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Master’s in smart city planning, anyone?

Dubai - Dubai will soon see a first-of-its-kind innovative postgraduate degree in City Sciences in fall 2015. The programme, which will be launched by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT-Dubai) in association with the Dubai Silicon Oasis, will soon get the green signal from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai.

RIT-Dubai president Dr Yousef Al Assaf told Khaleej Times that the new programme will help foster specialised skills in various areas of smart cities from energy, water and smart services to environment, safety and security.

In order to complete the smart city professional diploma, students have to attend seven workshops on creating smart city departments; communication; integration and cooperation; urban design and planning; environment and sustainability; society and governance; and economy and business, he said.

“The programme is aimed at engineers, architects, economists and graduates interested in becoming highly qualified professionals, who are able to understand and manage the multidimensional nature of the city. This programme will be developed with Spain’s Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid (UPM) and will be taught by faculty from RIT New York, RIT Dubai, Oxford, Harvard and UPM.”

Dr Assaf said the programme integrates disciplines related to planning, energy, sociology, economics and all the new technology and infrastructure that is the core of functionality in any city.

 ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com