Smart Cities Innovation Competition (SCIC)

Smart Cities Innovation Competition (SCIC) aims to strengthen academic curiosity and enquiry-based learning among undergraduate, master and PhD students in the field of smart city and urban informatics. It is our objective to nurture the next generation researchers and innovators. Under SCIC, students will be given the opportunities to undertake research projects in the field of smart city and urban informatics under the guidance and supervision of staffs from academy and industry who are strong in research. Students enrolled in SCIC will be automatically admitted to the International Society of Urban Informatics (ISUI) which organizes and manages the programme and activities under SCIC.

There are many reasons to help undergraduate, master and PhD students gain research experience, transforming them from merely "consumers" of knowledge to "creators" of knowledge. First, research work can ignite academic curiosity which is the fundament of an intellectual. Second, research engagement can sharpen high-order thinking skills such as logical and creative thinking. Finally, with the growing emphasis on research and innovation worldwide, research experience can enable students to explore more career opportunities.

Individual or Group Project?

Applications for admission to SCIC can be

• by individual student; or
• by a well composed team normally of no more than 3 students (larger teams may be exceptionally allowed with sound justifications).

How to find a supervisor?

Students may contact any university academic staff at the level of Assistant Professor/ Research Assistant Professor or above. Students may also

• research & development staffs from industry can be chosen as supervisor as well, if they meet the qualification criterion, e.g., 5 years working experiences in the relevant field after master degree, or 3 years working experiences in the relevant field after PhD degree.

How to apply?

• Please submit your completed application form to info@isocui.org. You can find the application form here.

Important Dates

• Call for Proposal: July 15, 2022
• Deadline for Submitting Proposal: August 15, 2022
  (Please submit your completed application form to info@isocui.org. )
• Notification of Proposal Acceptance: August 31, 2022
• Deadline for Submitting Final Project Outcomes: November 30, 2022
  (Please submit a completion report to info@isocui.org, demonstrating the project final outcomes e.g., in the form of report, video, and ppt, etc.)
• Shortlist for Presentation: December 15, 2022

Award

A SCIC prize will be awarded to student participating in an individual project and participating in a group project (up to 3 students) based on assessment of the final project outcomes.

• First prize – up to 2 projects
• Second prize – up to 5 projects
• Third prize – up to 10 projects

Project assessment criteria for the prize

• Innovation, quality/ originality and practical/societal impact of the undertaken research project; and
• co-curricular achievements

Requirement and follow-up opportunity

• All of the members of the application team should be ISUI members prior to submission of proposal. For those who is not a member of ISUI, you may wish to join ISUI by online application: http://isocui.org/joinisui/index.html;
• Candidate must be a registered student at the time of application for the competition;
• Participate in talent exchange event of biennial ICUI congress for global college students to compete for ISUI best student innovation contest;
• Each student can participate in only one project.

Scope

• Cutting-edge research that leverages emerging technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, UAV) and data in the context of urban environments
• Advance science of cities through data and technologies
• Research that tackles the relationships among people, place and technologies in cities
• Research that focuses on the social and human implications of technology in cities
• Research that tackles sustainable smart cities development
• Technologies, theories, and models for urban research
• Provide solutions to various urban problems and applications

Organizer:   International Society for Urban Informatics (ISUI)

Co-organizer:

• Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• International Cartographic Association (ICA) GAM Commission
• International Geographical Union (IGU) MGS Commission