Students from our Master's in Smart City and Smart Grid Technologies enjoy a study placement in the Netherlands

The students were welcomed by Dr Wil Bekkering, Dean of the Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Hans Ruinemans from Business Tales and Dr Laurentiu Neamtu, as representative of La Salle Barcelona and La Salle Almere Campus.

Students enjoyed two very intense days with field trips to various locations and sites of interest. Almere is the newest city in Europe, founded just over 40 years ago. Our students enjoyed a guided tour of the city’s central district with an explanation of the urban planning criteria, architecture, infrastructure, logistics and system of sensors that all help to improve the city's functioning, sustainability and safety, bearing in mind the city is mostly 6 metres below sea level. They also went on trips to the Health & Wellbeing Innovation Centre (Cinnovate), Aeres University, Underground Waste Disposal System Almere (OAT), Almere Stadhuis, The New Library and the Big Data Value Center (BDVC).

Talks were also given by a range of personalities and experts in topics relating to the use of technology and the best ways to approach projects and businesses in the Smart Society, with students able to pose questions. Among the talks and debates held, some of the most important topics included A Global View on Smart Circular Cities and Areas, From Ideation to New Business Models - How academics can be stimulated to translate their knowledge into commercial and societal value, The Health Factory Projects, Digital Marketing & Sustainable Business, Big Data Success Stories, The Future of AI.

Participants rated their stay very positively and stressed how useful they found this international experience.