Further development of the cooperation between Sofia Municipality and GATE was discussed at a working meeting of the Deputy Mayor for Digitization and Innovation, Ivan Goychev, and a team of the Institute.
Immediate occasion for the meeting was the involvement of Sofia Municipality as an associate partner in a joint project with GATE to build a European mobility data space. GATE is the Bulgarian hub of the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and a driving force for the creation of data spaces in our country and in the region. In this regard, the role of Sofia Municipality in the urban data space initiated by GATE was discussed, as well as the sharing of data for development of the city digital twin – a dynamic 3D model of the city of Sofia that is being developed by the Institute.
Ivan Goiychev pointed out some of the priorities of the municipality, such as improving the social infrastructure and in particular that of kindergartens, the air quality and the traffic in Sofia. He expressed readiness to work together with researchers to solve problems in these areas. The GATE team introduced him to the City Living Lab’s capabilities to collect and analyse air, noise and road traffic data, as well as to the rest of the state-of-the-art research infrastructure at GATE’s new high-tech building.
The partnership between GATE and Sofia Municipality is regulated by a cooperation agreement, which envisages joint project activities, trainings, as well as exchange of scientific research data to provide solutions to problems of public interest.