Last week, Michael Waibel, representing the Build4People project, visited the Smart Country Convention in Berlin. The visit also served as preparation for a planned Build4People delegation trip to the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona in early November 2026.
A high-level delegation from Cambodia will join the trip to Spain to explore state-of-the-art approaches to smart city development and present digital solutions developed by Build4People. These include an online tool developed in collaboration with the DGNB German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and Technische Universität Dresden to assess the sustainability performance of urban neighbourhoods, as well as the Build4People Citizen Science App.
The Cambodian delegation will include:
- H.E. Dr Ly Rasmey, Secretary of State, Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC)
- Ms Ly Socheata and Mr Try Mengheang (MLMUPC)
- Prof. Dr Tep Makathy, Director General of the Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies (CIUS)
- Mrs Kul Socheata CIUS)
- Mr Tola Mach, Associate Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Western University
- Mr Martin Saram, Build4People Liaison to Phnom Penh Capital Hall
The Build4People delegation will also include Rolf Messerschmidt, CEO of Eble Messerschmidt Partner; Anja Jannack and Sebastian Wiesenhütter from TU Dresden; and Yannick Müller from CityLAB Berlin.
For Michael Waibel, one of the most striking aspects of the Smart Country Convention was the diversity of exhibitors. Alongside IT companies, numerous cities, federal states, regional associations and national ministries presented their digitalisation strategies and pilot projects.
The range of initiatives underway is truly impressive. Digital technologies are increasingly being used to strengthen dialogue between citizens and public administrations, improve transparency—including on environmental issues—and reduce bureaucratic barriers.
These are also important areas of interest for Build4People, where we see considerable potential for further development and practical application. While our project’s scope is shaped by the research funding framework of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the opportunities for translating research findings into practical digital solutions are substantial.
We are particularly looking forward to exploring the path towards Twin Transformation: bringing together the two major drivers of change—digitalisation and sustainability—to support more liveable, inclusive and sustainable cities.