On September 15, 2021, Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam, supported by SERD and SET, held a Webinar “Smart Cities – The Future of City Life” – The first in a series three webinars.

The seminar had the presence of Dr. Phung Van Dong, Director of AIT Vietnam; Prof. Vilas Nitivattananon, Dean of School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD); Prof. P. Abdul Salam, Associate at the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate, SERD; Prof. Matthew N. Dailey, Director of AIT AI Center, Department Head ICT, School of Engineering and Technology (SET); Assoc. Prof. Mongkol Ekpanyapong, Microelectronics and Embedded Systems Department Head ISE, SET; AIT Vietnam Faculty, staff and students.

At the beginning, Dr. Phung Van Dong, director of AIT Vietnam, gave us an overview of smart cities projects in Vietnam. Following him, Prof. Vilas Nitivattananon spoke on “AIT’s programs and activities contributing to smart cities”. He discussed the approach for adopting SDGs into metropolitan areas and how through it we could promote digital transformation.

Prof. Matthew N. Dailey shared with us his vision on the integration of AI for smart cities. He believes linking robotics and intelligent systems together has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work, keeping us safe, keeping us healthy, and eliminating dangerous and tedious tasks from our lives.

Assoc. Prof. Mongkol Ekpanyapong discussed what smart traffic management would look in a smart city. By bridging technology into our streets, we could address driving safety concerns, rules, and regulations.

Prof. P. Abdul Salam discussed “Smart energy in buildings”. A Smart Building is an office building or commercial complex with enhanced environmental and economic performance. The building achieves this by producing, storing, efficiently managing, and optimally controlling energy.

The objective of this webinar was to explore and reach a common perspective of developing a smart city program to improve the quality urban services and the life quality of its populace. Our speakers left us deeply thinking on the new ways we can innovate to bring forth a city of the future for all.