Free online course offered by edX platform about: Smart Cities

About the course

The edX platform for distance education in cooperation with ETHx - the center for e-learning at the Swiss ETH University - announces a free online course looking at the topic of smart cities, which are exemplified by the cities of Zurich in Switzerland and Boston in the United States, which consist of facilities made Human and nature alike are being monitored, their measurements made and controlled to a certain degree. In addition to providing them with fixed sensors and fixed equipment, and the use of data and information, all these elements have become the materials that are used in the construction of new buildings. Using this data, the citizen's influence began to appear on the design of future cities, as well as the redesign of existing cities.

Within the framework of this course, students will be able to learn the principles of informational cities research and urban science, as well as the role of both dynamic behavior and citizen learning in distinguishing between the concepts of responding cities and smart cities. Whereas, the cities that will be presented and work to develop them in the framework of the session use the stock and information flows as a main source for bringing about change.

The course will also review the principle of citizen design science, which is a mixture of citizen science, urban design, and computerized knowledge design, with the aim of developing students' understanding of smart cities and providing them with a look at the future of these cities. In general, the researchers will have access to a platform for design research within the framework of citizen design science, that the smart use of data and information is the core essence of this course, and that these principles will be the next generation for participatory design environments and computer design.

The Course Duration

The course lasts up to 10 weeks

Course objectives

By the end of the course, students will have learned how to do the following:

1. Understand the concept of smart cities, why these are still prototypes and what the challenges are.
2. Identify the principle of stocks and flows of information in cities at different scales.
3. Understand the concept of citizen design science and its importance for responsive cities.
4. Understand the concept of complexity science in the context of architecture and city planning.
5. Learn through citizen design science how you can interact and get involved in the planning of your own cities.
6. Articulate what a responsive city is, and identify the criteria for a city to be responsive.

Course costs

There are no fees to register or study the course, but there is a choice for the learner to obtain an accredited certificate to complete the course for an amount of $ 125, which is characterized by the following:

1. This certificate shall be certified by the signature of the lecturer and the logo of the university that you provide, in order to prove the student’s completion of the course and increase his chances of finding a job.
2. Ease of participation, where students can add their CVs, or attach them directly to their professional profile on LinkedIn.
3. It is an approved incentive for the student to encourage him to complete the course.
4. Through it, the edX platform can be helped through which to fund its activities, as it is a non-profit platform, and then it depends on the return of the approved certificates in making its free courses available to all students around the world.

Sign up for the course from Here 

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