Talk: Open Data, Data Science and Digital Innovation at City of Edmonton

6:00-9:30 PM, Sep. 12, 2018 Wednesday (Mountain/Alberta Time)

Speaker: Norman Mendoza, Ben Gready, Roman Eisner, Jared Rewerts, Jeanna Somoza, Smart City & Analytics Centre of Excellence, City of Edmonton

Organizers: AlbertaAI, UA-CGSC, iGeek

Partners: TusStar Alberta Incubator, Edmonton IT Club, Tsinghua Alumni Association of Edmonton (TAAE)

Event Sponsor: City of Edmonton

Visionary Sponsor: SAS

Abstract:

City of Edmonton is a leading city on Open Data and Smart City. There are dedicated teams in the City focusing on open data, digital innovation, data science and disruptive technology. City of Edmonton is also one of Canada’s Top Employers For Young People. In this event, leaders and a former summer student from the City of Edmonton will introduce open data and the work related to data science, smart city, and AI. The event has interactive panel discussion and networking opportunities.

Agenda

18:00 - 18:30 Pizza & Pop Social

18:30 ­- 18:40 Opening Introductions - Organizers, Sponsors, VIP

(by AlbertaAI and City of Edmonton Representative)

18:40 ­- 19:00 Open Data at the City of Edmonton

(by Norman Mendoza, City of Edmonton)

19:00 ­- 19:45 Overview and Examples of

Open Source and IoT Projects

at the City of Edmonton

(by Jared Rewerts, Software Engineer,

Jeanna Somoza, former Summer Student)

19:45 ­- 20:30 Data Science Projects at the City of Edmonton

(by Ben Gready & Roman Eisner, Data Scientists)

20:30 ­- 21:00 Panel Discussion

(by Norman, Ben, Roman, Jared, Jeanna,

City of Edmonton)

21:00 ­- 21:30 Networking

Language: English

Time:

Mountain/Alberta Time: 6:00 - 9:30 PM, Sep. 12, 2018 Tuesday

Eastern Time: 8:00 - 11:30 PM

Pacific Time: 5:00 - 8:30 PM

Beijing Time: 8:00 -11:30 AM, Sep. 13, 2018 Wednesday

Location: ETLC (Engineering Teaching and Learning Complex) E2-001, University of Alberta, 9107 116 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4 (https://goo.gl/maps/isEe8vAGqQD2)

Webinar: https://zoom.us/j/2017110000 (need to install for the first time.)

Reservation: seats and webinar spots are limited. RSVP through the link at: https://goo.gl/1wTYKy

Please note photos will be taken during this event for future event promotions.

Speaker bio:

Norman Mendoza is the City of Edmonton’s Manager of Business and Technology Innovation. Since joining the City, Norman has been involved in advising City leadership on ways to transforming the architecture of the City’s IT capabilities to better meet citizen needs. In his role leading innovation, Norman is involved in helping Edmonton continue its evolution into a Smart City. In addition to his work with the City, Norman also has 16 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur in Edmonton’s technology community; which provides a unique combination of perspectives and approaches that can be used to help the CIty promote collaboration and partnerships with the technology community, post-secondary institutions, and businesses. As an experienced and polished public presenter, Norman also plays a role promoting Edmonton’s Smart City achievements at events here and afar.

Ben Gready is part of the Data Science team within the Open City and Technology branch of the City of Edmonton. The team is helping business areas across City leverage the power of machine learning to improve internal processes and public services. It is a fun place to work, because the projects are diverse and high impact. Ben has a degree in Physics, PhD in Atmospheric Science, and previously spent 5 years as a Data Scientist in the Energy Efficiency industry.

Roman Eisner is a Data Scientist in the Citizen Services department at the City of Edmonton. He works on finding ways to leverage A.I. to improve the delivery of public services in the context of Community & Recreation Facilities, Fire Rescue Services, Community Standards & Neighbourhoods, and Social Development. Roman has an MSc in Computing Science and has experience applying data science to a wide variety of fields, including SaaS software, clinical research, and medical diagnostics.

Jared Rewerts has worked for the City of Edmonton for 2 years on the Disruptive Technology team. IoT, containerization, open source, chatbots and more feature in his work portfolio. Prior to the city, Jared got a Computer Engineering degree from the U of A. On one of his coop terms, he worked for the company that built the Canadarm (totally not on the team that built it though…) on a human interaction detection project.

Jeanna Somoza worked as a Data Analyst Summer Student for the Digital Enablement section of Open City and Technology at the City of Edmonton. She is in her fourth year of pursuing a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Alberta. Throughout the past summer, she has worked under Norman on a variety of pilot projects such as the thermal vision pedestrian counter and a number of integrations with the City of Edmonton IFTTT (If This Then That) service. During her time at the City, she discovered her passion for learning with a strong interest in tangible computing and one day hopes to develop a career in the embedded systems industry.