Mission

Tech jobs remain in high demand across all industry sectors which presents challenges. Open jobs outweigh the number of qualified applicants to fill them.

Through an initiative called Gables TechTank©, the city along with its partners, is bridging the gap by facilitating the upskilling of professionals through training programs. The goal is to provide reliable, sustainable sources of technical talent, data, services, and innovative solutions to organizations located within the City of Coral Gables.

Tech companies that responded to the city’s technical talent needs survey, have rated Cybersecurity as an essential skill, followed in importance by Data Science, AI and Machine Learning, and Full-Stack Development.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding, City of Coral Gables, 4Geeks LLC, and TalentFarm, a division of Beyond Academics LLC, are collaborating to understand the tech needs of the business community, create syllabi to address the technical skills needed of the labor force, and provide the training with certificates and credentials.

Member Organizations

Gables TechTank Partners

Contact Us

• techtank@coralgables.com
• Apply to an Internship/volunteership with the Innovation and Technology Department research lab

TechTank News & Events

2026

CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory 2026 Q1 & Q2 Internship Cohorts

Each year, STEM student interns in the city’s Innovation & Technology Smart City Research Laboratory (CGITLab) work under the mentorship of CGIT experts on advanced projects designed to strengthen smart city systems, technology infrastructure and services. Many of these projects are showcased on the city’s Smart City Hub, CoralGables.AI. The winter and spring 2026 interns and CGIT staff recently presented their research to city leaders, community members, university faculty and researchers, media organizations, and industry leaders and experts through lab visits, project pitches, town hall presentations and STEM events.

Since 2016, more than 200 interns and resident researchers — from high school students to postdoctoral fellows — have gained hands-on engineering experience with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Internet of Things sensors, digital twins, 3D printing, drones and full-stack development. Interns who complete the program receive a CGIT certificate micro-credential detailing the technologies and skills they have mastered. Many alumni have gone on to careers with high-tech companies and startups, and 17 have been hired by the City to continue contributing to the community and its innovation ecosystem.

Through the Gables TechTank incubator and talent pipeline, CGIT also connects student interns with career opportunities at local and regional businesses in collaboration with Economic Development, nonprofit organizations, local businesses and educational institutions. This work advances STEM education and workforce development while helping build the next generation of technology professionals and strengthen the city’s smart infrastructure and services.

Some of the projects completed by the first- and second-quarter 2026 CGITLab intern cohort and staff mentors include:

More: CGITLab 2026 internship cohort LinkedIn post – Michael Venous spring internship LinkedIn post – Nilgun Hasanli spring internship LinkedIn post – Lorena Salinas spring internship LinkedIn post – Salahuddin Bawaney Smart City Hub dashboard LinkedIn post – CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory internship program LinkedIn post – CGIT Research Lab Interns Portal

CGIT Smart City Lab Awards Presentation and Research Facility Expansion Resolution at City Commission Meeting

At the May 5, 2026, City Commission meeting, the work of the Innovation & Technology team and student interns at the City of Coral Gables Smart City Research Laboratory (CGITLab) was recognized through two agenda items:

• A-12: The City Commission congratulated the Innovation & Technology Department on receiving the 2026 Smart 20 Award for “Transformative Work in Smart Cities” for its Smart City Research Lab and Gables TechTank Incubator initiatives. This marks the City’s fourth Smart Cities Connect award and the third award received by the CGIT Research Lab. In 2025, the team also received the Tech Talent Pipeline Workforce Development Award and the GeoGov Innovation in Education, Workforce Development & Capacity Building Award. Innovation & Technology Director and CIO Raimundo Rodulfo and Lab Manager Mark Hebert presented highlights of the CGITLab’s work and showcased projects developed by recent intern cohorts using emerging technologies to address community needs and challenges.
• D-7: The City Commission approved a resolution designating city office space at 234 Minorca Ave. as the future location of the Innovation & Technology Smart City Research Laboratory and its workforce development and community innovation programs for student interns and research partners.

More: Smart 20 Award agenda item A-12 – CGITLab expansion resolution D-7 – CGITLab City Commission presentation video – Coral Gables Magazine City Hall article – CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory webpage – CGIT Interns Portal – Gables TechTank webpage

Industry Innovators Visit the CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory

The city’s Innovation & Technology Department and Smart City Research Laboratory (CGITLab) team welcomed aerospace engineer, inventor and industry innovator Akif Ekin, founder and CEO of Ekin Smart City Technology, and the company’s CSO, Malik Ekin. During the visit, student interns and CGIT staff showcased research projects and prototypes being developed for the community, including flood sensors, sidewalk safety devices, energy-efficiency data systems, AI-powered service kiosks and environmental sensors. The Ekin executives met with interns and staff, offering career advice, engineering insights and ideas to help strengthen the students’ electronic prototypes.

More: Industry innovators visit CGITLab LinkedIn post – CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory webpage - Connect, inspire, volunteer or apply; CGIT Interns Portal - connect with talent – Gables TechTank webpage - partner and amplify

CGITLab at the 2026 Miami Maker Faire

The City’s Innovation & Technology Smart City Research Laboratory (CGITLab) team presented lab projects and prototypes at the city’s booth during the 2026 Miami Maker Faire.

More: 2026 Miami Maker Faire CGITLab LinkedIn post – 2026 Miami Maker Faire live CGITLab LinkedIn post – Coral Gables 2026 Miami Maker Faire entry – 2026 Miami Maker Faire event site

New Video Showcases CGIT Workforce Development Collaboration With Miami Dade College and Apple

A newly released Miami Dade College (MDC) video highlights how collaboration between higher education and local government can create meaningful career pathways in technology. Through the Apple Swift program, students gain in-demand skills, while partnerships with the City of Coral Gables provide opportunities to apply those skills through real-world experience and pursue long-term careers.

The video features Gabriella Ruiz, who began as an MDC intern in the city’s IT lab and is now a full-time IT analyst. Her path reflects the city’s commitment to developing local talent, strengthening the public-sector workforce and supporting the region’s growing innovation economy. The city is proud to partner with forward-looking institutions that help prepare the next generation of technology professionals.

More: MDC, Apple and Coral Gables workforce development LinkedIn video – City of Coral Gables workforce development LinkedIn post – MDC, Apple and Coral Gables workforce development LinkedIn post – MDC intern-to-career workforce development LinkedIn post – Apple Swift workforce development Facebook video – Apple Swift workforce development Instagram Reel

Google Developer Group Workshop Hosted by Miami Dade College

Staff and interns from the City’s Innovation & Technology Department (CGIT) and Smart City Research Laboratory presented software engineering projects and smart city platforms at Miami Dade College’s Google Developer Group (GDG) workshop, “RAG, Agents, and AI Builder Workflows.” CGIT’s presentation was titled “RAG + RAG for GIS: Connect Gemini to your data for better answers.”

More: Google Developer Group workshop LinkedIn post – Google Developer Group workshop event page

Apple Swift Showcase Hosted by Miami Dade College

The city’s IT customer support and GIS manager served as a judge at Miami Dade College’s Apple Swift Showcase and supported MDC students at the Artificial Intelligence Center. MDC uses Apple’s expertise to support training and skill development in coding and app development, giving students skills they can apply directly in the workforce. Several students from the MDC Apple program have also served as interns at the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology Smart City Research Laboratory.

More: Miami Dade College Apple Swift Showcase Facebook video – CGITLab Intern Portal

Coral Gables Magazine 2026 Innovation Issue

The city’s Innovation & Technology Department (CGIT) and its innovation initiatives were featured in Coral Gables Magazine’s 2026 Innovation Issue, “A look at how Coral Gables is embracing the future.” The coverage highlights Smart City Research Laboratory research and development projects, STEM workforce development and the talent pipeline, Smart District expansion projects, Coral AI agents, AI-powered intelligent connected infrastructure and other city innovation initiatives.

More: Coral Gables Magazine 2026 Innovation Issue – Coral Gables Magazine CGITLab story – Coral Gables Magazine CGIT AI and intelligent connected infrastructure story – CGIT Smart City Research Laboratory webpage

CGIT LAB LAUNCHED A NEW INTERN PORTAL

The city’s Innovation and Technology department (CGIT) Smart City Research Lab launched a new Intern Portal.  Through this portal, companies, entrepreneurs, employers, and tech talent seekers in Coral Gables can connect to great local STEM talent and search for students and professionals open for work and/or job internships. CGIT partners with the Economic Development department to send these tech talent opportunities to Coral Gables businesses on a frequent basis through city bulletins and other media channels. The interns themselves helped us build the portal!

Visit the CGIT Intern Portal and connect to amazing tech talent in Coral Gables!

2025

City of Coral Gables Received the GeoGov's Innovation in Education, Workforce Development, and Capacity Building Award

The City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology Department (CGIT) received the GeoGov's Innovation in Education, Workforce Development, and Capacity Building Award. This award acknowledges exceptional efforts to grow geospatial talent and capacity—through innovative educational programs, workforce training, certification programs, or targeted upskilling initiatives. The GeoGov Summit 2025 award committee said: "This award honors your groundbreaking efforts to build geospatial talent, strengthen capacity, and empower future leaders. Your work is helping to ensure that the geospatial community continues to grow and thrive."  At the GeoGov ceremony, IT GIS Manager Mark Hebert accepted the award on behalf of our team and was recognized for his leadership and dedication of many years managing our impactful STEM internship program, our Lab's cohorts and innovative GIS initiatives. Thank you to Geospatial World and GeoGov Summit for recognizing our team and our CGIT Lab program.  This is the third external recognition received this year by our Innovation & Technology Lab and STEM Incubator program: our team also received the Tech Talent Pipeline Workforce Development Award (Miami Tech Works, FWD 2025) and the Intelligent Community Full Certification (ICF, 2025-2027) –with tech workforce development as one of the six main areas certified by ICF. We are proud of our CGIT Lab Team and our student interns and the impactful work they do for our community. 

• More: Post - Post - Post – Summit

City of Coral Gables Received Tech Talent Pipeline Workforce Development Award

City of Coral Gables and the Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) were honored with an award for Tech Talent Pipeline workforce development at the Miami Tech Works’ Future Workforce Development 2025 (FWD 2025) event, for our CGIT tech internship program, which has mentored over 150 tech interns over the years. “This recognition celebrates the City's outstanding contributions to advancing tech talent and fostering innovation in our community” and “the City's leadership in driving meaningful change within Miami’s tech ecosystem.”  GIS & IT Lab Manager Mark Hebert received the award on behalf of our City and our CGIT Team.  

• More: Post  –  Post  –  Post  –  Post  –  Post  –  Event –  Event  –  Site

CGIT Lab’s Summer 2025 Student Intern Cohorts Started  

Summer 2025 intern cohorts started their internships at the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology department (CGIT), in our Smart City GIS & IoT Lab. Members of our CGIT team (GIS/Lab Manager Mark Hebert, GIS Sr. Analyst/Environmental Engineer Ana Arias, GIS Analyst/Software Engineer Javier Fernandez) are working at the Lab with our new student interns and resident researchers from various universities, colleges and schools.  The students and residents are working on internship research projects developing advanced applications and functionalities for city services, digital twin and mixed reality platforms, citizen engagement, applied AI, UI design, environmental IoT sensors, workflow automation, and other exciting projects for our community. 

Meet some of our new interns and residents, and their R&D projects:

• Nabanita Majumder (University of Miami in Coral Gables): creating GIS data maps for Fire Department dashboards and developing a digital twin of City facilities.
• Nathan Krajewsky (Gulliver Academy in Coral Gables): working on City NFC card system interfaces.
• Sueda Tare (Miami-Dade College): working on a GIS RAG engine using City geo-data to provide support for our homegrown AI assistant AIDA 4.0.
• Gian Maria Troiani (Miami-Dade College): developing a Public Records RAG for AIDA 4.0 agentic AI personas.
• Allan Prieb (Florida International University): working on an applied Whisper AI model (speech-to-text) and building an IT RAG for AIDA 4.0.
• Katherine Rodriguez (Florida International University): developing an app for municipal precinct zones, Fire Department data maps and spatial analytics, and documenting best practices for GIS cloud platforms.
• Timmy Loos (University of Florida): developing an app that integrates CGIT’s AI-powered ITSM system with AIDA 4.0, enabling users to create tickets from their phones using voice commands.
• Aaron Nogues (University of Central Florida): working on a large language model (LLM) to summarize the content of City meetings and events videos and send the summary to users via email.
• Resident R&D Project: Aerospace Engineer Morgan Fuller (SpaceX, Sierra Space, Purdue University) is developing AI-powered gas sensor technology with scalable, resilient, interoperable connectivity for environmental monitoring.

Our CGIT Lab staff and interns will showcase some of these projects during our events with multisector coalition partners of our Gables TechTank incubator. The interns will have opportunities to connect with career opportunities and will receive a micro-credential certificate from CGIT.  As we prepare to celebrate National Intern Day, we acknowledge the great contribution our CGIT student interns –more than 160 over the years, 16 of them hired by our City– have made to our team and our community.  Previous Cohorts:  Summer 2024 - Projects - Spring 2024  –  CGIT Lab  –  Article - Article

University of Miami 2025 Smart Cities Conference

We had a wonderful time at University of Miami's Smart Cities Miami 2025 conference in Coral Gables. Members of our team at the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) and student interns from our CGIT GIS & IoT Lab presented our Coral Gables smart city platforms and R&D projects at the City’s exhibition booth, and attended thoughtful presentations by international experts, with many takeaways to enhance our smart city programs. CIO Raimundo Rodulfo had the opportunity to speak at an insightful panel session with renowned academic research leaders from various prestigious universities and research institutions (Cornell, Loyola, MIT, UM), discussing from different points of view some of the topics presented at the conference (smart city data, urban tech design, AI, ethics, societal impact, risks and opportunities for civic good and inclusive innovation.) 

• More: Event - Post - Post - Post - Post - Video - Exhibition - Session - Post - Post - Post - Story 

City of Coral Gables Receives Full Certification as an Intelligent Community

City of Coral Gables received the Intelligent Community Full Certification from the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). From ICF Press Release: "Meeting ICF’s Certification standard provides objective validation that a community has high-quality connectivity, effective workforce development, a business innovation ecosystem and meaningful community engagement, digital inclusion and sustainability programs in place. These qualities combine to support the growth of innovative businesses, meet their talent needs and provide inclusive prosperity and a high quality of life." The ICF auditor also attended one of our Gables TechTank incubator workforce development events at the Coral Gables Country Club, with regional partners from industry, nonprofit and academia and presentations by our City’s IT Lab student interns. The ICF produced an assessment report that evaluated six dimensions of an Intelligent Community, and gave high scores to our City in all six categories: 92/100 in Connectivity/Broadband, 80.79/100 in Tech/Knowledge Workforce, 97.92/100 in Innovation, 100/100 in Digital Inclusion, 99.26/100 in Sustainability, and 99.99/100 in Community Engagement, for an impressive overall score of 95/100. Our City also received special access to ICF knowledge resources to enrich our future programs.  ICF has also named Coral Gables one of the top 7 intelligent communities of the world for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, and a recipient of the Smart21 award for three consecutive years in 2023, 2024 and 2025.  The City’s Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) partnered with the Economic Development and Mobility & Sustainability department teams in obtaining this important global certification.  

• More information:  Press Release  –  News: 1 - 2 - 3  –  Site  – Posts: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

2024

City of Coral Gables & Gables TechTank Hosted the Miami Tech Talent Coalition Event + CGIT Lab Intern Projects Pitch

City of Coral Gables hosted the Miami Tech Talent Coalition on Wednesday, August 21st at the Coral Gables Golf & Country Club. Our Innovation & Technology and Economic Development teams participated in the event presentations, joined by our STEM interns from various education institutions, and our partners in the Gables TechTank incubator. This impactful event boosted our regional collaboration connecting local tech talent with job opportunities and career development programs.  It was an opportunity for employers to connect with top tech talent and engage with industry leaders. Registration was free and open to all employers, academic institutions, training providers and community partners.  The mission was to connect employers, academic institutions, and training providers to develop top tech talent and drive innovation in South Florida. A collaborative effort to align education with industry needs and create a thriving tech ecosystem. We are proud of our brilliant STEM student interns in the City of Coral Gables Innovation and Technology department (CGIT), who presented their impressive projects to tech companies, incubators and education organizations in the Miami Tech Talent Coalition and Gables TechTank innovation ecosystems. During this event, our intern cohorts in the CGIT GIS & IoT Lab presented multiple smart city research projects and advanced MVP prototypes they have developed during their summer internship, with coaching from our CGIT team, to benefit our community in Coral Gables. Thank you to the Miami Tech Talent Coalition and our Gables TechTank partners for the opportunity to introduce our interns and their projects to local tech businesses, NGOs and academia in this wonderful event.  Thank you to our CGIT team in the GIS & IoT Lab who manage our STEM internship program and trained and coached our interns (GIS & Lab Manager Mark Hebert, GIS Analyst/Environmental Engineer Ana Arias, and Software Engineer Javier Fernandez). Thank you to all our interns, their universities/colleges/schools and all our education partners (MDC, FIU, UM, Coral Gables High School, Doral Academy, FGCU, Elon U, Syracuse U, and many others from previous cohorts.) And thank you to all our city colleagues who collaborated hosting this event and our internship demo session (Innovation & Technology, Economic Development, Community Recreation, and Communications teams).

Event Recap: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5  –  News Articles: 1 - 2  –  Student Demos  –  Posts: 1 - 2 

FIU Employer Sprinternship Event 

City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology (CGIT) GIS Lab Manager Mark Hebert spoke on an Employer Engagement panel with tech leaders from Miami-Dade County IT and eMed at the Florida International University (FIU) Employer Sprinternship session.  

• More:  Post  –  Post  –  Event 

CGIT Lab’s Summer 2024 Student Intern Cohorts Started

Summer 2024 intern cohorts started their internships at the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology department (CGIT), in our GIS & IoT Lab. Members of our CGIT team (GIS/Lab Manager Mark Hebert, GIS Analyst/Environmental Engineer Ana Arias, Software Engineer Javier Fernandez) are working at the Lab with our new student interns from Elon University, Florida International University, Miami-Dade College, Syracuse University, and University of Miami engineering and computer science programs, and Doral Academy and Coral Gables High School STEM programs.  The students are working on internship research projects developing advanced applications and functionalities for city services, infrastructure maintenance operations, traffic and environmental sensor data integration, City Centennial digital assets and XR apps, immersive/interactive UX, digital twin and mixed reality capabilities, citizen engagement, arts and culture Web3 digital experience, UAS/drone control, applied AI and NLP models, UI design, and other exciting projects for our community. Our CGIT Lab staff and interns showcased some of these projects during our events with members of the Miami Tech and Coral Gables TechTank coalitions and incubators. As we celebrated National Intern Day, we acknowledged the great contribution our CGIT student interns –more than 125 over the years, 14 of them hired by our City– have made to our team and our community. 

• More:  Summer 2024 Lab cohorts - Intern projects - Spring 2024 demos - CGIT Lab  – Article - Article  –  Post - Post - Post 

CGIT GIS & IoT Lab Demo Day 

The latest cohorts of student interns in our GIS & IoT Lab showcased their internship research projects during a demo day at the lab.  CIO Raimundo Rodulfo had the opportunity to see brief presentations, demos and MVP/prototype pitches from the interns that have been working at the lab developing advanced applications and functionalities for city services, infrastructure maintenance operations, traffic and environmental sensor data integration, digital twin and mixed reality capabilities, citizen engagement, arts and culture digital experience, immersive/interactive UX, UAS control, applied AI and NLP models, UI design, and other exciting projects for our community. If you want to collaborate or submit an internship application visit our CGIT internship site in the links below.

• More information:  Post - Post - Post - Post - Post - Post - Post - Post  – Site

CGIT GIS & IoT Lab – R&D Projects, Internships, Collaboration Programs

Our team at the GIS & IoT Lab in the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology Department (CGIT) has been very creative and productive over the past years. A multidisciplinary group of experts augmented by cohorts of interns -led, mentored and coordinated by our GIS Division Manager Mark Hebert- has been working diligently on numerous R&D projects, experiments, ideas and proofs of concept; building and testing smart city prototypes, systems and applications for various municipal services.  Our lab research covers multiple STEM fields and applications, including spatial computing, augmented/virtual/mixed reality (AR/VR/XR), digital twins (DT); Internet of Things, Cyber-physical Systems (IoT/CPS); electrical/computer/software engineering; 3D printing, digital fabrication, maker's corner projects; artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, data science, full-stack SDLC, and other applied-science fields/practices/technologies.  Our CGIT Internship Program has mentored and engaged 115 interns over the years via student/researcher cohorts from universities/colleges/schools; ranging from high school to undergrad, graduate, Ph.D. and post-doc; and representing STEM academic programs in computer science/engineering, data science, electrical engineering, software engineering, robotics, cybersecurity, UX design, and other curricula from our education partners (UM, FIU, MDC, Barry, Nova, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Elon U, Coral Gables High School, Gulliver Academy, and other institutions). Many students have gone on to acquire employment in their field. In their interviews they cite their internship for both the hands-on experience it provided, as well as the business acumen and community impact associated to the city's professional setting. Our team has benefited directly from the work of our interns and our subsequent hiring of some of them. Some of our lab's latest R&D projects and concept designs include: City AR platform/apps, CDT AR/VR immersive environments with collaboration tools and IoT object/data population; AR applications for City Centennial and Cultural Arts projects; Pilots leveraging Nvidia and Apple-Pro / Oculus / HoloLens / Magic-Leap / Unreal-CityEngine SDKs; blended physical-digital XR tech; Smart Contract rewards system (Web3 on blockchain with NFT payouts); IoT sensor API development for Urban Analytics platform feeding Web3 products and Digital Twin environment; AI LLM RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) implementation; CDT LOD (linked open data); Knowledge Graphs; 3D-printing, digital fabrication of city network equipment box/housing, mounts and stands.  Kudos to our CGIT GIS & IoT Lab team (GIS Manager Mark Hebert, GIS Analyst/Environmental Engineer Ana Arias, IT Analyst/Software Engineer Javier Fernandez) and all our interns and CGIT team members who worked on impactful R&D projects over the years. To collaborate or apply for an internship, visit our site.  

• More:  Post – Post  –  Site 

Tech Talent Apprenticeships Event 

The City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) participated in the event “Tech Talent Simplified: The Apprenticeship Route” by our Gables TechTank partner, 4Geeks Academy.  This insightful and collaborative event brought together technology and workforce development leaders from City of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade College, Clark University, 4Geeks Academy, and eMed. Coral Gables CIO Raimundo Rodulfo joined a fireside chat moderated by 4Geeks Academy founder Alejandro Sanchez, where they discussed the Gables TechTank incubator partnership, the Coral Gables smart city initiatives, and our CGIT Smart City Lab internship program’s success stories and opportunities for apprenticeships, among other workforce development strategies. CGIT Lab Manager Mark Hebert and his team participated in the sessions and strengthened our ongoing partnerships with education institutions and regional collaborators across sectors. 

• More:  Event  –  Post  –  Post

Recent Collaborations on STEM Workforce and Talent Development Proposal Papers:

1. FIU College of Engineering and Computing, NSF  / Team Collaborator, First-Adopter /  Funded Project Title: Advanced Cyber Infrastructure Training in Policy Informatics  /  Link
2. UM College of Engineering, NSF / Testbed / “NRT: Convergent Graduate Training Program on Climate Engineering and Coastal Resilience”
3. FIU College of Engineering and Computing, NIST / MiamiCyber2Work proposal that seeks to build cybersecurity affinity workforce pathways for FIU students at City of Coral Gables.
4. Miami-Dade College / Team Member / “Expanding Bandwidth: Training the Next Generation of Skilled Internet of Things Technicians”
5. Barry University / “BU Engaged STEM Scholars – Enhancing Student Success for STEM Careers”
6. City of Coral Gables partner with Miami Dade College in its sectoral partnership –Miami Tech Works. This initiative supports the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration and addresses the immediate job-related needs of our community by developing trainings and other support services that lead to job creation, higher wages, increased entrepreneurship, and improved innovation in South Florida.
7. USF Department of Mathematics & Statistics, FIU College of Engineering and Computing, NSF  / First-Adopter, Practitioner  /  Abstract Title: NRT-HDR-IDEAS: Inspiring Data-Centric Engineers And Scientists (IDEAS) for Leading Human-centered Smart Cities.

Research Collaboration with the FIU Urban Hydrology and Green Stormwater Infrastructure Program

City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology (CGIT) GIS Lab Manager Mark Hebert joined our research collaboration team at the Florida International University (FIU) Urban Hydrology and Green Stormwater Infrastructure program, to collaborate with faculty and students working with our City teams on an environmental research study that employs advanced IoT sensor technologies deployed at the City’s Public Works facilities and CGIT Lab campus. FIU Professor Dr. Ali Ebrahimian said: “This semester marked the fifth time I had the privilege of teaching ‘Urban Hydrology and Green Stormwater Infrastructure’, a course I developed in 2020. Every year, it evolves in exciting new ways! What made this year especially special was a partnership with the City of Coral Gables, where my students worked on a real-world project that directly impacts our community. Through this experiential learning approach, the students didn’t just study theory- they engaged in field work and advanced modeling, collaborated with professionals, developed creative (yet implementable) ideas, and presented their findings in a professional format. It was time-consuming for me as the instructor, but seeing the outcome was incredibly rewarding. A huge thank you to our partner, City of Coral Gables, for this opportunity and to my students for their hard work and creativity.”  

• More:  Post 

City of Coral Gables and FIU Collaboration on Heat Islands Research, Using Environmental IoT Sensors

The City of Coral Gables Public Works, Sustainability, and Innovation and Technology departments began a collaboration with Florida International University (FIU) Department of Earth and Environment researchers on an U.S. EPA funded project to investigate Heat Islands and how Green Stormwater Infrastructure helps to mitigate heat in urban areas by monitoring air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed/direction via wireless IoT sensors.  The sensors were installed on trees at strategic locations in the City’s Maintenance Facility complex to simulate conditions of urban areas and right of way corridors.  Staff and student interns from the City’s Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) GIS & IoT Lab collaborated with the FIU environmental scientists on the installation of the IoT sensors.  CGIT also started a parallel collaboration with the FIU student cohort for the Fall Environmental Engineering course on Urban Hydrology on a research project focused on performance simulation of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), such as bioswales and rain gardens, for addressing flooding and stormwater runoff quality issues.  

• More:  FIU Research Site  -  CGIT Lab Site 

Miami Dade College Career Development Day for Tech Students

City of Coral Gables IT GIS & Customer Support Manager Mark Hebert represented CGIT at the Miami Dade College Career Development Day event for Tech students. Mark inspired young tech students by presenting our smart city advanced technology initiatives, community impact, and career opportunities.  

• More: Post

Presentation at the Miami-Dade Beacon Council and Canadian Trade Office’s Tech Event

CIO Raimundo Rodulfo joined the Economic Development department (Director Belkys Perez and International Business Development Representative Leticia Perez) to present our smart city technology infrastructure services and economic opportunities in Coral Gables to a group of innovative tech companies, trade officers and business development representatives from the French part of Canada, at the Miami-Dade Beacon Council (MDBC) and Florida-Canada Chamber of Commerce event "Miami Meets Canada French Tech". Our City team saw inspiring presentations from a cohort of eight promising tech scale-ups that pitched their innovative products and ideas and asked questions about our regional smart city programs and market opportunities for tech businesses. During our city's presentations, CIO Rodulfo gave a live demo of some of the digital tools and data resources for businesses available in our public platforms (Smart City Hub, Digital Twin, Urban Analytics AI/IoT portal, Citizen Center apps, Digital Experience and Business Explorer platforms...) and talked about the benefits of our City’s broadband and IoT smart district infrastructure for economic growth, digital literacy, job creation and entrepreneurship in our region and our local business ecosystem.  

• More:  Post  –  Event

Emerging Leaders Program in Coral Gables

The Cities Today Institute (CTI) and the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology department (CGIT) hosted the inaugural Emerging Leaders Programs (ELP) in Coral Gables on 7-8 February, 2024 at the Coral Gables Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  The ELP program was held during the City Leadership Forum (CLF) on Digitalization in Coral Gables.  The ELP is a tech leadership education program developed by the CTI and Harvard University, specially crafted for young city tech leaders (3-7 years in their leadership role) to improve their innovation leadership and business acumen for smart city programs. CGIT Network Manager Gisela Rodriguez attended the ELP classes and was part of the professional student cohort that gave a final class presentation to the CLF participants.  Technology leaders from these municipalities attended the ELP in Coral Gables: Boston, Carlsbad, Cary, Coral Gables, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Long Beach, New Orleans, Pittsburg, San Diego, and South Bend. Thank you to CTI founder Bob Bennett, CTI President Kim LaGrue, and the CTI team for bringing to Coral Gables this impactful education program; and thank you to Carlsbad CIO David Graham and former San Diego CSO Erik Caldwell for mentoring these young leaders. Our CGIT team was delighted to be the host of this impactful program. It was a very productive and successful workshop with many learnings and takeaways for all the communities and the student professionals participating.  

• More:  Post 

Coral Gables AI for Good Dashboard Project Won at FIU Shellhacks 2024 Hackathon

At Florida International University’s Graham Center, during ShellHacks 2024 –Florida's largest hackathon, with 1200+ participants–, a team of STEM professionals/students developed a Coral Gables AI for Good Dashboard project prototype for the Strengthening Communities Connections Waymo challenge, and was selected as one of the winners. This winning project produces AI-powered insights aggregated with real-time Coral Gables community data analytics and video visualization on social, traffic, weather, public safety, real estate, and news data with layered digital tools. The project team leveraged real data and tools from the Coral Gables Smart City Hub platform and other urban analytics data ecosystem sources, as well as synthetic data for prototype simulation. Team members and developers connected with our CGIT team for collaboration opportunities with our smart city Lab internships. 

• More:  Winning Project  –  ShellHacks 2024  –  Article  –  Post –  Post

Babson College’s Artificial Intelligence in Business Masterclass + Research Collaboration with Babson’s Faculty  

City of Coral Gables CIO Raimundo Rodulfo was invited to attend Babson College’s “Artificial Intelligence in Business” keynote Masterclass by distinguished professor and visionary expert and book author Dr. Thomas H. Davenport.  At the event, Rodulfo also discussed new collaboration opportunities with Babson College and our CGIT Lab research internship program on education and smart city initiatives in Coral Gables. 

• More:  Post  –  Post 

2023

Official launch of Gables TechTank Initiative and P3 MOU

Tech jobs remain in high demand across all industry sectors, which presents challenges. Open jobs outweigh the number of qualified applicants to fill them. Through a new initiative called Gables TechTank©, the City along with its partners, hope to bridge the gap by facilitating the upskilling of professionals through training programs. The goal is to provide reliable, sustainable sources of technical talent, data, services, and innovative solutions to organizations located within the City of Coral Gables. Of the tech companies that responded to the City’s technical talent needs survey, almost 50% rated Cybersecurity, Data Science, AI and Machine Learning, and Full-Stack Development as essential skills.  Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), 4Geeks LLC, TalentFarm, a division of Beyond Academics LLC, and the City of Coral Gables will collaborate to understand the tech needs of the business community, create syllabi to address the technical skills needed of the labor force and provide the training with certificates and credentials.  

• More: Gables TechTank Incubator  –  MOU Agreement  –  Post  –  Post  –  Post

Visit to Miami-Dade College Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center

Following the visit back in June of Dr. Michael Mannino (Miami-Dade College’s Director of AI) to the City of Coral Gables Innovation and Technology department, Coral Gables CIO Raimundo Rodulfo visited Miami Dade College (MDC) AI Center, received a guided tour by Dr. Mannino and some of his students, and continued consolidating new collaboration programs between MDC and our CGIT team on applied-AI and smart city services.  

• More:  Post

Visit from Miami-Dade College Director of Artificial Intelligence 

Dr. Michael Mannino, Director of AI at Miami-Dade College, visited our CGIT team and toured our smart city innovation and technology offices and smart district projects, to kickstart new collaboration initiatives. Dr. Mannino is a good friend and collaborator of our CGIT team for many years, and we are excited to continue our innovation partnership in his new leadership role at Miami-Dade College School of Engineering and Technology; as we will be leveraging applied-AI engineering research and education to benefit citizens, employees, and students.  MDC is the first in the U.S. to offer an associate degree in science in applied artificial intelligence. Our CGIT team is excited to provide real life smart city applied-AI lab and infrastructure testbed opportunities for MDC STEM students to gain hands-on experience while they help us roll out new services and practical capabilities for our community. 

• More:  Post  –  MDC AI Center 

University of Miami’s UHack 2023 Hackathon During the Miami Maker Faire

IT GIS Manager Mark Hebert participated as a juror at University of Miami’s UHack 2023 hackathon during the Miami Maker Faire at UM’s Watsco Center. The UHack 2023 hackathon was organized by the UM Chapter Google Developer Student Clubs, and it was focused on Sustainability.  

• More:  Post  –  Post  –  Post  –  Post  –  Post –  UHack –  Maker Faire

Lecture at Florida International University School of Computing and Information Sciences, and IoT Lab Tour

Florida International University (FIU) invited City of Coral Gables CIO Raimundo Rodulfo, P.E. to give a talk/seminar to the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences Faculty and Students, and to tour the IoT/CPS Security Labs with its director Dr. Selcuk Uluagac and his Ph.D. students. CIO Rodulfo had a very productive time at his alma mater presenting the Coral Gables smart city engineering frameworks and IoT projects to faculty and students; meeting with faculty leaders to discuss opportunities of research collaboration and graduate internships with smart city labs in Coral Gables; and visiting the impressive IoT/CPS FIU labs to see innovative research experiments and prototypes in action -and learn about the groundbreaking research Dr. Uluagac and his students are doing in multiple fields like IoT/CPS, advanced cybersecurity, XR, and applied AI, for the electronics industry and national defense. 

• More:  Lecture  –  Post

Presentation to FIU ECE Faculty and MS/BS in IoT Students

CIO Raimundo Rodulfo gave a guest lecture on smart city engineering frameworks and projects to Florida International University (FIU) Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) faculty and students of the FIU Master and Bachelor programs in Internet of Things (MSIoT / BSIoT).  

• More:  Video

Florida International University Roundtable: “How Coral Gables is Reimagining Our World Through Data”

Tuesday Times Roundtable (TTR) is FIU’s weekly series of moderated conversations around current global issues and trends covered in The New York Times. Conversations bring into play the multiple viewpoints of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Coral Gables CIO Raimundo Rodulfo presented to and spoke with FIU faculty and students at FIU Graham Center for Global Learning about smart city data use cases for civic good. 

• More: Presentation Video  –  Event