The University of Almería (UAL) played a prominent role in the forum ‘The Urbanistic Revolution of Almería’, organized by the newspaper Diario Ideal and the Almería City Council. At the emblematic Katiuska Cultural Innovation Center, Pilar Martínez, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation and Infrastructure, detailed the UniversAL project, which drives the campus's transformation into an intelligent digital ecosystem through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital twins, robotics, and IoT.
During a panel discussion with urban planning experts such as Javier Garrido (Almería City Council), Manuel Gutiérrez (Association of Construction Contractors), and Luis Cano (Official College of Architects of Almería), moderated by Belén Rueda, Martínez highlighted the applicability of UAL's Smart Campus project to the future of Almería. The Vice-Rector thanked the organizers for the opportunity to discuss the future of urban infrastructure and urbanism, emphasizing UAL's potential as a driving force and its contribution to technological transfer for a more efficient, people-centered Almería.
The UniversAL project, a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) initiative with a budget of 8.4 million euros, is funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It integrates advanced technologies such as AI, Big Data, IoT, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Digital Twins, applied to data governance, mobility, services, teaching, and sustainability.
The developed solutions are conceived as a transferable and replicable model, positioning the UAL campus as a national benchmark for digital innovation. Formal interest has already been expressed by other Spanish universities, including Jaén, Cádiz, Granada, Murcia, Santiago de Compostela, and Oviedo. A specific example is UniversAL-Environment, a system that anticipates and activates automatic alert and response protocols for extreme weather phenomena to protect people.
