Skip to main content

The Conference

The SMACITE project is pleased to announce its upcoming conference Smart Skills: Empowering Cities for the digital age, dedicated to the advancement of digital skills and smart city innovation. The conference will be held on Thursday May 8, 2025, 9:30 am local time at the University of West Attica Conference Center in Athens Campus, Leoforos Alexandras 196, Athens, 11521, Greece (google maps). This event will bring together leading experts, policymakers, and industry professionals to discuss key challenges and opportunities in developing a digitally skilled workforce for the cities of the future.

Organized by the University of West Attica in cooperation with the University of Patras and Universal Certification Solutions, the conference will explore the main results and insights from the SMACITE project and relevant projects in the domain of digital skills development and technologies for Smart Communicities and Cities.

A roundtable discussion will explore AI-driven governance, public-private collaborations, and digital talent development for smart cities.

This event represents a unique opportunity to engage with experts, exchange knowledge, and contribute to shaping the future of smart city development in Europe. Join us and be part of the conversation shaping the digital future of urban environments.

Registration to the Conference

The participation in the conference is free of charge, but a pre-registration is required.

To join the conference please register below till 7 May 2025. 

Registration form
PRIVACY POLICY

Please read the following policy carefully. By selecting “Yes, I agree with the privacy policy”, I confirm that I agree to the privacy policy set out here, which governs the SMACITE project conference’s registration form. In order to process your registration in the conference, it is necessary to collect and store personal data of the interested parties. This personal data includes the name, surname and email address. Access to this information is strictly limited to the SMACITE project partners (see below). Persons whose personal data are collected through this registration form have the right to contact us to correct or delete their personal data or to object to or restrict their processing. Such requests may result in the non-acceptance of the registration to the conference.

All personal data will be processed in accordance with EU Regulation 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) which entered into force on 25 May 2018. These data will be retained for a period of 5 years after the end of the SMACITE project in order for the project to comply with EC auditing rules. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you wish to submit a formal complaint about the way we process your personal data, please contact the following organisation: Hellenic Data Protection Authority, 1-3 Kifissias, PO Box 115 23, Athens, Greece.

SMACITE project partners: University of Patras, European Software Institute, University of Alcalá, Olympic Training and Consulting Ltd., Apro Formazione S.c.a r.l., Bulgarian Association of Software Companies, GAIA, Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, University of West Attica, Universal Certification Solutions, European DIGITAL SME Alliance, Politeknika Ikastegia Txorierri.

Yes, I agree with the privacy policy

Program

9:30-10:00

Welcome Coffee | Participants arrival and registration

10:00-10:10

Official Addresses | Welcome by Host Institutions

10:10-10:30

Digital skills development in the EU | Paolo Zancanella, Project Adviser, EC European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)

10:30-10:50

Digital transformation in CIty of Athens | Lazaros Karaoulis, CEO, DAEM, City of Athens

10:50-11:10

Building the digital and horizontal skills for Smart Cities professionals: the SMACITE project | Maria Rigou, Associate Professor, University of Patras

11:10-11:30

Professional profiles and sources of talent for Smart Cities projects | Luis Fernandez Sanz, Full Professor, University of Alcala

11:30-12:00

Massive Open Online Courses and Virtual Worlds for Smart Cities professionals training: The experience from the SMACITE project | Vasileios Gkamas, Researcher, University of Patras and Polina Kontodiakou, Project Manager, Olympic Training and Consulting

12:00-12:30

Coffee Break

12:30-12:45

Keynote Speech | Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance of the Hellenic Republic

12:45-13:00

JustReDI: Resilience, Inclusion and Growth - Towards a Just Green and Digital Transition of Greek Regions | Ioannis Voyiatzis, Professor, University of West Attica

13:00-13:15

SMARCO: SMARt Communities Skills Development in Europe | Caterina Bortolaso, Project Manager, European DIGITAL SME Alliance

13:15-13:30

Smart Cities for Everyone: Digital Twins, AI, and Assistive Technologies for Inclusive Innovation | Dr. Katerina Lamprakopoulou, Postdoc researcher & communication officer, ESDA LAB, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Peloponesse

13:30-13:45

Digital Twin on Smart Manufacturing | Annalisa Rizzo, Project Manager, Apro Formazione

13:45-14:45

Lunch break

14:45-15:45

Round Table: AI-Driven Governance, Public-Private Collaborations & Talent Development for Smart Cities |

Moderation by Maria Rigou, Associate Professor, University of Patras

Speakers:

Cleo Sgouropoulou, Professor, University of West Attica
Panagiotis Fitsilis, Professor, University of Thessaly
Luis Fernandez Sanz, Full Professor, University of Alcala, President of CEPIS
Lazaros Karaoulis, CEO, DAEM, City of Athens

15:45-16:00

Closing Discussion | Maria Rigou, Associate Professor, University of Patras and Vasileios Gkamas, Researcher, Univesity of Patras