A delegation of urban leaders from Thailand visited the UNSW Cities Institute this month to further collaborative opportunities with the Thai Department of Economic Promotions (DEPA).
The delegation, led by the Thai government’s DEPA Vice President Dr Jakkanit Kananurak and DEPA Senior Exec Vice President Mr Chatchai Khunpitiluk, discussed potential collaboration in the areas of Smart Cities, Digital Technology and Urban Innovation.
The Cities Institute Director Peter Poulet delivered a high-level briefing of the City Vision in Greater Sydney along with a short presentation by Rory Brown, from the NSW Smart Places team from Transport for NSW.
The visit promised further collaboration on funded projects and urban capacity building initiatives, as well as executive training programs for mayors and city managers. DEPA will also be a conduit to connect the UNSW Cities Institute with more cities and networks across the Asia Pacific, including the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN), which is the ASESN-endorsed network for smart city promotion in the region.
“This was a very fruitful coming together of like-minded leaders from the region to discuss how we can facilitate healthier urban environments across our region,” said UNSW CI Manager Strategy, Hannah Bolitho. “We have a lot in common with our Thai colleagues and we look forward to announcing some tangible benefits of our relationship, including sharing of resources and talent, in the near future.”
The UNSW CI will pursue future collaborative opportunities with the Smart and Liveable Cities Institute for Collaboration (SLIC), an implementation arm comprised of practitioners from both the public and private sectors in Thailand, which works with the Thai government on promoting Smart Cities initiatives.
