neuron smart building platform – itself a joint venture between Arup and Venturous Group.
Further, we find out about the importance of scalability and right-sizing solutions for adoption by different types of organisations, whether they’re cities or private-sector owned and operated entities that have many of the same needs as modern cities.
There’s also discussion of the next steps for the smart city concept and vision, and how citizens themselves will be able to personalise their own city experiences based on individual preference, based on the technology that can be created and adopted within a city context through new partnerships.
For more on Venturous Group’s work, both with Arup and its other citytech partners, download the SmartCitiesWorld Shenzhen City Profile, which includes more case studies on how Venturous Group is supporting the advancement of city technology.

The latest episode of the SmartCitiesWorld podcasts sees host Luke Antoniou joined by Emily Yates, chief innovation officer at SEPTA - the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
We take a route back through Emily's career to this stage, including her time as Smart City Director for the City of Philadelphia, and discuss how the wealth of experience she has accumulated across her career has culminated in her latest role.
On the agenda are the ways in which SEPTA's challenges have become clearer since the pandemic begun, the importance of systems thinking across different city departments and agencies, and the true nature of what it means to be innovative in the provision of public services.
 
* Information accurate at time of recording, 4/8/22