Program

Smart & Resilient Communities

Self-paced

Sorry! The enrollment period is currently closed. Please check back soon.

Full program description

 
Self-Paced 30 Hours Digital Badge $716

 

Course Overview

We are living during a shift - a shift so fundamental that the past ceases to be a source of guidance for the present or the future. We have entered what has been labeled the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And as with major system shifts of the past, disruptive technologies prove to be the enabler of the current industrial revolution. Communities around the world have adopted differing innovation strategies aimed at harvesting the promise of these technologies. Delivering these smart and resilient community initiatives effectively takes certain skills, insights, great partnerships, and new models of business & governance, as well as amendments to existing regulatory systems.

This Certificate helps prepare leaders, practitioners, and professionals in both the public and private sectors, as well as non-governmental organizations, to act effectively in this space. It provides the building blocks required to drive effective innovation and digitalization initiatives for communities around the world. It does this by sharing crucial insights and lessons learned from active practitioners such as city leaders, business leaders, technology specialists, design thinkers, and academic experts from varying communities, countries, and continents that have led, learned, invested, failed, and succeeded. The Certificate frames the future of our communities - our cities - within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.


What topics will be covered

  • Framing the smart city concept within a larger context of sociological perspectives, technology trends, and differing agendas - whether it is an environmental agenda or dealing with resilience in our community in a post-COVID-19 world.
  • Technologies at work in the smart communities space.
  • Types of partnerships required to drive community innovation strategies effectively and deliver services effectively. 
  • What constitutes agile, effective governance?
  • Ethical considerations involved in arriving at the best possible ‘digital deal’ for communities.
  • Leadership skills required to succeed in this space, and skills necessary for yourself, your team, and your organization.

 

 

 


Faculty

Thunderbird Professor of Practice Pieter Bas Boorsma

Professor Bas Boorsma 

Bas is a leading urban innovation and digitalization specialist & executive with over 20 years of experience in the 'smart city' space. He serves as Professor of Practice at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. He also practices what he preaches: Bas serves as the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to the City of Rotterdam. Bas is also Vice President EMEA of the Cities Today Institute, and also serves as Member of the Board, at the Smart City Association Italy (TSCAI). Bas is the author of the well acclaimed book "A New Digital Deal". (September 2017/February 2020 (revised 2020 edition) - www.anewdigitaldeal.com).

Thunderbird Managing Director and Professor Landry Signe

Professor Landry Signe

Professor Landry Signe is a world-renowned professor and leading practitioner who has won more than sixty prestigious awards and distinctions from four continents for his academic, policy, business, and leadership accomplishments, receiving as well the fastest reported tenure and promotion to the highest rank of full professor in the history of United States universities, for a scholar who started at an entry-level position in his discipline. 

Thunderbird Managing Director and Professor Jason Whittet

Professor Jason Whittet

Jason Whittet works for Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the Digital Innovation Lead at the Arizona State University Smart Cities Cloud Innovation Center. He previously led Smart Cities efforts for 100 Resilient Cities at the Rockefeller Foundation and held smart cities roles at GE, ATT, and IDC Research. Jason helped lead the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and the development of the $100M MassBroadband123 fiber network and served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer and in the Army National Guard. He is a graduate of ASU, has an MPA from Northeastern University, and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. 


Questions & Other Information 

Have questions about this program? Let us know and we'll get back to you!