FinEst Centre for Smart Cities is a research organisation emerging from a Finnish-Estonian collaboration between Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Aalto University, Forum Virium Helsinki and the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.

In the context of its 2025 Smart City Challenge, the FinEst Centre is launching the search for two solutions that tackle pressing urban challenges. The two selected pilot projects will focus on creating scalable, impactful solutions that improve the quality of life in urban areas and pave the way for smarter and more resilient urban futures.

The two pilot projects, which will be funded by €800,000 each, should produce solutions that are interdisciplinary, commercially scalable, sustainable, and international: each project will feature at least one piloting city from Estonia and one from another country.

This year, the focus is on challenges that contribute to building cities that are safe, happy, and climate resilient: 

• Safe cities could include solutions for emergency response systems, or public lighting that increases security – along with innovations that help cities better prepare for and respond to human-made threats, polycrisis, ensuring greater safety and resilience for their residents.
• Happy cities aim to improve the overall quality of life through human-centered urban design, mental well-being, social connections, and better access to nature and culture.
• Climate resilient cities focus on adapting to environmental challenges, such as managing urban flooding, reducing heat islands, or improving energy efficiency in public infrastructure.

For more information, the FinEst Centre invites you to join the second introductory webinar for Smart City Challenge 2025 participation on 27 August 2025, 12:00-13:30 CEST/13:00–14:30 EEST: You can now register here for the event here by 25 August.

Each city is warmly welcome to propose 1-3 challenges by sending them to smartcity@taltech.ee using the template “Proposing city challenge”.