Insofar as the European Union has highlighted the potential synergies between education and training policies and innovation policies, it is intriguing to ask whether such a fashionable policy as smart cities eventually produces synergies with VET systems. The EU has circulated a narrative that associates ideas of ‘innovation union’ and the ‘European Education Area’. The literature on smart cities has expanded the range of the concept so that currently smart cities make reference to IT urban solutions (lighting, mobility, waste management) as well as to educational and social services. Significantly, the literature on VET has also expanded the range of the concept so that it takes educational and employment policies into account. Drawing on recent conversations between two research teams in order to develop a comparative research, the paper will elaborate on the possible synergies (as well as the possible contradictions) that smart city policies may produce in two cities (Barcelona and Lisbon) that are located in regions that EUROSTAT does not classify as innovation leaders. This exploration will draw on a discourse analysis of the documentation issued by the EU, the member states and the local governments as well as on the messages on both smart city projects in social media.

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