Today more than half of the world’s population is urban, with Europe leading by 75%. Scientists predict that this number will increase fast, putting a strain to our life quality, our resources and our infrastructure. This makes it vital to be able monitor the city’s environment and resources, optimise the waste management, improve our energy efficiency and ease our urban mobility. To achieve this, governments & companies are focusing all the more towards the use of “smart” devices. These physical devices form an interconnected network of electronics, software, sensors, actuators, that allows data exchange between them and is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). Over the past 5 years this new technology has grown rapidly and has found applications ranging from people whose devices monitor health and wellness to manufacturers that utilize sensors to optimize the maintenance of equipment and protect the safety of workers. It is expected that by 2025, IoT may reach a total potential market impact of up to $11.1 trillion.

The market size of the global Smart City industry is set to reach $820.7 billion by 2025, guided by the global advancements in IoT technologies, 5G infiltration and government investments, on a global level, for infrastructure transformation. In contrast, formal IoT training on smart solutions for Urban Sustainability (Green Transport, Waste Management, Resource Monitoring, Renewable Energy) for development, installation, service, maintenance is at its infancy, especially in the European Union.

The Intelligent Sustainable Habitats masters course (INHABITAT) project aims to develop an advanced interactive certified 2-year MSc course related to IoT applications in our everyday life that will train individuals with the necessary skills & knowledge to work in the rising “Intelligent Sustainable Habitats” industry. The course is also formulated to stimulate transversal competences such as the increased sense of initiative & entrepreneurship. The course is designed to follow the European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System (ECTS) credit standards for certification recognition across the EU. The developed syllabus will also be offered via vocational education and training in the form of micro-credentials to those who wish to gain specific skills for up-skilling and life-long education.

The innovative curriculum comprises of interactive teaching methods & partnerships with expert academic & IoT expert organizations in order to give to the students a solid background for starting a fruitful career in the industry. The course duration is 16 months, plus a 1-month maritime (on the job) experience, a month after the end of the teaching period. During the execution of the course, 3 mobility periods are programmed. For the first two (14-day) periods the students & educators from one teaching university will travel to the other and vice-versa, to participate in the large-scale laboratories, whereas the 3rd period (1 month) is reserved for the on-the-job training. Although the course will be taught in English, local language lessons will be provided to enable the participants to immerse in the local culture during the exchange periods. The course will be open for participation for anyone with a basic civil, electrical, software or mechanical technical background. Priority will be given according to their academic performance. In the case of equivalent academic level, participants from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds (including refugees, asylum seekers & migrants) will be preferred.

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