The first City Science Summit organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the support of ACTUA, ended this Friday, September 15, surpassing all participation expectations. A total of 292 people registered for the event although, being an event open to the public, dozens of other people participated in the various conferences and workshops held in the Andorran Innovation Space and in the Prat del Roure hall of the Comú of Escaldes-Engordany.
During the two days of the event, several challenges related to urban planning, mobility and improvements to be more energy efficient while respecting the environment have been addressed. All this with the aim of putting together proposals that help to draw up better planning for the cities of the future.
As for the participation of professionals, 19 speakers from cities such as Hamburg, Helsinki, Boston, Shanghai and Taipei, along with Andorran experts have been the main protagonists of the City Science Summit.
The Secretary of State for Economic Diversification, Josep Maria Missé, reported that “we have had an attendance at the congress above our expectations and many visits from cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, Liechtenstein that want to collaborate in the future with MIT “, and pointed out that” the fact that there is a space in Andorra where innovation is being discussed and, more specifically, about how the cities of the future should be positions us as a point of reference “.
For his part, Kent Larson, director of the City Science MIT Media Lab’s research group, said that “the results have been fantastic. Around 40 and 50 experts have been working together, the attendance has exceeded 300 people and all the debates have been of the highest level.
On the other hand, this Friday morning, six round tables were held with the participation of fifty local and international experts. In addition, the students of the Aixovall Vocational Training Centre have also participated in the tests of the autonomous vehicle (Persuasive Electric Vehicle -PEV-), a platform they will start working during this academic year.