I’ve got a new job! Steps that marked my journey from urban policy making to transdisciplinary research.
Three months ago, I started this blog to explore topics associated with urban digitisation, particularly a new research interest of mine: artificial intelligence as an aspect of sustainable technology development. Having only just started writing here, the opportunity arose to join the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) — specifically, a think tank project called Open Source Lab based at the EUREF campus in Berlin. I’ll be exploring the overlap between open source concepts, urban mobility and digitisation.
To mark this progression, I thought I’d share content from my portfolio with additional commentary about the context that underpinned the varied fields of experience.
Urban Systems Vulnerability and Resilience Research
After strategic urban policy planning for a London borough and completing my Masters at the University of Westminster I moved to Melbourne and undertook freelance work. For the Victorian State Government Department of Planning and Community Development I researched and delivered a briefing report on vulnerability assessment for regional sustainability and climate change adaptation policy and strategy.
Future Melbourne
I joined the City of Melbourne’s Strategic Planning team and helped deliver the Future Melbourne city plan, including the development of a Wiki platform for the drafting of the plan. It was a world first, representing global best practice in stakeholder engagement and technologically innovative policy making. The work was awarded the Planning Institute of Australia President’s Award in 2009.
Doctor of Philosophy: Urban Innovation
After Melbourne I returned to my hometown Sydney and began PhD research at UNSW before moving to Berlin for fieldwork, enabled through an award of the German Academic Exchange Service. My PhD was awarded by the University of New South Wales, with research stays at Free University Berlin Environmental Policy Research Center and Technical University Berlin Center for Metropolitan Studies. My PhD extrapolated citizen-led projects of urban innovation in Berlin, exploring the characteristics of unconventional spatial transformations, their founders and associated actors.
Short form Journalism: RESET Digital for Good
During my PhD I became fascinated with technological innovation as an enabler of progress. I joined a small Berlin based non-profit called RESET and created articles on digital innovations aligned with sustainability ideals including Solar Coin, Refugee Aid App, Strava Metro, Kiron Open Higher Education and Kasitas Housing.
Design Thinking and Innovation Facilitation
I discovered an opportunity at the Do School Innovation Lab to work across their programs as resident Knowledge Wrangler, supporting the delivery of innovation facilitation (design sprints, intrapreneurship programs) and mission driven venture development through knowledge capture, sharing and training activities. It enabled me to learn design thinking concepts and design-led workshop facilitation.
Looking Forward
I’m really looking forward to the next year developing my experience and deepening the connections between my background in urbanism and social sciences with technology and computer science. Through mobility applications I can explore progress and implications of activities by industry players, policy making and broader urban governance, particularly around how open approaches might enable or contribute to innovation ecosystems.
Tina Gallico 