Online event | 15 September 2026 | 10:00–12:00 CEST
CitCom.ai is participating in the online event "From testing in real urban environments to local deployment and scaling", exploring how Europe's digital innovation ecosystem — Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), AI Factories, and the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) — can work together to help smart city solutions move from early-stage testing to real-world deployment and scale.
Thomas De Meester (imec, CitCom.ai deputy Coordinator) will be among the main speakers, joined by representatives from Sweden AI Factory, InnDIH AI Connect, and the PiQASO project.
Why it matters: Cities across Europe are turning to AI and data-driven tools to improve mobility, energy use, public services and urban planning — but getting from a promising prototype to actual deployment is hard. Innovators need realistic testing environments and the right infrastructure; cities need help evaluating and procuring the right technologies. This event connects the dots between the different support instruments that exist for exactly this journey: Discover and build (EDIHs) —> Develop and accelerate (AI Factories) — > Validate and demonstrate (TEFs) —> Scale
Format — a 2-hour session in two parts:
- Part 1 (open webinar): An overview of what's available across the ecosystem, who can access it, and how TEFs, EDIHs, AI infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives complement one another to support smart city innovation.
- Part 2 (interactive workshop, for project representatives and ecosystem actors): A closed working session to identify barriers to adoption, find alignment opportunities across TEFs/EDIHs/DIGITAL actions, and define quick wins for interoperability.
Who should attend: cities and public authorities, SMEs and tech providers, urban innovation organisations, EDIHs, AI infrastructure providers, researchers, Digital Europe projects, public buyers, and policymakers.
The event is hosted by DEDEP.eu in coordination with CoordinaTEF.
