The City of Duisburg took an important step on its way to becoming a Smart City when it launched the Innovation Center as a virtual think tank in 2018. Currently called the Smart City Duisburg Innovation Center (SCDIC), its attractive new premises are also the central place for Smart City solutions. The SCDIC is located at the Fraunhofer-inHaus-Zentrum and functions as an innovation hub and a think tank for research institutes, start-ups, established companies, organizations, and interested Duisburg residents.

This initiative’s broad partner network also includes the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Chair of Information Systems and Strategic IT Management. Prof. Dr. Frederik Ahlemann is a key actor in the process, coordinating the scientific advice that the SCDIC received from the University and the two institutions’ cooperation. Peder Bergan, a staff member at the SITM Chair, was significantly involved in establishing the SCDIC as the operational leader. The University’s cooperation with the SCDIC allows the chair to conduct further research on the Smart City, as well as providing access to a broad network comprising companies and other domain experts.

Since its opening in August, the SCDIC has already hosted several events with the UDE. At a first partner evening, the foundations for successful cooperation were determined and initial ideas exchanged for the Smart City Duisburg initiative’s further development. A week later, the co-working concept was presented. This enables joint work on projects at the SCDIC’s facilities. In the coming weeks and months, further events and workshops on the topic of the Smart City, digital transformation, design thinking, and agile project management, organized and led by the SITM chair, will take place at the Innovation Center. An overview of the upcoming events can be found on the SCDIC website (www.scdic.de).