Four Countries Seminar on Urban Digitalization

By 2050, the world’s urban population is expected almost to double, making urbanization one of the most transformative trends of the 21st century. At the same time, digital transformation (DX) is accelerating in diverse sectors of global society due to improvements in big data, computing power, and advanced digital communication technologies. The rapid increase in digital technologies creates significant changes in cities and societies, demands for new technologies in conventional occupations, and new employment opportunities. Against this backdrop, designers and planners who are broadly involved in cities and architecture need to be familiar with how to solve local problems and have a global perspective and thinking and a wide range of skills to adapt to the needs of the urban DX era.
In this seminar, researchers and practitioners involved in digitizing cities and architecture from diverse cultural and social backgrounds across countries will give lectures and hold discussions. Students in the four countries will learn about the barriers, challenges, and possibilities of urban digitalization through workshops and analysis of urban DX implementation in each country.

The “Four Countries Seminar on Urban Digitalization” will kick off on September 30, 2021.From October to December, four universities in Japan (Kyushu University), Germany (Technical University of Dresden), Norway (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and China (Zhejiang University) will collaborate to gain in-depth knowledge on various aspects of the urban digitalization era, transcending cultural and social boundaries.

Schedule
Kick-off Symposium (Online)
September 30, 2021, 15:30-17:30 (Japan)
Zoom

Joint Seminar
(1) Phase 1 (Incubation)
In the first phase, students will learn topic-related knowledge from public lectures (webinars) by researchers and practitioners in various fields from the four countries. At the same time, students and instructors will discuss the content of the lectures in an online course forum. You will learn advanced urban DX knowledge in different countries and discuss and brainstorm ideas in the course forum. If you can’t make it to the class, you can watch the lecture online on-demand and communicate with the instructor via Moodle.
Friday, October 1, 10:00-12:00
Thursday, October 7, 15:00-17:00
Friday, October 15, 15:00-17:00
Friday, October 22, 15:00-17:00

(2) Phase 2 (Execution): October 29 to December 17, 2021　Friday 15:00-17:00 (tentative)
At each university, students will work in groups and conduct surveys of policymakers, businesses, citizens, experts, etc.

October 29 (Fri.): To address the four subtopics “Technology,” “Society,” “Co-creation,” and “Countryside” as issues related to the era of urban digitalization, the four universities will hold a joint discussion session and form working groups at each university.

November 12 (Fri.), 19 (Fri.), and 29 (Mon.): Each working group will develop questionnaires focusing on subtopics (two questionnaires, one for policy stakeholder/expert interviews and one for the general public), and students from each university will develop and conduct interview surveys in each region.

December 3 (Fri.): Four universities joint interim presentation. All students and their instructors (course instructors) will discuss the questionnaire survey.

December 10 (Fri.): Students will brush up on their analysis and proposals for the final presentation on the age of urban digitalization.

December 17 (Fri.): Joint final presentations from the four universities and international comparative analysis by all students and instructors will provide common knowledge on urban digitization possibilities and practical challenges for different cultures and societies.

How it was held
In consideration of the 6-8 hour time difference between Asia and Europe, the joint class of the four countries was held in the form of an online seminar.

Conditions for participation
This course is mainly intended for students in the Graduate School of Design, Kyushu University (Master’s and Doctoral Programs). (Capacity: about 15 people) All classes were conducted in English.

[Organizer] Faculty of Design, Kyushu University
[Cosponsorship] Center of Coevolutionary Research for Sustainable Communities (COI), Kyushu University