Sustainable Business and Economy for Smart Cities
Building capabilities and strategies in West Africa
This summer school will focus on building capabilities and business strategies for Smart Cities.
In 2050 the largest cities in the world are expected to be in Africa. Luanda, the capital of Angola, is estimated to have 6 Million people today and will continue to grow. Today’s infrastructure is not designed for such large population. Economic creation is struggling already now. Food, Housing, Transport, Health & safety require a sound thought process on answering key questions. This opens up questions, such as:
- Will enough resources be developed to build the future large cities?
- How to develop capabilities and businesses to support smart cities in Angola?
- What are the key challenges today?
- Under what conditions will it be possible to build a smart city and who will be able to take the challenge?
- What are the Ethical and Legal consequences?
- What kind of transition will take place?
Students will explore these issues and local perspectives and conduct research projects in small research groups. The research results contribute to the model of building smart cities in Africa with a focus on capabilities development and the role of business, government and local communities. The students have to interview several experts in the field, have to visit the current infrastructure and acquire state-of-the-art knowledge about smart cities.
The summer school will take place in Angola and includes:
- Lectures in Luanda by international staff and relevant speakers;
- Field visit to the local government and key infrastructure.
Course info
Target group
This summer school is designed for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as postgraduate students (PhD, Post Docs), researchers and other external parties. Participants should have a Bachelor degree, or close to finish, in Business, Economics, Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Biology, and affinity with Smart Cities development.
It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.
Learning outcomes
After this course you will be able to:
- learn about Africa Growth, Culture and Challenges
- formulate questions for scientific research and make use of Qualitative Research
- integrate multi-disciplinary elements and recognize multi-level aspects.
- connect and master African business work environment
Programme (tentative)
Day 1: Sunday - The Angola context: Culture, Mobility, African Management; Tour around in Luanda
Day 2: Monday - Qualitative Research
Day 3: Tuesday - Infrastructure; visit city infrastructure; Reading articles on Smart Cities
Day 4: Wednesday: Paper workings, Visit local market
Day 5: Thursday: Politics & Ethics; Visit Government institution / Parliament
Day 6: Friday: Short paper and presentations by the international teams:
Day 7: Saturday: Social visit, closing dinner (end of School)
Day 8: Check out
Study load + certificate
It is expected that the student dedicates 80 hours to the Summer School:
- Preparatory work, contact hours, assignment pre-workings and reporting writing (30 hours)
- In country activities (50 hours)
Upon successful completion of the program, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 80 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.
Contact
If you have any questions about the summer school, kindly contact us at westafricasummerschool@rug.nl.
Fees
- Participants fee: €395,- (incl. accommodation, local transport, and lunch; excl. travel expenses)
- Angolan participants fee: €150,- (excl. accommodation, local transport, and lunch; excl. travel expenses)
Application
Please submit the following documents with your application:
- CV
- Motivation letter
The deadline for application is 30 April 2019.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.rug.nl/education/summer-winter-schools/summer_schools_2019/sustainable-business/