In much of the same ways that smart cities are using data for urban governance, often for the espouses purposes of increased sustainability and resource efficiency, campus administrators are increasingly keen to use higher education data for improving campus inefficiencies and security issues. Scholars in surveillance studies have demonstrated that smart city initiatives often contribute to the privatization of public space, technocratic control, and raise grave privacy concerns. To what extent do these critiques translate to the smart campus? Smart campuses generally include the use of digital technologies to do some or all of the following: monitor and automate aspects of student progress to degree; manage facilities and resources; produce new revenue streams; and purportedly enhance security and student wellness. This talk will argue that, in both the case of smart cities and smart campuses, smart technology is often being used to address social and institutional challenges in ways that increase the power of industry, and with little democratic oversight.

Coffee, tea, cakes and fruit will be served before the colloquium @ 2 pm.