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The Urban School's Lab
The co-production of public knowledge by students and teachers is a guiding academic principle of the Urban School. We firmly believe that students learn more and better when they are engaged in building public knowledge for cities, territories and their actors. The Urban School's Lab, created in 2021, adheres to this objective and enhances our students’ work. It also positions the School as a facilitator of debate on what professional practice needs to do to better incorporate ecological and social transitions.
The Lab has three objectives:
Promote
Highlight our innovative educational systems, including the group projects which are the core of our academic model, as well as the professional situation scenarios, simulations, study trips, etc.
Decompartmentalise
- Initiate new inter-School collaborations at Sciences Po
- Promote meetings between students, teachers, researchers, and the Urban School staff
- Create new partnerships in France and abroad.
Experiment
- Produce new knowledge
- Define new subjects, particularly in connection with the School’s two Chairs: the Cities and digital technology Chair and the Cities, Housing and Real Estate Chair
- Test new academic formats in situ and with less "traditional" partners, taking interdisciplinarity even further.
The Lab's events
Upcoming event: Lab day on June 11, 2024
Annual event of presentation and discussion of the collective projects of the year. Students, partners, teachers, researchers or professionals from cities and regions come to discuss major contemporary urban and territorial issues.
- 41 group projects
- 200 students
- 30 speakers
Every year, the Urban School's students are invited by public or private partners to collaborate on real-life challenges, in order to address operational and strategic questions. They do this through a "Group Project" exercise. The students will present their projects during workshops, with the presence of tutors and partners, and will receive feedback from a major witness as well as engage in debates.
Past events
- 23 February - screening and round table “The rise of South America's Largest Criminal Organisation”, coorganised with the CEE of Sciences Po
- 16 February - Cycle of webinars “Nouveaux enjeux de la transition numérique des villes” , coorganised with the Cities and Digital Technology Chair and the PUCA
- 15 February - Round table “Les évolutions de mixité sociale et ségrégation dans le Grand Paris” coorganised with Apur and INSEE
- 14 February - Masterclass of Pedro Homem de Gouveia “ Changing Urban Mobility – how can we… get moving? “, coorganised with the CEE of Sciences Po and CIVITAS SUMP PLUS
- 1st February - Masterclass of Benoit Bazin, CEO of Saint-Gobain, coorganised with Sciences Po Careers
- 1st February - “Thematic Half-Day - Ecological Transition“ organised by Cities are back in town and AIRE
- 14 June - Lab Day 2023
- 24 November - Conference “Politiques environnementales et politiques du logement : quelle(s) cohérence(s) ?”, organised by the Cities, Housing and Real Estate Chair and the CEE of Sciences Po
- 17 November - Debate-Meeting “La ville à l'épreuve de la crise sanitaire“, coorganised with the PUCA
- 18 October - Conference “Handicap, sport et villes inclusives : les enjeux de Paris 2024", coorganised with le Certificat pour sportifs de haut niveau.
- 12 October - Conference “Geopolitics of Smart Cities: Expression of Soft Power and New Order”, organised by the Cities and Digital Technology Chair and URBAN AI
- 5 October - Conference "La promesse démocratique : gouverner dans le monde qui vient » (watch the replay (FR))
- 31 August - Inaugural lecture by Jean-Michel Wilmotte
- 23 June - Conference “Heritage International Protection in Wartime: the case of Ukraine”, coorganised with PSIA
- 26 April - Conference “Cities fit for climate adaptation? Lessons from the new IPCC report”
- 7 April - Webinar "How Data Is Transforming Cities? A discussion with the Data Officers of London, NY and LA?", organised by the Cities and Digital Technology Chair (watch the replay)
- 4 April - Round table “Ville et développement durable : impact et héritage des Jeux de 2024” , coorganised with the Certificat pour sportifs de haut niveau
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Contact Us
Bertrand Vallet, LAB Director
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