The National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) project at Arizona State University, Citizen-Centered Smart Cities and Smart Living, will train the next generation of master’s and doctoral students through an interdisciplinary focus on the technological, societal and environmental aspects of citizen-centered solutions for smart cities and smart living.
Faculty assemble and discuss ways to improve NRT program at 2019 ASU NRT Annual Retreat 
Faculty assemble and discuss ways to improve NRT program at 2019 ASU NRT Annual Retreat 
Faculty assemble and discuss ways to improve NRT program at 2019 ASU NRT Annual Retreat 
Faculty assemble and discuss ways to improve NRT program at 2019 ASU NRT Annual Retreat 
The 2019-2020 cohort of NRT trainees 
NRT Co-PI McDaniel, Coordinator Zheng, and External Evaluator Kaczmarczyk present a poster at the 2019 NSF-NRT Annual Meeting 
NRT Faculty, Trainees, and Staff gather at the 2020 ASU NRT Annual Retreat 
NRT trainee Jordan works with robot Misty
Why citizen-centric solutions?
Varied backgrounds, customs and contextual factors result in diverse life experiences of a city’s residents. Therefore, one-size-fits-all solutions are no longer viable. Adaptive and citizen-centered solutions require further research and investigation.
Students will:
- Participate in research penetrating traditional departmental and institutional barriers.
- Engage in internships and service-learning experiences with research and industry partners.
- Engage in augmented forms of learning, such as entrepreneurial thinking and leadership.
Goals
- Recruitment, retention and timely graduation of exceptional STEM master’s and doctoral students from diverse backgrounds, particularly women, underrepresented minorities and individuals with disabilities.
- Employ an integrated education-research-practice model to provide an interdisciplinary training experience for students through cross-disciplinary courses, joint multidisciplinary research projects, immersive internships, transformative service-learning opportunities, entrepreneurial education and communication skills training.
- Career placement and the creation of new career paths in smart cities-related positions for STEM graduates.
- Community, national and global impact through dissemination of research findings.
- Community, national and global impact through the adoption of, contribution to and benefit from interdisciplinary training model components and products for smart cities.
Approach
Our program employs a training model that stresses integration and interdisciplinary scholarship and cooperation. Alongside the core NRT curriculum, students are provided opportunities to participate in industry-facing service learning, applied learning experiences, entrepreneurship and well-rounded research training that considers all aspects of smart cities and smart living.
