Smart City Expo World Congress:
Bridging the Gap Between
Science and the City

Smart City Expo World Congress transforms scientific knowledge into urban action. We provide researchers and academics a premier global stage to validate their work, influence policy, and forge partnerships with industry and city leaders.

Bringing Research to the Heart of Urban Decision-Making

Cities are living laboratories. The decisions made today about mobility, energy, housing, and digital infrastructure will shape urban life for decades to come. Yet the complexity of these challenges demands more than good intentions or available technology: it demands rigorous, evidence-based knowledge.

State-of-the-art research coming from universities and research centers is not an academic exercise; it is the foundation upon which smarter cities are built. And increasingly, public decision-makers know it.

The demand for science-backed solutions has never been greater among city leaders navigating climate pressure, demographic change, and the rapid evolution of AI.

From Academic Insight to Citywide Action

For academic institutions working at the frontier of innovation, SCEWC offers an environment no campus seminar can replicate: direct access to the decision-makers who turn research into policy, infrastructure, and lived urban experience.

With over 1,000 cities and 1,100+ exhibitors converging in Barcelona each year, this is where research institutions connect with city leaders, technology companies, and institutional partners seeking scientific credibility and evidence‑based solutions.

High‑level research. Tomorrow's urban solutions

Taking research to the global urban stage

The distance between academic discovery and urban implementation has never been shorter — or more full of possibility. As AI, data governance, mobility, and climate resilience rewrite the rules of city management, researchers who position themselves at the intersection of knowledge and action will help shape the next generation of cities.

Call for Research Papers

Connecting cutting-edge AI research on urban development with the smart city ecosystem.

Up to 15 selected papers will be published in a special issue of the prestigious Scopus Q2 indexed Street Art & Urban Creativity Journal and presented at Smart City Expo 2026 in a dedicated session within the official program.

Spanish-Czech Challenge HackaTEEN 2026

An international hackathon for elementary and high school students.

Do you have an idea to make your city or district a better place to live? Gather a team of students aged 12-18 (up to 5 members plus a teacher), turn your idea into a project in just 9 hours, and present it to a panel of experts at SCEWC26.

EUonAIR Hackathon

Bringing together bright minds to tackle urban innovation challenges using AI.

A co-creation session where participants collaborate to develop AI-driven solutions for smarter, more sustainable cities, organized by Universitat CEU Abat Oliba within the framework of the European project EUonAIR.