Masters of Science in Professional Studies: Smart Cities | RIT Dubai

Program Contact

Sanjay Modak

Chair - Graduate Programs and Research Department, Associate Professor of Economics

Offered within the

Department of Graduate Programs and Research

Accredited by the UAE Ministry of Education

This unique and innovative master's degree is the first of its kind in the region and explores what cities are, and what they can be. It goes beyond the concept of a smart city to also cover important technological, social and sustainability issues to ensure a comprehensive and holistic approach to the cities of today and tomorrow. As a world leader in smart cities and urban development, Dubai is the ideal place to study such a program and see digitalization in effect.

Overview

This degree explores what cities are, and what they can be. It goes beyond the concept of a smart city to also cover important technological, social, economic and sustainability issues to ensure a comprehensive and holistic approach to cities of today and tomorrow.

This degree will help students build and develop efficient, sustainable and community-based cities and cultivate awareness of interdisciplinary history of modern cities, urban economics, city development and planning theory, urban ecology, digital transformation, informatics, policy and decision making, demography, and applied problem-solving and research methods. Providing an all-encompassing view of the development of the city, the program also addresses key subjects such as water, food, waste, transport, education and energy systems, taking into account complex interactions between each of the elements. Smart Cities is an emerging interdisciplinary plan of action that includes the designer, the technologist and the humanist all working together. It prepares graduates for smart cities that can talk, giving live status updates through networks on traffic patterns, pollution, parking, water and energy and other vital information.

Mission Statement

To develop an understanding of the underlying elements that define a smart city.
To equip students with the necessary tools to lead and manage the smart city of the future with a 360-degree view of the key elements of sustainability, informatics and human behavior.

Program Goals

Furnish the tools to apply the various elements of a smart city to enhance the quality of urban life for citizens.
Apply the tools learned in the program to a body of data to deliver a high-quality body of research.

Program Learning Outcomes

Conduct a City Impact Assessment Utilizing Both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods.
Develop Systems to Support Effective Governance and Responsive Citizen Engagement.
Analyze and Manage Plans for Accessible Infrastructure.
Assess the Feasibility of Smart City Data Infrastructure Networks and Technologies.
Measure Energy and Environmental Impacts.
Apply the Analysis of Big Data to Common Urban Problems and Service Delivery.

Curriculum

Typical Course Sequence

Total Credit Hours - 33

The program can be completed in as little as 16 months.

Course		Sem. Cr. Hrs.
PROF-705	Context and Trends The gateway course for students enrolled in the MS in professional studies degree program. Course provides students with opportunities to interact about controversial issues while discovering foundational knowledge about interdisciplinary history, theory, along with applied problem-solving, research methods and professional ethics. Students use this course as a means of designing and receiving approval for individualized plans of study. (Department permission required). Students should consult their adviser before registering.	3
PROF-750	Structures of City Systems The course provides students with a comparative and analytical view of how different departments within a city are managed and work together. Students will learn about the role of city departments like security and safety, transportation, energy, water, sanitation and waste, how they work together today, and how they will need to interact in a smart city environment. This course will compare and contrast the collaborative nature of city government departments in various regions, including Europe, Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, and students will analyze how technology can help build a more collaborative structure between these departments in cities of the future. Students will develop a foundational understanding of how urban departments are managed and will be managed in the future.	3
PROF-751	Resource Contexts for Smart City Development In the evolution of cities, the use of technology in cities creates value. With the rise of the smart city and the use of IoT instrumentation (i.e. network-connected devices), robots, AI and so on, how do cities purporting to be “smart” evaluate the investment that goes into these new technologies and where do they raise the finances necessary to implement it? What do we know about the economics of the “smart city”? This course provides students the opportunity to understand how the use of technology supports OPEX (operating expenditures) and CAPEX (capital expenditures) optimization in urban projects. Students will understand where the funding to support this implementation comes from – internal city finances, public-private partnerships, or external sources. With recent data, this course describes the financial feasibility of numerous urban projects from buildings, energy, telecommunications, transportation, water and wastewater, public safety security, and health and human services. The cost savings in projects due to integration of systems, IoT instrumentation, connectivity, interoperability, data management, computing resources and analytics will also be examined.	3
PROF-661	Data Analytics for Smart Cities <p>Within the city framework, information technologies are a key for providing new services and applications that contribute to success. This course examines a cross-section of information and computing technologies that can best contribute to Smart Cities. Students will learn of the concept of the Internet of Things, geographic information systems (GIS), ubiquitous computing, and wearable interfaces as they relate to future cities. Additionally students will look at existing technologies in environmental sensing for monitoring and improving cities. This course is only offered at RIT Dubai campus.</p>	3
PROF-662	Technology Infrastructure for Smart Cities The thinking within modern cities has changed dramatically in the past decade with the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT). Previously, the existence of useful infrastructure was considered to be a beneficial but not essential factor in influencing development. Presently, a modern, flexible infrastructure is considered to be a requirement for any modern city. Its absence is a sign of underdevelopment. This course presents current and future ICT development along with techno-economic deployment scenarios and provides breadth in understanding the limits and potential of information and communication technologies.	3
PROF-770	Proposal Seminar (The) seminar course provides a structured context to enable students in the MS in Professional Studies degree program to prepare a formal Thesis Proposal as a prerequisite for entering the final course in the program, PROF-776 Thesis. Activities include researching and defining a real-world, multidisciplinary problem or opportunity; providing a justification as to how the student's multidisciplinary education has prepared him/her to be uniquely qualified to address the defined problem; proposing a solution to the defined problem (a project) that consists of a problem statement, a set of deliverables, a timeline, and a research methodology for assessing the success of the completed project; and establishing a formalized relationship with a thesis supervisor with relevant subject matter expertise who can guide and evaluate the student's work in the subsequent course, PROF 776 Thesis.	0
PROF-776	Research and Thesis <p>Smart Cities graduate students are expected to make a significant scholarly research contribution as a requirement for the MSPS degree. The Thesis Part 1 course provides students with the fundamental skills needed to conduct a program of research related to participating in the degree thesis course, or in developing a thesis project. The course focuses on skills such as identifying interesting and important topics and problems, developing and articulating research questions and proposals, critical thinking, conducting a thorough exhaustive literature review and effective oral and written communication and presentation of scholarship.</p>	3
PROF-776	Research and Thesis <p>The thesis course for students enrolled in the MS in Professional Studies Degree program. With individualized advising from a Department Chair -approved thesis advisor (selected in PROF 770 Thesis Seminar), students participate in a real-world problem solving, research-oriented project carried out in an organizational setting. Problems selected for project work relate to a student's professional course concentrations. Course requirements involve completing a deep and exhaustive literature review, engaging in discussion and assignments with the thesis supervisor, various kinds of fieldwork carried out if necessary to substantiate the hypothesis, writing a full draft and final thesis and making a (PowerPoint) presentation to the committee consisting of the Chair, Supervisor and Chair-nominated members.</p>	3
PROF-799	Special Topics: Digital Transformation Towards a Smart City This course teaches the student an understanding of IT-enabled changes in the business environment, and how insightful leverage of IT creates value and wins competitive battles. The course is divided into three parts - the first part of the course focuses on the digital transformation from the business perspective. The second part focuses on the industry impacts of IT enablement through recent technological innovations such as big data and analytics. And, the third part focuses on the customer experience from the business perspective.	3
ARCH-652	Urban and Regional Planning This course immerses students in the field of urban and regional planning by studying and actively engaging in the planning process through projects with community agencies.	3
ARCH-661	Understanding Sustainability <p>This course will introduce graduate students to fundamental concepts related to interaction of humans and nature, sustainability challenges facing society, and the interaction between industrial, environmental/ecological and social systems in the built environment by introducing system thinking and the multiple disciplines comprising sustainability.</p>	3
PUBL-702	Decision Analysis for Smart Cities This course provides students with an introduction to decision science and analysis. The course focuses on several important tools for making good decisions, including decision trees, including forecasting, risk analysis, and multi-attribute decision making. Students will apply these tools to contemporary public policy decision making at the local, state, federal, and international levels.	3