AI4Cities brings together the leading European cities in the intersection of ‘Smart Cities’ and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction, in order to speed up and steer the creation of new breakthrough solutions in how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support cities’ strategic plans to become Carbon Neutral. Right now is the time to direct AI research/innovation towards the societal needs -- to assign detailed, pragmatic, solvable ‘missions’ from the cities’ climate action plans to AI developers. Through these missions, this project will create breakthrough, scalable, European solutions for these specific needs, and thus lead to immediate, concrete and measurable emissions savings, but more importantly, give examples on how to create impact and better future, for the whole of the AI community as well as all the European cities and citizens. On one hand, the opportunity window for European AI leadership is closing fast in the competition between solutions coming from the US and China - what kind of AI solutions govern us in the future is of great policy interest for Europe. On the other hand, urban emission reduction ambitions in most of the cities are set up so high that many of them are not realistically achievable without exploiting best-in-class ICT technologies. While cities are different, the largest opportunities for emission reduction in European cities are very similar. The highest common reduction targets in most cities’ climate action plans are in transport and in buildings’ energy use. As an example, in Helsinki, the production of Electricity and Heating accounts for 71% of GHG emissions; urban transportation and traffic account for 24%. Combined, these two sectors total 95% of Helsinki’s total carbon footprint. The purpose of this PCP is to support Cities’ transition to carbon neutrality, by applying the use of AI and related enabling digital technologies to tackle the challenge of reducing the Cities GHG emissions.

NGI Forward brings together a consortium of leading organisations in the NGI and the internet space more broadly to help further the Next Generation Internet as the key European entity and space for radical new thinking on the future internet, by both conducting and bringing together the latest thinking and cutting edge research, and reaching a critical mass of Europeans through our ambitious engagement strategies. Our main aim is to articulate an ambitious vision for what we want the Next Generation Internet to be, involving diverse voices in the process. We set out a clear set of next steps towards this vision through the development of technology, value and policy roadmaps, and build a network of the key European stakeholders we need to empower in order to achieve these goals. Employing cutting-edge data methodologies we continuously identify newly emerging technologies, social issues and communities likely to play a key role in the shaping of the future internet. Understanding these emerging dynamics allows us, and by extension the European Commission, to become involved in shaping their development early on, embedding key values for the Next Generation Internet in the process. We build a strong and vibrant community of key stakeholders (innovators, researchers, policymakers and the general public) surrounding these topics to drive forward the NGI, involving both leading internet thinkers and well-established innovators, as well as young talent and otherwise untapped talent pools. Through leading edge qualitative and quantitative research (such deep learning, ethnography and futures methodologies), we map out the main research and policy needs and opportunities surrounding these topics, empowering our stakeholders group to take action.

SPACE4Cities will dynamise the uptake of space-based solutions for dynamic use and management of public space. This is an area of smart city development which is currently lagging behind in digital transformation when compared to parallel domains of similar economic and social importance. Cities are at the forefront of fighting todays grand societal challenges, as they consume 75% of the natural resources, 78% of the worlds energy, produce 50% of the global waste, and emit 60-80% of the greenhouse gases. Yet, they account for less than 2% of the Earths surface. Therefore, SPACE4Cities project predominantly targets cities and densely populated regions. Cities face increasing pressure to tackle their climate challenges and to utilise their existing assets more efficiently, while at the same time be more agile in reacting to constant change from climate events and other factors. In effect, cities need to be more dynamic and more resilient. However, currently, cities are not able to manage their public space (on ground and in air) in an agile manner that would adequately support the increasing amount of different types of needs. If the management of areas is to become dynamic, it has to be based on dynamic data assets. This project strives for better, more dynamic management of public spaces, answering a concrete need for cities and regions to be able to adapt to fast-changing requirements for transport infrastructure, open spaces and city maintenance, and to increase their resilience to cope with extreme and disruptive events. Via smart exploitation of space data, the SPACE4Cities project aims to build replicable solutions for the dynamic management of public areas, and a clear roadmap for Europe-wide implementation of such space data-based solutions.

Gender-InSIGHT aims to equip a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers with tools from disciplines including psychology, history, ethics, endocrinology, neuroscience, and public health. Through co-creation and mixed-methods research, doctoral candidates will increase understanding of the influence of biopsychosocial factors on gender during diverse hormonal transitions, including variations in puberty and menopause. Specific attention will be paid to groups historically marginalized in such research, for example trans and gender diverse people and those with variations of sex characteristics. Historical, clinical, and societal lenses will focus attention on, respectively, documenting the history and ethical implications of the shifts in meaning given to biopsychosocial factors in the framing of hormones and gender over time; providing clinical guidance informed by a biopsychosocial understanding of gender to assist patients and healthcare providers with decision-making regarding diverse hormonal transitions; and uncovering societal pressures and polarization regarding the biopsychosocial nature of gender and how these are communicated across cultures and through different channels. The training programme is designed to broaden and deepen interdisciplinary knowledge and to advance research skills, methodological expertise, and transferrable skills. Novel data, methods, and tools will be disseminated through a wide range of channels to ensure all stakeholders are reached. Collaboration with partners from non-academic domains promotes effective knowledge exchange and stimulates patient-provider engagement, collaboration in decision-making, and building infrastructure around research results of Gender-InSIGHT. This will have a lasting impact on culture and media, healthcare, and public policy and contribute towards EU goals to combat stereotypes and sexism, achieve gender equality, and ensure healthy lives and well-being for all.

<< Objectives >>The children of today face grand challenges, ranging from the climate crisis to social challenges like increasing inequality. The project ‘Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship Education for Children’ (IDEEC) supports teachers in school education, impact-driven entrepreneurship education providers, and educational and economic policy makers to build and support effective programs that empower children aged 9-15 to develop entrepreneurial solutions for environmental and social challenges.<< Implementation >>The activities in the IDEEC project lead to four main products:1)a competence framework and didactics guide which provide a baseline to build an effective impact-driven Entrepreneurship Education (EE) program for children aged 9-152)a tested and piloted toolbox with practical building blocks for such programs 3)a tested simple impact measurement tool for such programs 4)a policy brief, aiming to inform educational and economic policy makers of the added value of impact-driven EE programs<< Results >>We need to equip our future leaders with knowledge and competences that allow them to find entrepreneurial solutions to grand challenges. The IDEEC project provides a baseline and a set of practical building blocks for teachers to apply effective programs that help children develop impact-driven entrepreneurship competences. By showing the potential of such programs, educational and economic policy makers are equipped to build policies to support impact-driven entrepreneurship education.