Just launched in 2023, both the Quantum Initiative and the Research Institute at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga have been declared winners in IDC Government Insights’ seventh annual Smart Cities North America Awards (SCNAA).
Both won honors in the award program’s education category, for efforts to facilitate smart campus and smart classroom education and engagement opportunities, and for robust engagement and outreach efforts via virtual, online and remote-participation platforms.
At UTC, these efforts are seen in the Quantum Initiative’s and Research Institute’s joint pursuit of: “Stimulating cross-disciplinary R&D capacity; providing experiential learning to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as lifelong learners and jobseekers through the Center for Professional Education; and engaging with community and economic development partners across the region to improve quality of life for every resident.” That’s according to the award nomination submitted by officials with the Enterprise Center, which convenes Chattanooga’s Smart Community Collaborative.
“We are privileged to be part of the collaborative environment in Chattanooga that facilitates much of our work, and we thank our colleagues at the Enterprise Center for nominating us for this wonderful recognition of our efforts,” said UTC Vice Chancellor for Research Reinhold Mann. “We’re super-motivated to double our efforts at educating the next generation of students across disciplines to understand quantum technology and to help realize its full potential in many important use cases.”
Enterprise Center Chief Operating Officer Geoff Millener praised UTC’s role in enabling a more effective collaboration that maximizes unique and exceptional resources.
“Our partners at UTC are doing incredible work harnessing the potential of EPB’s quantum network,” said Geoff Millener, COO at The Enterprise Center. “We’re thrilled our nomination led to an IDC Smart City award in education, as the next generation of quantum engineers and civic innovators are trained right here in Chattanooga.”
Along with unique opportunities arising from EPB’s launch of “the first municipal gigabit network in the country” in 2010, to its launch of one of the first commercial quantum networks anywhere in 2023, come critical questions of how to maximize those opportunities for the benefit of all, the Enterprise Center’s asserted in its award nomination of UTC’s Quantum Initiative and Research Institute.
“These are fundamental Smart City questions, ones Chattanooga began answering as Gig City more than a decade ago. They’re questions Chattanooga Smart Community Collaborative partners are committed to answering in this new era — an era the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, through a first-of-its-kind Quantum Initiative, intends to lead.”
Winners in the SCNAA illustrate best practice examples of how forward-thinking municipalities are effectively leveraging technology and innovation to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities to meet the needs and expectations of diverse communities, the organization notes.
With the recognition for UTC’s Quantum Initiative and Research Institute, the University is among a field of just 14 honored entities in all of North America.
“Our annual Smart Cities North America Awards recognize the best of the best among smart city initiatives and unlike anything else in the industry, provide a blueprint for government officials looking to execute similar projects,” said Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President, IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities and Communities Strategies. “We congratulate the winners on their unwavering dedication to executing compelling projects from start to finish – leveraging cutting edge technology to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities and enhancing the lives of citizens.”
The awards are designed to recognize progress by North American states and municipalities to execute Smart Cities projects, and to provide a forum for sharing best practices to help accelerate Smart City development in the region. More about this awards program is HERE.
Winners will be honored at the Smart Cities Connect conference in Raleigh, North Carolina in May.
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Research Institute is intended to bolster UTC’s focus on building cross-disciplinary teams and catalyzing partnerships to establish enduring programs of excellence to address challenges that can’t be solved using a single-discipline approach.
