Davenport Institute to Host Winter Virtual Professional Certificate in Leading Smart Communities

Due to the current situation surrounding COVID-19, the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership have adapted its traditional program to offer a virtual Professional Certificate in Leading Smart Communities this Winter 2021 to be held via Zoom. This virtual offering costs $750 and will consist of a series of five, two-and-a-half-hour modules held over the course of five Tuesday afternoons from 3-5:30 pm (PST).

From online public participation platforms to blockchain, technology is fundamentally changing the government-resident relationship. The impact of technology is felt across all departments in municipal governments-from public safety to planning. Given the pace of change, it's time for public policy schools to incorporate graduate-level education in the essential area of government technology (govtech).

In this fast-paced Professional Certificate seminar, you will learn from leaders in government technology how to better use the new technology platforms of today, and gain a valuable understanding of the govtech "gamechangers" of the future.

• Demonstrate your leadership through digital knowledge, skills, and expertise.
• Differentiate yourself and showcase your advanced skills to your organization; be a champion for digital change!
• Understand how technologies like blockchain, IoT, and AI will be impacting governments in the future.

This program will be the Institute’s second ever virtual offering of the Certificate. Here is what alumni had to say about the last program:

• “I thought every presenter was excellent. Clearly a leader in their fields.”
• “program gave me new lenses to see our own city's efforts through. I can be a bigger support to our CIO with this knowledge, and I now have some greater sources where I can learn more on my own.”
• "I want to help my City modernize. This course helped catch me up with the current state of the Smart City movement."
• “ session was fantastic as it was covering so many overlapping topics and issues. Thank you for making it so easy to follow.”

Outcomes and Program Highlights

• How did we get here? Understanding the past several years of dramatic changes in govtech. 
• Social Media Strategy: How can we use online tools and social media to better engage our residents?
• Understanding Gamechangers: Blockchain, IoT, AI, and more!
• Running Data Analytics for Government: Getting control of "too much information"
• Cyber Security for Government: Protecting your data from attack
• Technethics: Learn how to think about new technologies through the lens of potential questions of ethics.

Session Dates

• Tuesday, February 23, 2021
• Tuesday, March 2, 2021
• Tuesday, March 9, 2021
• Tuesday, March 16, 2021
• Tuesday, March 23, 2021

To learn more about this professional certificate and speakers, please visit the Leading Smart Communities webpage.