Our cities are facing acute environmental and social challenges that require immediate action. And while there is an urgency to address these issues right now, this work should not be interpreted as a short-term undertaking. Building more resilient, accessible and smarter cities will require sustained action and passion, which means that those who come after us will need to continue carrying out this critical work. We at DG Cities understand the crucial role that education plays in this transition. As such, we’ve been involved in a number of educational initiatives over the past several years, engaging with a variety of institutions and age groups. In doing this, we hope to equip the next generation with the information and tools they need to tackle the challenges facing cities, while also inspiring them to bring their own creativity and talents to the table. So, today on the blog we’re rounding up a few of the exciting educational initiatives we’ve been involved in, and the talented youths we’ve come across.
1. The Future of Sustainable Last-Mile Deliveries
In recent years, we have been collaborating closely with the Environmental Technology MSc course at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. Instead of supervising a project this year, we invited the students to a workshop on the future of last-mile deliveries. We challenged the group to analyse logistics trends from the point of view of key stakeholders and how they benefit or disbenefit from the changes. After a lively discussion and plenty of post-it notes on Miro, the students suggested that increasing “transparency of working conditions and promotion of circular principles and sharing economy” would be the best measures to make the future of logistics work for everyone. These steps would benefit end consumers, high street businesses as well as online retailers, whilst at the same time increasing the sustainability of logistics as well. It was certainly an interesting idea that has given our own team lots to think about!
2. Undergraduate Student Projects, Imperial College London
For the past few years we have been acting as clients for two student group projects. The first is from the Civil and Environmental Engineering department (the alma mater of DG’s Head of Delivery, Balazs Csuvar) and one from the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. During their group projects in year 3, students are faced with a real-life challenge that they need to solve, drawing on their academic insights, project management skills and creativity. Over the years we have asked students to build an EV focused fleet management app, design an underground logistic delivery system and a full masterplan for part of Greenwich. This year, we had a team look into options for bringing cheap and reliable connectivity to social housing estates. Some of their ideas were so innovative that we are evaluating whether to include them in our ongoing project with the Royal Borough of Greenwich with Community Champions.
3. Work Placement
In 2019, we had a year 10 student, Zack, join the DG Cities and Digital Greenwich team for a summer work placement. It was an action-packed couple of weeks, with Zack sitting in on company meetings, attending industry events and offering input into our own public surveys for upcoming projects. Zack also conducted research independently - specifically on the benefits, drawbacks and maintenance considerations for EVs and CAVs - and presented his findings to the team. He demonstrated maturity and thoughtfulness, as well as an infectious enthusiasm for electric vehicles. During those two weeks we watched his knowledge expand and confidence blossom, and it was a pleasure to have him join the team. If you’d like a first-hand account of Zack’s experience you can read the blog post he wrote reflecting on his time here and what he gained from the placement.
4. City of London Careers Day
Another exciting initiative we participated in was the City of London’s inaugural “London Careers Festival.” This weeklong event sought to connect young people to companies and explore exciting career opportunities. We were lucky enough to host two classes of secondary pupils, offering them a crash course in all things smart cities. We ran a series of activities and case studies that encouraged students to consider the many social and environmental problems affecting cities - and explore potential solutions - with a particular focus on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). One of the participating schools, Harris Boys’ Academy in East Dulwich, wrote an article about their visit, and you can read their take on the day here. As one student shared: “The trip enabled me to think outside the box and create innovative ideas that could help people in the outside world.”
Overall, our educational involvement has been a varied but hugely enriching experience. The perspectives of these students - and their differing ages, abilities and backgrounds - has been undoubtedly valuable to the team, as it helps us to view our cities, its challenges and solutions with fresh eyes. We have encountered some truly creative and ambitious minds in these past few years, and while the future of cities holds many challenges, we must say, if these students continue on their trajectory, things are looking bright.
We are happy to engage with other academic institutions to continue this educational work. If that sounds of interest to you, contact us at [email protected].