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Smart City Jena 2025: Between data strategy and participation
2025 was a year in which many things visibly matured for the Jena Smart City project: strategic foundations were adopted, offerings were consolidated and new formats showed how well the exchange between administration, business, science and urban society works in Jena. Time for a look back.
A stable foundation: standardized data management
The work in the area of data management is often not immediately visible, but it ensures that decisions are better justified and processes are more comprehensible. The data strategy was a key milestone: on May 21, 2025, the City Council adopted the municipal data strategy. This created the framework for making the handling of data in the city administration more efficient and responsible. If data is better understood, it can also be better used, for example in decision-making.
Places to get involved: Try it out store and Try it out mobile
The ProbierLaden shows that digitalization in Jena is not just taking place in the background. It was opened back in 2024, has been very well received - including by citizens from the surrounding area - and offers low-threshold access to digital topics: free of charge and without registration. The "ProbierMobil" mobile version will be further expanded in 2026.
JEDI as a hub: specialist groups, exchange and urban development
The JEDI - Jena Digital Innovation Hub - has also been an important meeting place for specialist groups, expert exchange and cooperation since 2024. It has therefore established itself as a venue for various events.
Hack the paradise! 2025: The second hackathon - followed by the third in 2026
Another highlight of the Smart City year was "Hack the paradise!" - the hackathon to shape the digital city. the second hackathon took place in 2025; the first format was held in 2023, and the third hackathon is planned for 2026. On June 13 and 14, 2025, "Hack the paradise!" was all about artificial intelligence. The aim was to activate the city's swarm knowledge and test practical AI applications as prototypes together with developers, students, creatives, data experts, designers and interested citizens.
Digital education: Digital agents and networking are gaining momentum
Important steps were also taken in the area of education and training in 2025. Christoph Voigt has become well established as a digital agent at the three pilot project schools in Jena. The aim is to develop his position into a blueprint that could have an impact beyond Jena in the long term. The committee accompanying the digital agent has come together, meets regularly and provides important impetus for the future by bringing together perspectives from the state level, local authorities, academia, civil society and practice, raising the profile and actively promoting the transfer process. At the same time, school networking was strengthened: around 60 participants came together at the first cross-school networking meeting on digitalization on 8 August 2025 to discuss solutions, learn from each other and build sustainable structures.
There is also a clear need in the early childhood sector: the "Smart daycare centers" training series was launched in 2025 with great interest. Around 140 participants, including around 120 educational professionals, dealt with questions of digital education in everyday daycare at Imaginata - safely, creatively and in an everyday way, including impulses for media education and advice for parents. the training series will continue in 2026.
Digital health: telemedicine room and health apartments
Digitalization 2025 was particularly tangible in the area of health. The telemedicine room was officially opened at the beginning of the year, where consultations for general medicine, surgery and dermatology take place - accessible to all citizens of Jena. At the same time, the prospect of transferring the concept to rural areas in the future was prepared. In addition, the health apartments are continuing to develop: the circle of users is constantly expanding; most recently, day-care patients from the UKJ were admitted alongside day-care inpatients. MDR reported on the healthcare of the future in an extensive report.
Urban development with data: Pedestrian frequency measurement in the pilot phase
In many places, pedestrian flows are still recorded manually, but more precise, continuous data is needed to make developments comprehensible and to better evaluate measures. The aim is to set up a digital infrastructure that can be used to continuously record and analyze pedestrian and visitor flows - as a basis for data-based decisions in urban development, the environment and transport, naturally completely anonymously and without identifying individuals.
Digital sovereignty in practice: cooperation for an open source chat system
A further step towards digital sovereignty was the start of an inter-municipal cooperation with Am Süderprarup for the joint development and procurement of a multifunctional chat system. The aim is a versatile system for various application scenarios - both in external communication with citizens and for internal support of employees.
Well networked and visible: exchange and public relations 2025
Smart City does not end at the city limits. 2025 Jena was present at numerous events and in networks, providing impetus and contributing its own experience, including at
- the 14th Smart Cities/Smart Regions network meeting in Eisenach (impetus for sustainable digitalization)
- Stand program at "Your day in paradise" 2025
- the Data Science Day Jena 2025 on May 14, 2025 in the Rosensäle in Jena (Network. Exchange. Think ahead.)
- the 6th MPSC Congress on 6 and 7 May 2025 in Munich (exchange for sustainable digitalization)
- the 22nd Regional Conference on June 3, 2025 in Halle under the motto "Being smart: Building bridges - using networks"
In addition, Smart City sub-project manager Martin Berger was appointed to the newly founded Municipal Open Source Board, initiated by the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), the Association for Municipal Management (KGSt) and the City of Dortmund - another building block for sharing knowledge, strengthening standards and expanding digital capabilities in the long term.
Outlook for 2026
2025 was not a conclusion, but a strong interim chapter. in 2026, the aim is to further consolidate projects, disseminate results and open up new formats for participation - including the third hackathon, the further development of dashboards and data platform components, the progress of the pedestrian frequency measurement pilot phase and the further expansion of digital education and health services. At the same time, we are still on the home straight: The project will run until August 2027 - which makes it all the more important now to permanently anchor successful approaches and build them up so that they continue to have an impact beyond the funding period.
Do you have any questions about this or any other DigiDo contribution? Feel free to contact us, we look forward to your feedback.
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