W3C and ANU partnered to deliver the first of a roadshow series to ponder the Future of the Web.  This first series focussed on data and the Smart City with events held in 3 cities (Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney) in early May.

The motivation for doing the roadshow is to open a channel for exposure and open discussions with government and industry on a number of topics where technology is shaping society.  It is essential to think about implications of various high-impact technologies as we make plans for how to use them.

W3C does important work in developing standards for the Web, which needs wide industry and government participation for  input and directions.  

ANU is training the workforce of the future.  In order to ensure that the programs being taught meet demand from government and industry, we need an on-going dialogue to understand issues faced and adapt our curriculum accordingly.  Programs of relevance include Data Analytics, Computing, Cybersecurity and evidence-based MBA.

The ‘Data drives the Smart City’ events (workshop schedule) included:

• overviews of how 2 local governments (NSW and ACT) are thinking about the Smart City (Dr Ian Oppermann and Dr Ole Nielsen)
• some insights from IBM Research (DrMukesh Mohania)
• perspectives on operating a Smart Grid (Dr Lachlan Blackhall, A/Prof Kerry Taylor, Dr Armin Haller)
• perspectives on privacy (Dr David Hyland-Wood, Prof Peter Christen, Ms Christine Cowper)
• overview of work in W3C and relevance (Mr Alan Bird)

The workshops fostered lively debates in all 3 cities, with the biggest crowd in Canberra.  The various aspects of privacy was at the heart of the discussions with many participants raising questions and contributing insights.  Given the level of interest, we thought the next series theme of “Cybersecurity” seems to be a good choice.  

We thank presenters for providing access to their slides:

ACT Government Keynote – Dr Ole Nielsen

NSW Government Keynote – Dr Ian Oppermann

Industry Keynote – Dr Mukesh Mohania (slides to be uploaded later)

Linked Data – A/Prof Kerry Taylor

Data and the People-powered Grid – Dr Lachlan Blackhall

In-context data for electricity forecasting – A/Prof Kerry Taylor, Dr Armin Haller

Privacy in the smart city (Melbourne) – Dr David Hyland-Wood

Privacy & Power to the People (Sydney) – Ms Christine Cowper

Privacy-preserving use of data (Canberra) – Prof Peter Christen