Interdisciplinary seminar series on urban sustainability and resilience #4: Advancing urban sustainability and resilience through digital transformation

This seminar series aims to foster a multidisciplinary discourse to address the challenges and opportunities inherent in urban sustainability and resilience, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. Reflecting the pivotal sentiment that "the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost in cities", we aim to underscore the complex and interdisciplinary nature of urban environments as crucial arenas for sustainability endeavors by welcoming researchers from diverse disciplines to contribute, interact, and cultivate innovative solutions for urban challenges.

Professor Barbara Kolm is the former Vice President of the Austrian Central Bank and Director of the Austrian Economics Center (#1 Independent Think Tank in Austria and #21 in the world), who is also a Professor of Austrian Economics at the University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro. She serves on several supervisory boards, including the Vienna Insurance Group, Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, and Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. Kolm was appointed Vice-Chair of the UN ITU Focus Group on Environmental Efficiency for Artificial Intelligence and other Emerging Technologies (AI4EE) and Chair of the Thematic Group on the United for Smart Sustainable City Index. She has given numerous talks on pressing economic issues, such as the geopolitical challenges of a rising China and the need for economic reforms in Europe's welfare states. She has successfully managed private and non-profit organizations, engaging in entrepreneurial activities, notably building the Austrian Economics Center into the leading think tank in Austria within 12 years. Additionally, she is the founder and organizer of the Free Market Road Show, a forum for discussion and idea exchange in cooperation with over 100 leading think tanks and universities.

The U4SSC Austrian Country Hub, initiated by the Austrian Economics Center and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), serves as a pioneering platform for promoting digital transformation in cities to enhance sustainability, efficiency, and resilience. Focused on implementing the UN's Smart Sustainable Cities Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the hub aims to guide urban governance towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through innovative digital solutions. Topics covered include sustainability quantification, resource efficiency, and disaster management, emphasizing the importance of monitoring and bench-marking smart city initiatives for continuous improvement.

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