Sylvie Albert

Dr. Sylvie Albert is a Professor of Strategy and Leadership at the University of Winnipeg, former Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, and past Associate Dean of Laurentian University's Faculty of Management. With 15 years in academia, she has extensive experience in municipal/provincial governance, management consulting, and economic development. A leading expert in smart cities and digital urban innovation, her work bridges academia, policy, and practice through roles like Senior Advisor to Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge and lead jurist for the Intelligent Community Forum. Her research focuses on sustainable urban development, digital governance, and community telecommunication networks, informed by activism on local-to-international boards and think tanks. She is authoring her fourth book on smart cities and has led projects nationwide through her consultancy, Planned Approach Inc.

Education & Experience:

• 12 years in government roles
• 10 years in management consulting
• Founder/owner of Planned Approach Inc. (economic development consulting)
• Leadership roles in Northern Ontario economic development corporations

Research Interests:

Her interdisciplinary work examines strategy development, entrepreneurship, innovation ecosystems, and the intersection of digitalization with urban policy. Key themes include:

• Smart/intelligent/sustainable city frameworks
• Community wireless networks and ICT adoption
• Online learning pedagogy in business education
• Labour market barriers for immigrant professionals

Grants & Advising:

Her advisory contributions include:

• Global Forum on Digitalization in Europe (yearly participation)
• Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge (Senior Advisor)
• UN Voluntary Local Reviews methodology development

Her consultancy work emphasizes economic development projects and smart community planning across Canada.

Labs & Collaborations:

Engaged with global networks like the Intelligent Community Forum and cross-sectoral partnerships to advance urban innovation, digital equity, and participatory governance models.