Chiang Mai University has been selected as one of the 15 ‘Smart City Development Zones’ by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. The presentation ceremony will be held on December 24, 2021.
CMU Smart City, a model smart city, is a project that focuses on using data in city administration through research, technology incorporation, and innovations that are valuable and practical, ready to be shared with the public. It aims to develop human resources and foster life-long learning skills. The Smart City Driving and Management Subcommittee by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency approved CMU’s smart city plan, ‘CMU Smart City: Sustainable Excellence for the Community’. It was selected as a Smart City Development Zone in the ‘Old City’ category on September 23, 2021, and will be entitled to use the Smart City Thailand badge for two years. The presentation ceremony will take place on December 24, 2021, at the Phakdi Bordin Building at the Government House.
To accommodate the Smart City project, CMU has physical infrastructure, such as the Integrated Biomass Management Centre by the Energy Research and Development Institute and the Smart Campus Management Centre (SCMC), as well as digital infrastructure, such as the wireless internet network - Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G and LoRaWan, the fibre optic network and the Internet of Things (IoT). CMU has been certified as a Smart City Development Zone in all seven aspects: Smart Environment, Smart Energy, Smart Economy, Smart Governance, Smart Mobility, Smart Living, and Smart People.
(1) Smart Environment refers to a city that takes into account environmental impact and climate change by incorporating technology for systematic management, such as water management, climate protection, waste management, and disaster surveillance, as well as promotion of public engagement in natural resource conservation.
(2) Smart Energy is a city that has effective energy management that balances local use and production to create energy security and reduce dependence on the main power network. This includes the smart grid system, the low carbon society, and renewable energy production such as biogas, solar power, and biodiesel.
(3) Smart Economy is a city that uses digital technology to create added value in the economic system and promote effective administration such as the Smart Agriculture City and the Smart Tourism City.
(4) Smart Mobility is a city that has efficient and eco-friendly transportation management to reduce energy consumption and pollution in the city and the surrounding communities. This is done by designing a city plan that has walkable, interconnected routes that are linked to a convenient transportation system.
(5) Smart People is a city that aims to build a body of knowledge, skills, and environment that promotes life-long learning, creativity and public engagement, as well as reducing socio-economic inequality. CMU Lifelong Education offers lifelong learning opportunities and acts as the centre of new normal online learning exchange.
(6) Smart Living is a city that uses the universal design to develop facilities to ensure good health, quality of living, safety, and happiness for all.
(7) Smart Governance is a city that develops a big data system and a government service for public convenience, allowing them to access government data as the stakeholders. It focuses on transparency, engagement, and continuous improvement through the application of service innovation.
CMU strongly believes that the project, ‘CMU Smart City: Sustainable Excellence for the Community’, will set up a concrete example that fosters engagement in sustainable city development for the CMU community and can then be passed on to the surrounding communities.