• apply the concept of smart cities;
• Identify and analyze relevant problems and challenges in relation to the theme of the course;
• analyze and organize a multidisciplinary task and integrate different viewpoints;
• effectively gather local data.

The Helsinki-Copenhagen Urban Challenge is offered simultaneously by Copenhagen Business School and Aalto University. Students from both universities spend two weeks together in Helsinki and two weeks in Copenhagen. All students who attend the course are offered a student grant of 275 EURO. The course contents are innovative, practice-oriented and transdisciplinary. Student performance will be assessed according to learning objective specific to their home institutions.

Course Context

The vision of the Helsinki-Copenhagen Urban Challenge is to create a trans-disciplinary, cross-institutional, and cross-cultural learning experience for students, researchers, and practitioners. One of the core concepts in solving urban challenges is the concept of smart cities. By collecting and analyzing data from the physical environments and inhabitants, it is possible to improve sustainability and people’s everyday lives. Both Copenhagen and Helsinki meet the key requirements for a smart city in a number of ways. There is political vision and willingness to invest and research in smart cities and a strong culture of innovation. Big data is also available for public and private sectors.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is a key issue for smart cities. The Helsinki-Copenhagen Urban Challenge will explore the concept on smart cities and how it is being implemented in Helsinki and Copenhagen. It will also particularly study how parking is related to smart cities. It will offer students the opportunity to conduct a comparative examination of user and marketing studies with land use and transportation issues.

Course description

The course will consist of a number of interrelated tasks. The overall task will be to make a comparative analysis of the ways in which Helsinki and Copenhagen represent smart cities. The students will acquaint themselves with planning and the administrative context of both cities. By understanding the larger context of smart cities, and the ways in which the cities can promote a development towards smarter solutions, the students will engage in parking as a specific smart city question. The task for the students will be to create a business model for parking solutions in close collaboration with Enterlot Info Service (EIS). IBM, Denmark will act as a partner company and will show examples on smart city planning and usage of big data in urban governance and innovation from a multinational corporative point of view.

Course structure

The Helsinki-Copenhagen Urban Challenge proceeds during four weeks, including two weeks of exchange in Helsinki followed by two weeks in Copenhagen. The stay in Helsinki and Copenhagen is structured through lectures, company and site visits, group and field work, and project presentation. During the group work, students work on the specific course task. The groups will consist of cross-institutional teams. Participants are expected to take part in all planned activities, and help make the Helsinki-Copenhagen Urban Challenge a great experience for everyone, - both academically and culturally. Each student will hand in a final individual report one week after the course. 

Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements. However, we do provide a student travelling grant of 275 EURO per student.