Basic description

The Educating City (EC) project activates a rethinking of the traditional learning environment and the role of teachers by implementing experimental educational models to renew the teaching & learning ecosystems, with a life-long learning approach within different places (school, outdoor, leisure).

 

Focus area

Primary
Citizen Focus
Additional
Integrated Infrastructures and Processess across Energy, ICT, and Transport; Knowledge Sharing

 

Expected contribution

Education is the key concept for the development of a Smart Community given that it increases the social capital by creating cognitive and social skills and a participative and democratic sense in the citizens. The Educating City (EC) project activates a rethinking of the traditional learning environment and the role of teachers by implementing experimental educational models to renew the teaching & learning ecosystems, with a life-long learning approach within different places (school, outdoor, leisure).
The EC project is focused in developing: (1) new learning models based on collaborative sourcing and e-learning methods (developed in highly integrated digital environments, within the context of formalized learning) able to facilitate a change in the educational process and the understanding of how the digital native generations “carry out” their strategies. (2) New platforms, services and ICT applications for the Educating City: studied, designed and implemented on a software environment that supports new teaching methodologies, encouraging collaboration and social networks (based on cloud computing, collaborative sourcing, WIKI, knowledge management platforms); new applications and services for automatic analysis and knowledge extraction from multimedia contents available in traditional repositories (learning/teaching ecosystem, cultural & digital libraries) and from user-generated content; and innovative interactive fruition interfaces (mainly based on visual 2D, 3D and sensor data processing) to support future approaches in training environments. And (3) content for the new education environment and the methods for its usage and sharing.
The project foresees the realization of 4 demonstrators, involving children, young people, teachers, educational coordinators, families and companies divided by age range: 3-11 (schools and common places in Emilia Romagna), 12-18 (schools and places that carry on related activities in Liguria), 19-25 (universities in Trentino), life-long-learning (companies located in Veneto).
The final goal of the EC Project is to create an educating city, a model where the educational moment is based on the reciprocity of the involved actors (who teaches is educated himself and brought his knowledge in the educational act), where everyone can contribute to design and build a greater collective material and immaterial welfare.
By developing interoperable platforms and devices, the EC Project will provide support to the objectives set up by EIP’s SIP regarding citizens’ involvement and their awareness. From the OIP, some potential actions aligned with this project are relate to developing intelligent communities and tools for Community Insight and Engagement supporting the continuity of learning through processes that bring closer the school, family and business world, in order to help reducing the technology adoption barriers and facilitate social and educational inclusion.

 

Contribution to the EIP

Engagement
The SmartCommunitiesTech and the EC project goals are focused in the development of scalable and replicable ICT solutions for educating all city’s stakeholders generating a significant improvement in their quality of life, create an enabling environment for citizens, and accelerating the awareness and use of smart city needs and solutions. EC’s new education approaches and methodologies enhance training experiences and renew the teaching and learning ecosystems, by using open standards and protocols, making data accessible, and adapting existing solutions to the needs.
The project develops new collaborative technologies, according with sharing, distribution and reuse trends of Open Data and in compliance with the privacy regulations.
The pilots’ data, experiences, best practices and policy recommendations will be shared during the dissemination activities taking advantage of the opportunities generated by the SmartCommunitiesTech cluster at an international level.

Inclusiveness and Partnership
The SmartCommunitiesTech cluster is coordinated by Torino Wireless, ASTER & LEPIDA, Green & HighTech District Foundation of Monza Brianza, DHITECH – High Tech Technological District, SIIT – Integrated Intelligent Systems’ Technological District, Trento RISE, VEGA – VEnice GAteway for Science and Technology, DiTBeCS – Tuscan District for Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Cities, and Filas. It collects an interdisciplinary group of Italian companies (large companies, SMEs), universities, research centers and policy decision makers, that gather expertise in a wide variety of industries including the ones addressed by the EIP: Mobility, Energy & ICT applied to vertical markets: health, tourism, wellbeing, government, training & education (the EC consortium). The cluster has the support & endorsement of different Italian cities that have expressed their interest and given their availability to host pilots, participate in the demonstrations activities, and assess results’ transferability.

Is the commitment potentially open to additional partners and if so, in which priority area (please tick the relevant options)?

 

Delivery

The EC project has a deployment period of 36 months, that will oversee the development of 4 demonstrators in different Italian regions (Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Trentino and Veneto) that endorsed the project given its alignment with their Smart City Plan’s strategies. The pilots will be available during at least 10 month period in which it is expected to test and evaluate the results of the project in terms of performance of the new methodologies for education and training in different age and location environments.
Furthermore, the project is co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Education (MIUR) and the companies and research centres involved, assuring the economic sustainability of the project.
Results expected in

  • 2016 and beyond The development of platforms, services and ICT applications for the Educating City