MADRID | Ferrovial and the local authorities of the Spanish city of Santander reached an agreement to create a research centre for Intelligent Cities, the company said on Wednesday. The Centre’s researchers may also work on projects implemented under the cooperation agreement between Ferrovial and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
This new public-private initiative in the area of research and urban development will adopt an open innovation approach which enables it to join projects created by other companies (from multinationals to local SMEs), academic institutions, etc. in order to enhance the participants’ capabilities.
Santiago Olivares, CEO of Ferrovial Servicios, said that this new facility will set a benchmark in research into city management.
“Santander will be an ideas laboratory that will ensure efficiency, cost savings and higher quality in municipal services.”
It will develop innovative projects from seed to fruition, focused on various facets of city management: environment, infrastructure, mobility, energy management, and serving citizens and interacting with them. In this way, it will promote an Intelligent City model, Ferrovial explained, with a more efficient use of resources, real-time information management and establishment of indicators for service evaluation.
Ferrovial currently manages the infrastructure for the city of Birmingham, in the UK, using an approach that has enhanced efficiency, innovation and service to citizens and which will also be applied in the city of Sheffield, where we were recently selected as preferred bidder.
Ferrovial is implementing an innovation strategy based on an open approach involving cooperation with public administrations, universities, technology centres and companies. Ferrovial has established a 5-year agreement with MIT to develop projects that enhance the energy efficiency of business processes.
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