In February, the Sunshine Coast was recognised by the global Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) as one to the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2019.

Achieving this award from a pool of hundreds of entries, the Sunshine Coast was the only Australian city named in this year’s Top7 and shares the global spotlight with communities from Canada, Taiwan and the United States of America, including Chicago.

Co-Founder of the ICF, Mr John Jung visited the Sunshine Coast this week as part of the judging process for the 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year.

A newly developed app is hoping to ease the transition of newcomers into Canada.

“What we can help with is finding the community, and that’s what our app is designed to do. It helps newcomers communicate,” said Ben McFarlane of SyntecX Global.

The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) will has partnered with the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario, private industry and government to develop new hydrogen fuel cell technology for transit and automobile applications. 

The CUTRIC will lead the project, dubbed The Development of Low-Cost, High Performing and Durable Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells Project, as well as fund 25 percent of its cost. CUTRIC places the total cost of Phase I at C$1,898,432 (US$1,427,772.74). The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will co-fund the project.

Toronto’s film and television industry got a welcome boost this month with the announcement Netflix that was leasing two studio spaces in the city’s central waterfront area.

Netflix has multi-year leases for four sound studios and office space at both Cinespace Studios and Pinewood Toronto Studios. Netflix said the deals will provide jobs up to 1,850 Canadians per year.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center continues to expand its ambulatory care network with a new, large outpatient care center planned for Dublin.

Pending approval by university trustees this week, Ohio State will continue the process to acquire 34 acres of land owned by the city of Dublin near State Route 161, State Route 33 and Shier Rings Road. Dublin City Council will hear the first reading on this proposed land purchase during its March 11 meeting.

In the middle of the night on an abandoned bus lane somewhere in Eindhoven three cars pass by, in the front BMW i3 someone is behind the wheel, the other two vehicles are unmanned. At an appropriate distance and fully automatically they follow the front driver.

Amber, a car-sharing platform, tested for the first time on the public road with their shared cars, at night on a blocked bus lane. To this end, the company worked together with the municipality of Eindhoven and SmartwayZ. Amber called this a successful test and the aim is to introduce platooning as of next year in order to be able to transport cars from hub to hub at night.

When you think of major markets for Canadian tech innovation, Atlantic Canada does not often top the list. But Fredericton saw an increase of venture capital deals and dollars last year, culminating in the city nailing a spot as one of Canada’s top five tech markets in PwC’s MoneyTree report for Q3 2018. It was the first time New Brunswick’s capital city had made it onto the list since CB Insights began collecting MoneyTree data in 2012.

The Norwegian city of Tromsø annually hosts the Arctic Frontiers conference, with the 2019 edition having focused on a Smart Arctic. This focus is timely, given present interest in Smart Innovation. But what does ‘smart’ mean in Arctic contexts? And how can Northern peoples and organizations benefit from it?

A new virtual tool could help planners choose the best places to install bikes lanes in cities.

The data-based tool builds on previous research at the University of Waterloo that validated the safety benefits of bike lanes for cyclists and motorists.

Collected using sensors and a handlebar camera as researchers cycled hundreds of kilometres in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the data showed bike lanes virtually eliminate vehicles getting too close to cyclists when they pass them.

Construction work has kicked off on the Sunshine Coast’s connection to the JGA-South undersea fibre optic cable system.

State Development Minister Cameron Dick announced the milestone for the build of Maroochydore's new landing station over the weekend.