Johnson Controls is helping the Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai build the region’s first-of-its-kind smart, healthy and sustainable campus.

This is thanks to a partnership between Johnson Controls and the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body in the integrated free zone technology park.

The platform will facilitate RIT Dubai with real-time monitoring, benchmarking and analysis of energy consumption and demand, deliver real and meaningful sustainability on campus, and reduce operational costs and lower environmental impact.

“Across the world, Johnson Controls helps businesses, governments and global institutions meet ambitious sustainability goals,” said Katie McGinty, vice president at Johnson Controls. “Digitisation is a key enabler for companies and organisations to meet net zero carbon and renewable energy goals. Employing the right technology and talent are two of the most critical factors for success. We are pleased to contribute to the next generation of innovation leaders by giving students the opportunity to learn from the fully open architecture of the Johnson Controls OpenBlue digital platform. Together, we can work to address the decarbonisation of buildings, which represent about 40% of global emissions. It is a win-win. Cutting that energy waste and emissions cuts energy costs as well.”

Johnson Controls is supporting DSOA’s sustainability and carbon emissions reduction efforts through its OpenBlue digital platform. The company will deploy its OpenBlue Enterprise Manager (OBEM) for RIT Dubai’s iconic campus, using artificial intelligence. OBEM will empower campus administrators to analyse field data to help address problems around energy efficiency and optimisation. The digital platform and services for optimising buildings can drive 50% and more in improvement in energy efficiency and corresponding carbon emissions.

These goals are in line with the university’s ambition to attract students and faculty committed to building a net zero economy that serves everyone while being able to teach and learn in the most comfortable, quality environment that operates more intelligently and efficiently. RIT Dubai has around 1000 students and 100 staff members.

“Johnson Controls has been a pioneer in innovation and a leader in technology for more than 135 years,” said Rolando Furlong, vice president at Johnson Controls. “We are proud to partner with Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority and Rochester Institute of Technology of Dubai to drive a new level of sustainability in implementing our OpenBlue healthy building solutions to optimise performance by digitally transforming RIT Dubai’s campus, turning data into insights, and insights into actions that ultimately contribute to the region`s sustainability goals. OpenBlue will help create a state-of-the-art campus to improve learning environments and prepare students to be tomorrow’s innovation leaders.”

Engineer Muammar Khaled Al Katheeri, executive vice president at DSOA, added: “As a testbed for smart cities, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority has always been an early adopter of technology and we always encourage and promote innovations for our region. We hold our partnership with Johnson Controls in high regard and share the same values around sustainability and innovation. The RIT Dubai campus is state of the art with latest technologies incorporated and we look forward to Johnson Controls delivering the smart facility management for this campus utilising cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies.”

And Yousef M Al-Assaf, president of RIT Dubai, said: “Johnson Controls has been working with DSOA at various fronts and has been an integral player in the design and construction of various systems in RIT Dubai’s new campus. We are excited about this partnership between DSOA, RIT Dubai, and Johnson Controls to develop an open ecosystem which will enhance and create opportunities for the community in areas of innovation, creativity and sustainability. Students will have the opportunity to tap into the interactive OpenBlue dashboards from Johnson Controls and thus benefit and learn from the latest in AI-driven analytics on energy efficiency. This partnership will serve as an example of how a university should operate in the future to become a dynamic contender in creating new knowledge, sustainable solutions and connectivity in the region.”

This collaboration is aligned with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. One of the deliverables under the plan is to promote a knowledge and innovation international centre that attracts talent and minds to contribute to the global growth of Dubai. Dubai Silicon Oasis is one of five main urban centres, a science and technology and knowledge hub that drives innovation, digital economy development and talent generation.

DSOA is 100% owned entity by the government of Dubai, and is a free zone that is placed on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed road. Its urban master-planned community spans 7.2km² of office towers, R&D and industrial zones, educational institutions, luxury apartments, villas, hotels, healthcare and a full range of lifestyle facilities which translate into a dynamic commercial and social environment.

Established in 2008, RIT Dubai is a not-for-profit global campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, one of the world’s leading technological-focused universities with a storied 185-year history.