Last week Georgia Tech and the City of Atlanta co-hosted the Annual MetroLab Network Summit, which brought together more than 150 leading representatives from local government, major research universities, and relevant industry and nonprofit professionals for a two-and-a-half-day summit.

MetroLab Network is a group of more than 35 city-university partnerships focused on bringing data, analytics, and innovation to city government. The Network’s mission is to pair university researchers with city policymakers to undertake research, development, and deployment projects that improve our infrastructure, public services, and environmental sustainability.

The 2017 Summit was an opportunity for attendees to share, discuss, collaborate, and present their ideas and innovations in urban technology. Georgia Tech’s Executive Vice President of Research, Steve Cross, and President G.P. “Bud” Peterson kicked off the Summit on Wednesday morning by welcoming the participants to Atlanta.

Following the morning keynotes, SCII Managing Director, Debra Lam, moderated a panel on creating a culture of innovation with South Bend, Ind. Mayor, Pete Buttigieg, former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, and former Mayor of Indianapolis, Stephen Goldsmith. The panel highlighted the importance of cities leveraging the resources that universities and colleges provide when it comes to urban innovation and smart city growth.

Throughout the next day and a half, Georgia Tech faculty and researchers from various departments sat on panels, led breakout sessions, and presented their work to improve the way cities operate and are experienced.

Dr. Amanda Meng spoke about her work with Westside communities build a local environmental data repository. Professor Chris Le Dantec participated in a breakout discussion about meaningful citizen engagement in data and R&D projects. Professor Ellen Zegura provided insights into effective student participation in applied research. Professor and lawyer Peter Swire presented his work on privacy and smart cities technologies. And lawyer Jesse Woo discussed the future of privacy and open data.

For videos of the presentations and more information about MetroLab check out the Summit website.