Masdar Institute’s iSmart and regional stakeholders join European Commission to launch Horizon 2020

ABU DHABI (WAM): Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, yesterday announced that the Institute's Centre for Smart and Sustainable Systems (iSmart), will join the EU-funded international research and innovation cooperation project INCONET-GCC-2 to host a conference on smart cities, and launch the Horizon 2020 programme. Under the title "Smart Cities for Sustainable Development: European and GCC Perspectives and Horizon 2020", the conference will be held from October 14th-15th in Abu Dhabi. The first day of the event will focus on smart cities and sustainable urban development including a visit to Masdar City and Masdar Institute to view the smart features and sustainable architectural elements. The second day will witness the launch of Horizon 2020 in the U.A.E.. Global leaders in the smart infrastructure, city planning and sustainability fields are expected to attend the event. The inter-regional collaboration comes under Inconet-GCC2 – a network of 20 partner organisations from all over Europe and Arab Gulf countries, working together on strengthening bi-regional cooperation on research and innovation. It has a duration of three years (2014-2017) and is sponsored by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation. Horizon 2020 is the biggest-ever EU Research and Innovation programme with nearly ?80 billion (more than Dh380 billion) of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to private investment. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market. Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said, "The region’s leading research-based institution is privileged to partner with other stakeholders to lay greater emphasis on smart infrastructure and sustainable development. With the support of the U.A.E. leadership, we have effectively raised our profile through hosting global and inter-regional conferences such as the Inconet-GCC2 for the Horizon 2020 initiative. We believe the conference will immensely help raise awareness on smart infrastructure, leading to the arrival of innovative new green solutions." Faculty from Masdar Institute will join the government, non-government and private sector stakeholders in leading regional participation in the event. Dr. Mohammed Atif Omar, Head of iSmart, and Associate Professor, Engineering Systems and Management, Dr. Hatem Zeinaldin, Masdar Institute, Smart Grid Specialist, and Dr. Khaled Al Awadi, Urban Planning Specialist, and Assistant Professor-Engineering Systems and Management, will each lead panel discussions on smart cities’ current achievements, ‘infrastructure’, as well as ‘city planning and resource management’. The conference will promote the dialogue among international key institutions and experts focusing on smart cities, to identify common areas for cooperation and promote action plans. Moreover, it will highlight various funding opportunities available for the promotion and development of the ‘smart cities’ model, the related technologies and the cooperation paths through EU’s Horizon 2020 Program as well as other national GCC programmes and initiative. – Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395270376350.html