October’s Portal highlights feature a deep dive into the latest policy briefs, tools to set up smart cities, a new course on open-source software, and a reminder to register soon to the upcoming Portal User Group Meeting.
Read the article to discover what’s in the spotlight this month!
New policy briefs
The Interoperable Europe Academy has recently released four new peer-learning policy briefs.
The goal is to provide information on a series of solutions and discover how they help solve some of the challenges encountered by local, regional and national public administrations. Explore the latest published policy briefs below!
European Local Digital Twin Toolbox
The Portal hosts many resources linked to smart cities, including related policy briefs (Getting started with setting up a smart city, How-to guide for implementing local digital twins). A recent addition is the European Local Digital Twin Toolbox, a European Commission initiative providing tools to help cities and communities simulate, analyse, and plan urban environments more effectively.
A Local Digital Twin is a virtual model of a city built from real-time and historical data to better understand and design urban spaces. Focused on interoperability, openness, and scalability, the Toolbox supports simulation to anticipate challenges and co-create smarter solutions.
The Toolbox is designed for municipalities of all digital maturity levels, ensuring that even smaller communities can fully participate in Europe’s twin transition towards a green and digital transformation.
New course on open-source software for EU public administrations
The newly introduced “Open Source Software for EU Public Administrations” eLearning course covers various open-source software in three modules (each with a duration of 30 minutes), including:
-
Fundamentals of open-source software in the EU context;
-
Open-source governance models, including the role of Open Source Programme Offices and communities;
-
Practical application of open-source software, including knowledge on licensing, procurement and funding strategies in open source.
At the end of each module, learners can take a short quiz to assess their understanding and obtain a certificate of completion. Whether you're exploring open-source solutions, studying or researching EU affairs or public policy, active in the open-source community, or shaping policy at the EU, national, regional, or local level, this course is designed for you.
Register to the Portal’s upcoming User Group Meeting
All Portal users are invited to our User Group Meeting that is taking place on Thursday 6 November 2025, from 14:00 to 15:00 CET. This session offers an opportunity to learn about the latest developments on the Portal, exchange experiences with other users, and share your feedback to help improve the platform.
Guest speakers Claudia Oliveira, Ifigeniya Stoilova and Eleonora Bonel will present notable Portal spaces supporting the Interoperable Europe Act: the Interoperable Europe Board, the Interoperable Europe Community and the Interoperability Regulatory Sandboxes.
Don’t miss the opportunity to find out what’s new and what’s coming to the Portal. And, most importantly, to be the one shaping the future of the Portal.