Transformative Cities competence cluster gathered for a meeting in the premises of Sofia Helsinki on the 5th of December. The competence cluster consists of the research institutions, cities, and companies involved in Transformative Cities project. In total, 32 competence cluster members attended the event, marking the second on-site meeting of the competence cluster.
Evidently, a spectrum of knowledge and skills is mixed within the competence cluster. The role of this collaboration is to further develop the methods and preliminary results to align the competence cluster interests. Together, we aim to identify concrete research cases in the cities of Oulu, Lahti, Espoo, and Helsinki, as well as steer research in desired directions. Lastly, one of the main goals of this collaboration is to strengthen the communication and trust across all cluster members despite institutional backgrounds.
The meeting started with progress reports, preliminary results presentations, and brief discussions with each work package. Following the updates, attendees were divided into workshop groups to discuss research case ideas. Each city formed one group and each participant chose one of the workshop groups – naturally, city representatives chose ‘their own’ cities. The starting point for workshop discussions was to develop ideas on city-specific study cases, and how to utilize the data work packages have been collecting. Groups came up with diverse concepts which were linked to particular city areas or development plans, serious gaming, and legal aspects, for example.
The meeting was brief yet intense, as we had three hours during the morning for updates and interchange of ideas. As always, meeting with bright minds from diverse groups is inspiring and fruitful, and the discussions could easily have extended for two days. Gathering around the same tables, sharing, and clustering knowledge will help us make robust decisions within Transformative Cities research project.
