This summer, Williams Group has partnered with the Sustainability Scholar’s Program to research how Edmonton can become a Smart City by maximizing the potential of IoT in our physical infrastructure. The Sustainability Scholar’s Program was founded by the University of Alberta and the City of Edmonton in 2015 and is one of the prestigious programs that is particularly designed for graduate students to work on applied research projects with Edmonton-based institutions and corporations during the summer.
Williams Engineering Canada and its sister company, DB Technologies, are investing in the program and an outstanding Ph.D. student Rabiya Abassi, to work on a project titled “Paving the way for a Smarter Edmonton: Transforming into a Smart City by Connecting Buildings to People.” This project is envisioned as a spin-off from Edmonton’s Smart City Strategy, which focuses on providing infrastructure that improves the quality of life of people and their interaction with the urban environment.
The project’s primary focus is to understand how Edmonton can take various actions to become a smart city by analyzing and applying data, facts, and insights to make sustainable decisions and deliver effective solutions. According to Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy, approximately 40% of the city’s energy use and GHG emissions can be attributed to buildings. This project will also explain how data from buildings can be used to reduce energy consumption, reduce carbon footprint, and slow down climate change.
Our report will reveal to the Edmonton community how technology and data can be used purposefully to make better decisions and deliver effective solutions for the city of Edmonton and its citizens. The investment into this research program furthers the Williams Group’s alignment with UNSDG 11 – building sustainable cities and communities and our purpose, which is: to brighten the lives of people in our communities by engineering sustainable cities that are safe inclusive and resilient.
