The job market related to Smart City management and planning is in urgent need of professionals who can design, deploy and manage innovative Smart City projects.

On May 4, 2021, the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities organized a webinar for students and professionals who want to specialize in the Smart City field and are ready to shape their careers to meet current and future challenges.

This webinar was the perfect opportunity to learn about careers and evolution of the Smart City sector, interact with experts, listen to testimonials of the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities alumni.

Speakers who participated in the webinar:

• Valentina VOLOGNI, Flexgrid Project Manager at Capenergies
• Fabien ARTEMON, Mobility Project Manager at ONHYS
• Paulo MOURA, Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at IMREDD
• Dr. Matteo CAGLIONI, Associate Professor in Geography and Geomatics at Université Côte d’Azur, Program Director of the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities
• Arianna CALZA, Program coordinator of the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities
• Isabel Rotteveel BELLIARD, current student in internship, Smart City Manager at Siradel
• Marion CHEVALIER, consultant at Urbanomy, EDF Group, MSc Engineers for Smart Cities alumna
• John Paul THOMSON, Urban mobility consultant at ONHYS, MSc Engineers for Smart City alumnus

The webinar was hosted by Eugénie BALTAGA, Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator of the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities

 

Some questions could not be answered during the webinar due to time limitations, please find the answers below:

 

A client recently asked me a very common-sensed question : can we reuse rainwater that falls down from the building’s roof?  It is indeed a very good point to approach very easy to implement solutions so that we don’t lose resources hence create some economies in the maintenance of old buildings. Could renovating be a subject for the smart cities?

Most eco-districts are now implementing this type of solution. Since these are recent constructions that rely on the latest technologies in energy and resource efficiency, it is possible to consider this type of installation from the design stage.

For example, at IMREDD we have a rainwater tank in the basement (40m3) that allows us to use rainwater for the needs of the building, and therefore, manage resources efficiently. For old buildings, the implementation is more difficult because the available space is most of the time limited and very expensive in big cities.

Indeed, renovation is THE SOLLUTION for smart cities. The renovation of buildings allows to have a better energy efficiency and a better use of resources. Enhancing the energy performance of buildings can improve the quality of life for people, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the reuse and recycling of materials.

 

Do you believe that green mobility can be effective and respond to the needs of all users? 

The shift to green mobility implies a change in behavior and a collective awareness. There is a lot of confusion between green mobility and alternative modes of transportation, such as cycling, but green mobility goes much further. The efficient combination of different modes of transportation, guiding the reduction of the carbon footprint, added to a more responsible economic model, would be the right way to approach green mobility. There is no transport mode better than the other, there is a more appropriate mode of transportation for every need.

 

How was the Smart Cities job market impacted by Covid?

The changing structure of employment has had a major impact with the global pandemic and can be approached in two ways from the perspective of the Smart Cities job market. The first is related to the change due to the massive adoption of distance work and learning, awakening civil society to this new way of producing and interacting, impacting the real estate market, influencing internal migration, and allowing access to services that were previously unthinkable.

The second is the need to understand this change and adapt the city to this new normal. The pandemic has created a new market for city specialists. Urban planning, mobility, development, and especially public services: everything will be revisited, opening the horizon of the field of study from a smart city to a smart territory.

 

Is the MSc Engineers for Smart Cities program connected with any local or International entrepreneurship incubators/accelerators to increase collaborative innovation efforts in the field of smart city design and development ?

(This question has been answered, but we would like to provide some additional information)

Student-entrepreneur is a national status in France allowing students and young graduates to launch startups in a specific type of business incubator known in French as a PEPITE (Student centres for innovation, transfer and entrepreneurship).

Being one of the MSc programs offered by Université Côte d’Azur, all enrolled students with an interested for entrepreneurship may have access to the Paca Est business incubator located in Nice, France.

In the context of its partnership with Université Côte d’Azur, the Paca Est business incubator supports and guides the student-entrepreneurs in their startup projects. More information may be found here.

At Université Côte d’Azur, students may also engage in real business projects based on open innovation through initiatives such as INVENT@UCA (SUGAR network) and Les Ateliers de l’IMREDD.

 

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