“Smart Governments, Regions, and Cities” was the focus for the 2019 Economics of Digital Transformation (EDT) Conference.  Organized annually by the University of Rijeka, the conference was held June 2^nd-4^th in Opatija, Croatia.  Local and international attendees came together to address the challenges of fundamental changes of economic theory and practice, in relation to the process of global digitalization.  Dr. Nicholas Zingale, Associate Professor of Public Administration at Cleveland State University, traveled across the globe to represent the Internet of Things Collaboration (IOTC) and CSU at the conference.

Support From the IOTC and the Unger Program

The Unger Program at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs was originally founded in 2002 as the Unger International Program for Local Government Leadership with a mission to catalyze an educational bridge between the Levin College and the University of Rijeka.  The program was committed to facilitating sustainable government reforms that result in long-term impact and systemic change.  Today, the program serves to support and foster economic and community development through independent research and civic education and engagement.  Over the past year, the Unger program engaged Dr. Zingale to help reestablish the research relationships and faculty connection with the University of Rijeka.

Dr. Zingale, an invited keynote speaker at the 2019 EDT Conference, presented on the role of academic institutions in nurturing transdisciplinary collaborations for smart city initiatives. “For the past three years, my experience working with and serving on the committee of the Internet of Things Collaborative between Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University provided the basis for the presentation”, he shared.

Nurturing an International Collaborative Relationship

There have been a number of positive outcomes in the days following the conference.  In June of 2020, Dr. Zingale has been invited to return to Croatia to participate in a roundtable of previous keynote speakers.  He will be working in partnership with Dr. Saša Drezgić, Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Rijeka, on a funded research project and a collaborative article.  Building upon the relationship between the universities, Dr. Zingale and faculty from multiple institutions have already begun the process of developing a course on Smart Cities that would take place in Croatia accompanying the 2020 EDT Conference.

Over the next few months, Dr. Zingale and members of the IOTC, will present on transdisciplinary research and the Internet of Things Collaborative.  Presentations include the Ohio Town & Gown Summit at Kent State University in July, the MetroLab Network 2019 Annual Summit in Boulder, CO in September, and Society for Neuroscience’s Neuroscience 2019 in Chicago, IL in October.

To learn more about the conference, visit the EDT Conference website.