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You could say that digital connectivity was born at Amsterdam Science Park – it was the location of the first transatlantic internet connection, after all. And with connectivity continuing to surge to ever greater heights, the park has no intention of resting on its laurels.

You could say that digital connectivity was born at Amsterdam Science Park – it was the location of the first transatlantic internet connection, after all. And with connectivity continuing to surge to ever greater heights, the park has no intention of resting on its laurels.

At SURFsara, the institute that acts as a bridge between research and advanced ICT, Maurice Bouwhuis sees a promising future for Amsterdam Science Park in generating the future interactions necessary to further tomorrow’s levels of digital connectivity. “The park combines excellent knowledge institutes with a large and expanding capacity in data centres,” he explains. “We will see more and more collaborations between these institutes and the digital companies that can benefit from their research. This is exactly what we need to keep the Amsterdam area competitive as we move towards a global knowledge economy.”

He notes that the park has the experience of bringing together businesses, knowledge institutes and policy makers in order to collaborate on new solutions – a vital combination as society becomes increasingly technological. “Digital developments are extremely far-reaching,” he says. “That means we have to work together: scientists with companies and policy makers.” The Mayor of Almere, Franc Weerwind, is one of the latter group, whose members are increasingly looking to Amsterdam Science Park to see what opportunities the future holds for the whole Amsterdam region.
Digital Connectivity event
Mayor Weerwind and other policymakers attended the Digital Connectivity event which SURFsara hosted on Novemer 2nd. This initiative demonstrated the sort of interaction Maurice Bouwhuis is talking about in action, and the discussions did not stop there. “We are talking about setting up an expert centre for responsible data, new ways for data centres to be more energy-efficient, and Amsterdam’s possible role in a neutral, independent public cloud,” says Bouwhuis. He points out that the EU has just allocated 2 billion euros in funds for the European Open Science Cloud Initiative, which indicates the scale of the opportunities for research. “Amsterdam Science Park should certainly be able to take advantage of this,” he says.
The Amsterdam Economic Board
The Amsterdam Economic Board shares the park’s vision, says Willem Koeman, Business Connector Digital Connectivity. He points out that the Board sees the Amsterdam area as consolidating its position as one of Europe’s top digital centres in the future – with the help of Amsterdam Science Park. “Amsterdam is one of the world’s biggest internet hubs, and that has grown from Amsterdam Science Park,” he says. “The park has great research institutes that can give the whole Amsterdam region a leading edge when it comes to the digital future. There are lots of opportunities here.”

The park has a particular strength in its five advanced data centres, he adds. “With data centres, it’s all about expanding capacity – as is happening here at Amsterdam Science Park with Equinix and Digital Realty,” he says. “We increasingly need more space to store and transport data. Meanwhile, we also need to make our data centres as green as possible. That means finding ways for them to become more energy efficient.” The new SURFsara data centre, for example, which has the power of 10,000 modern PCs, stores the enormous heat produced by its servers and uses it for heating and cooling – so greatly reducing its environmental impact. Meanwhile Green IT, with a presence at Amsterdam Science Park, is playing a leading role in showcasing new, energy-saving solutions in IT, in line with the City of Amsterdam’s aim to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% by 2025.

Also essential to maximize digital connectivity is another Amsterdam Science Park strength: data innovation. The park’s research institutes and data-driven start-ups are key in initiating potential new applications for the ever-expanding amount of available digital information, for example to support healthcare, sustainability and mobility. In the park’s new Startup Village, for example, Metrica Sports works on improving team performance through data and video analysis, while its neighbour Aiir Innovations uses artificial intelligence to create tailored solutions for a range of industrial and business problems – just two of Amsterdam Science Park’s blueprints for the digital future.

Source: Amsterdam Science Park

Dutch startups in smart city, tourism and artificial intelligence , this one's for you! We are looking for you if you want to explore business in the Middle East! Join the Amsterdam – GCC Startup Bootcamp 2017, January 14-17.
Deadline for application is December 2nd 2016, so hurry up!

*APPLY HERE: http://bit.ly/apply-for-bootcamp-here

*MORE INFORMATION HERE: http://bit.ly/Get-informed-about-bootcamp

* WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
- Innovative startups and technology companies from the Netherlands that are actively looking into expansion or business opportunities in the Middle East.
- Preferably in the smart city, tourism or artificial intelligence sector
- With the minimal criteria of a product/market fit and positive metrics in growth and conversion

*ABOUT THE BOOTCAMP
Date: January 14-17 2017, Doha (Qatar) and Dubai (UAE)
Costs: StartupAmsterdam will cover the bootcamp program costs.
All other costs, such as flights, overnight stay, transportation and meals are covered by the participants.
Included in the GCC Startup bootcamp:
- Kick-off session (and pitch training) in Amsterdam (date tbc)
- A three-day intensive program to introduce Dutch startups to the startup ecosystem and smart city,
tourism and artificial intelligence sector in the Middle East.
- Networking opportunities and pitch session to get introduced to launching customers and investors in

The dutch digital economy is growing fast and is - when seen as a separate sector – already larger than many of the traditional sectors in our economy. Recent research by the national statistics bureau (CBS) found that this digital economy provides 345.000 jobs with an estimated annual growth of 7-9%. The digital infrastructure is one of the key enablers of the digital economy and allows Dutch companies to grow both nationally and on an international scale. In addition, the digital infrastructure is one of the main reasons for international digital companies to locate in the Netherlands and these companies bring substantial activities and jobs to our country.

The Amsterdam Economic Board now proudly presents the third edition of the digital infrastructure research report together with 11 partners active in digital infrastructure.
It shows how the Dutch digital infrastructure and the digital ecosystem as a whole are rapidly evolving and expanding. With internet traffic growing 22% annually, the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) still being one of the largest internet exchanges in the world, and a colocation market that grows almost 15% annually, the Dutch digital infrastructure is the foundation of a strong national and international internet economy. Of wich nearly 70% of the infrastructure is located in the Amsterdam area.

Although well positioned as a first mover and differentiator internationally, this does not mean the current growth and high desirability of the Dutch digital infrastructure sector will continue unabated. A combination of factors need to be aligned in order to sustain and expand our leading position. As the recommendations of this report show, there is still a lot that can and must be done to maintain and safeguard our position.

An interview with Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, Director General of the CBS.

Mark Frequin, Director-General Accessibility of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment interviews Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, Director General of the Central Bureau of Statistics on the theme "From data to social values." A discussion about the current and target position of the CBS, interpreting data, the impact of innovation on the work of CBS and personal look of Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi on innovation in government.

CBS was elected in 2015 to Best Government Organization of the Year and praised for the fact that it is independent and a high-tech new organization responds to current events, the demands and needs of citizens, businesses and other governments.

You can now view the sixth insight of the MOOC Urban Innovation by Technology: http://omooc.nl/inzicht/van-data-naar-maatschappelijke-waarde/

Connect your devices, apps and services to Triggi and make them all work together.

How? By creating your own rules. Build real time connections between multiple devices, apps and services. Triggi works with Philips Hue, Nest, Netatmo, Toon thermostat and many other services.

Across Europe, a network of almost one million people (961.529 according to my calculation) is in place to execute smart city activities. This network is present in every street in all European countries almost every day of the week. Ready to measure the quality of the public space, to have an eye on elderly people living alone or to deliver proximity services for companies and consumers.

On November 24, European postal operators gathered together on Cyprus to discuss the potential they can have in the smart city domain. The session was organized by Post Europ, www.posteurop.org. Examples of successful projects from several countries have been presented. PostNL, as a partner of Amsterdam Smart City, presented projects from the Netherlands and explained the added value of the Amsterdam Smart City community.
As a side effect of the meeting, the postal operators realized that their unique networks in their own countries have a huge potential when you combine all those networks on a European scale. A small calculation: Holland has 17 million inhabitants and 22.000 mailmen. Scaling this number up to 743 million inhabitants within the EU brings us to one million mailmen across Europe.

Imagine: a million people with a smartphone measuring the same things across Europe! Wouldn’t that be very interesting – or to put it as I feel it: incredibly awesome?!?

Because the people network is comparable (same kind of work, same kind of people, same kind of technology) it should be easy to scale up smart city initiatives on a European scale. That brings the opportunity to compare, for example, the quality of public spaces in Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, Berlin and London following the same method and to execute this benchmark in the same period of time.

I’m very enthusiastic to work on this idea. If you have any suggestions or remarks, or examples of Smart City activities of postal operators: please contact me!

Many people living in the typical houseboats on the Amsterdam canals and surrounding waters seem to have an above average interest in sustainable living. A great number of them have turned their homes in super energy-efficient floating houses.

To inspire others living on the water in Amsterdam and share their knowledge and experience, Amsterdam Smart City organised a special evening on the 14th of November, bringing together more than 65 energy experts, experts by experience and people who are involved in renovating houseboats to exchange knowledge, experience and practical tips.

Sustainability as selling point

During this evening we learned that every ship in combination with its berth has specific challenges and solutions. Sustainability and energy efficiency is becoming a selling point for the specialised docks in the North of the Netherlands. (the houseboats return to Amsterdam after the works). The docks allow houseboat owners to do parts of the work themselves and bespoke solutions and technical innovations are common practise. A lesson the on shore building industry can learn from!

Expert tips:
• Airtightness which is a returning topic when renovation traditional homes on shore, is something that is hardly a problem on a steel ship. On the contrary, allowing air flow is much more of a challenge. As this has to be done mechanically anyway, heat recovery is a logical option.

• The large decks double as sun terrace, for day light access and also are the ideal place for PV panels and solar collectors.

• Many house boats, especially sailing ships, use diesel or oil for heating rooms and tap water. A connection to a district heating network is not the first option. So looking for individual all-electric alternatives seems more logical. Also wood pellet boilers are in high demand.

• The depth and flow of the water below the boat define the opportunities to use water-water heat pumps for heating and comfort cooling. Every berth has a different potential.

• In the Netherlands a shore sewer connection for houseboats is compulsory from 2017 onwards. This significantly increases the water quality of the canals.

• The options for finance and support for houseboat owners are limited. The City-zen subsidy is a very interesting option for this target group.

HET MEEST DUURZAME NETWERK EVENT VAN AMSTERDAM VOOR DIRECTEUREN, BESTUURDERS & (VASTGOED)EIGENAREN

Hoe zorgen we met elkaar dat die 1.200 voetbalvelden aan dakoppervlakte in Amsterdam optimaal wordt ingezet? En wat levert dat op?! Op donderdag 15 december van 16:00 uur tot 20:00 uur zoeken we samen de zon op.

SCHRIJF NU IN VIA DE WEBSITE www.zoncoalitie.nl

PROGRAMMA ONDERDELEN
• Speech Wethouder Choho
• Zonconference door Cabaretier Ernst van der Pasch
• Lancering ambassadeurs van de zon
• Introductie in 3 modellen van zon op dak door de zoncoalitie
• Panelgesprek met drie bedrijven die zonnepanelen op het dak hebben
• Bekendmaking winnaar Chasing the Sun- blogger door Jan van den Bosch (RAI)

Haalt u echt alles uit uw dak?
Niemand kan beter vertellen wat zonne-energie oplevert dan de organisaties die al kozen voor een dak vol zonnepanelen. Bekijk in onderstaand filmpje de cases van RAI, het Marnix en het IJburg College en waarom zij vol overtuiging kozen voor zonne-energie.

Op 7 december de eerste van een reeks van vijf bijeenkomsten waarin de Board de beweging rondom Mobility as a Service wil versnellen. Ben jij er bij?

The deadline to fill in the survey about your use and expectations of the online community of Amsterdam Smart City (this website!) is this Monday 21st of November!

So please fill in the survey if you did not fill it in yet. It only takes 5 minutes of your time.
Note: We will give away three copies of the book 'Smart City' from Anthony Townsend to the participants of the survey!

Click here to fill in the survey: http://bit.ly/2fBZloc

Happy to have been selected as a winner in Smart City Expo's call for solutions and present our online dashboard on the fair in Barcelona! So if you are there, please visit our stand for more information!

This week, the world's leading event for Smart Cities will take place in Barcelona. The expo is the international summit of discussion about the link between urban reality, challenges and technological revolution.

​This week, the world's leading event for Smart Cities, the Smart City Expo World Congress, will take place in Barcelona. The expo is the international summit of discussion about the link between urban reality, challenges and technological revolution.

The expo

Since its first edition in 2011, the Expo has succeeded to become a global event to support the development the cities in the world. The congress will bring together over 400 global influencers and innovators to share knowledge, debate the challenges faced by our cities, encourage out of the box thinking and inspire a worldwide call for action in order to develop smarter and more sustainable cities. At the Exhibition Area, participants showcase their projects and the technologies that are making concrete impacts on the life of millions of citizens. Together, experiences and innovations are shared.

Holland Pavilion

Amsterdam is also joining this event. Amsterdam Smart City, companies, the municipality and start-ups will represent Amsterdam. There is a special

Holland Pavilion

where Dutch cities and companies show their projects together, including Amsterdam. The following companies are joining the Amsterdam team during the event: Glimworm, Triggi, Xomnia,Ynformed, Omnimap, Trinite/Trafficlink, Lightwell, OVG Real Estate, AMI Group, Dell EMC and TomTom

Curious about these organisations? Have a look at their organisation page (click on their name).

Are you at the Expo this week? Please visit the Holland Pavillion at booth #D455.

We will keep you up to date of all the activities in Barcelona this week on our twitter page (@adamsmartcity) and on the online community.

De Amsterdam Arena vormt samen met het Big Data Value Center in Almere de eerste Big data Hub in Nederland. Een inspirerende omgeving om veilig te experimenteren met (big) data. Big Data en gemeenten; Jan van Ginkel gemeentesecretaris in Zaanstad verwoorde het prachtig.
‘Als je eenmaal door een databril naar de maatschappelijke vraagstukken hebt gekeken, dan kun je deze niet meer afzetten’
De Big Data Hub’s zijn opgezet om organisaties te laten ervaren wat je met Big Data kunt. De mogelijkheden nemen dagelijks toe. We kunnen het niet negeren en we kunnen het ons ook niet veroorloven om niets te doen. Wat we er precies met Big Data kunnen dat zijn we met elkaar aan het ontdekken. Het symposium op de 22e november Circulair en Data gedreven stadsbeheer is ook weer een goede stap op onze gezamenlijke Big Data ontdekkingstocht.

Werk samen aan slim stadsbeheer tijdens de Innovatie Cafés op dinsdag 22 november in Almere. De middag is gericht op directeuren Stadsbeheer in de MRA en hun talentvolle jonge ambtenaren, bedrijven en kennisinstellingen die werken aan slim stadsbeheer.

The last two years, our partner the University of Applied Sciences systematically analysed 12 smart city projects in Amsterdam. In close cooperation with Amsterdam Smart City five researchers started a thorough evaluation of projects to draw lessons and make future smart city projects more effective.

The idea was to analyse the non-technological aspects of smart city projects
(partnerships, business models, scaling potential) since smart city solutions are not just about developing and applying technology. It demands new networking and management competencies. Solutions are not developed and implemented by one single company, but take shape in networks and with the involvement of citizens/end users. Partnerships are formed, they all work differently and face different challenges. In this study, a number of smart city projects in Amsterdam is analysed in their wider context.

This final report is now out and focuses on questions as:
- How do organisations with different agendas, collaborate on smart city projects?
- What challenges do they face?
- What kind of value is created?
- How are risks and returns shared, and how are users involved?
- What is the upscaling dynamic of smart city solutions, if any?
- How can smart city projects be managed professionally?

You can open the report below. This report is issued by the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and has been established in cooperation with Amsterdam Smart City.

On the 19th of December 2017 the insights of the report were shared at Pakhuis de Zwijger: https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/events/lessen-uit-een-slim-amsterdam

Are you interested in doing research together or do you have a smart city question? Get in touch via https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/projects/smart-entrepreneurial-lab.

Summary of the report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZexHe85DpGmpHjlPa9kam-TYUsUIR8Jp/view?usp=sharing

Kun jij een beetje shinen?
De Amsterdamse Zoncoalitie is gestart met een unieke zoektocht naar Amsterdamse vloggers met een duurzaam hart. De winnaar wint een stralende opdracht, een groot zakelijk netwerk en een prachtige reis voor 2 personen naar de zon.

Heb jij wel wat met de zon, heb je een leuke kop en durf je mensen te interviewen? Zet jouw overtuigende promotiefilmpje over Amsterdam dan live op je eigen kanaal. Stuur ons de link (info@zoncoalitie.nl) en zorg dat jouw vrienden je aanprijzen.

PS Je mag je zonnebril ophouden ...

Heb je vragen? Bekijk de website www.zoncoalitie.nl, mail, of bel met Bernard Klaassen (06 10 24 83 85)

Kun jij een beetje shinen?
De Amsterdamse Zoncoalitie is gestart met een unieke zoektocht naar Amsterdamse vloggers met een duurzaam hart. De winnaar wint een stralende opdracht, een groot zakelijk netwerk en een prachtige reis voor 2 personen naar de zon.

Heb jij wel wat met de zon, heb je een leuke kop en durf je mensen te interviewen? Zet jouw overtuigende promotiefilmpje over Amsterdam dan live op je eigen kanaal. Stuur ons de link (info@zoncoalitie.nl) en zorg dat jouw vrienden je aanprijzen.

PS Je mag je zonnebril ophouden ...

Heb je vragen? Bekijk de website www.zoncoalitie.nl, mail, of bel met Bernard Klaassen (06 10 24 83 85)