Dr. Ronit Purian studies smart cities and the behavioral, social and environmental aspects of digital-urban life. She co-chaired CODATA’s task group to apply data science in smart cities; and collaborates with the industry. She teaches courses on smart cities in Tel Aviv University, where she got her BA and MA in Psychology, and PhD in information systems and technology management; and coordinated research in different faculties, including TAU City Center – Tel Aviv University Research Center for Cities and Urbanism. In the course “Big Data Ethics in the Smart City” she carried out the development of accessibility maps for route planning. Other courses (in English): “Smart Cities” at TAU International; “Transitioning to Smart City Growth” on system design and urban challenges that shape innovation, and “Making the City Smart: Topics in Urban Transformation” on urban technologies, both at the Hebrew University MA program in Smart Cities and Urban Informatics.

Following her professional experience as a journalist at Israel's top newspapers, her courses and papers cover a range of civic and technological topics, proposing a theory on urban and digital identities.