CEKOM - Competence Centre for Smart Cities

Project Title:

CEKOM – Competence Centre for Smart Cities

Project Goal

The development of the Competence Centre for Smart Cities (CEKOM), an innovation cluster that will cooperate on research and development projects of innovative digital solutions for living in urban environment. It is a three-year project of national importance, and also the largest development project in Croatia in the field of information and communication solutions aimed at improving the quality of life.

Duration

1 March 2020 – 1 March 2023

Competent authority

The Competence Centre for Smart Cities is the result of joint application and elaboration of six research and development projects by 20 partners following a call “Support for the Development of Competence Centres”

Description

Competence centres are aimed at developmental and industrial research and its marketability within specific thematic areas and branches of competence. They are linked to one or more thematic priority areas and / or cross-cutting themes identified under the Smart Specialisation Strategy.

The key task of the competence centres is to encourage effective cooperation between the private, public and scientific and research sectors in order to strengthen the innovation potential of the economy and to harmonise research and developmental strategic plans with the needs of the economy.

SMARTCITY PROJECTS

With the aim of implementing the part of the Development Strategy of City of Rijeka related to the development of a competitive economy based on knowledge society and new technologies, in 2015 the City of Rijeka decided to provide prerequisites for the establishment of a Competence centre for smart cities.

The company Smart RI for management and strategic development was established the same year with the aim of managing the Competence Centre for Smart Cities, i.e. managing the innovation cluster in order to link economic operators and research institutions in research and development projects in smart cities in order to contribute to solving the challenges that the cities encounter (transport, energy , ecology and other S3 areas).

The project implies a systematic and innovative approach to city development, management of its resources, processes and services with the help of new technologies, whereby rising the quality of life of citizens and visitors, and enabling smart decision-making and management, as well as enhancing its efficiency in terms of planning and achieving savings. In addition to making optimal use of resources, the “smart city” at the same time encourages citizens, communities, scientific and research institutions and entrepreneurs to use collected data, thus increasing the possibility of participation in detecting problems and finding solutions.

Strategic goals

The development of new knowledge, initiating and supporting long-term research cooperation between science and industry in the most complex research
Positioning the city of Rijeka as a test platform for testing the concept while ensuring the participation of the most technologically advanced companies in the Republic of Croatia
Strengthening the position of Rijeka and Croatia as a development centre, and as an optimal location for long-term research projects

Key activities

20 partners in cooperation devised 6 main development projects which, over 3 years while the project will last, will realise 36 innovative solutions for products or technologies that should facilitate everyday life in our cities:

SMART CITY SURINMO – Optimization of traffic flows in conditions of low-carbon mobility and development of models for central monitoring, analysis and sharing of key traffic information
SMART CITY MODESTY – Real-time data collection in order to obtain the most relevant data sample for research purposes
SMART CITY LIVING – Direct connection with citizens and life in the city and the movement of residents and visitors. The project includes activities related to improving the quality of life
SMART CITY ENERGY AND ENVIROMENT – A platform for planning and management of energy efficiency, public lighting and sustainable environment and waste management
SMART CITY CONNECTED TRAFFIC – Establishment of an integrated decision support system in urban transport and urban mobility. It ensures the sustainability of the urban transport system by establishing more quality solutions
SMART CITY 4DII – More efficient infrastructure management in order to reduce costs, attract investment and provide the best possible service to its customers

CEKOM in Rijeka will be a test and demonstration centre for “smart” technologies, in which pilot projects will be implemented with the city administration and citizens in order to improve products and / or services to the level of readiness for commercialization. It is this context of the urban laboratory that will be most visible to Rijeka citizens and visitors, where for the first time they will have an opportunity to actively participate in the application and development of new technologies.

Budget

Total project value: HRK 149,631,384.15
Share of a EU grant: HRK 95,357,525.75
Participation of project partners: HRK 54,273,858.40

Financed under

European Investment and Structural Funds – European Regional Development Fund – Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020, Priority Axis 1 Strengthening the economy through research and innovation

Official site of the project

http://smart-ri.hr/

Contact person for more information

Nenad Antolović, Management Board Member
Trg Sv. Barbara 2/1, Rijeka
Tel: +385 99 536 1944
Email: nenad.antolovic@smart-ri.hr

Željka Maravić, administrator-associate
Trg Sv. Barbara 2/1, Rijeka
Tel: +385 99 536 1924
E-mail: zeljka.maravic@smart-ri.hr

CEKOM – Competence Centre for Smart Cities

Project Title: