EIT Urban Mobility was glad to participate in this year’s Smart Country Convention (SCCON), Germany’s leading event for the digital transformation of the public sector, from 15 to 17 October in Berlin. The three-day event, which attracted over 18,000 participants and featured more than 650 speakers, brought together experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore and discuss the latest innovations shaping the future of cities and public services.
Shaping the future of urban mobility at Smart Country Convention
Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, participated in a key panel titled ‘Innovative Technologies for the Mobility Transition: Autonomous Driving and Digitalisation in Urban and Rural Areas’, on the first day of the event. During the session, she was also joined by Thomas Drewes, Head of Autonomous Driving at Deutsche Bahn; and Olaf Zinne, Head Government and Public Affairs (Germany) at Enterprise Mobility; to discuss the transformative power of autonomous driving technologies and how digitalisation is bridging the gap between urban and rural mobility. Their conversation focused on the integration of these technologies, highlighting best practices from other countries and the steps needed to overcome challenges while promoting smarter and safer transportation systems.
Empowering mobility through data
Later in the day, EIT Urban Mobility hosted a session on ‘The Use of Data and Data Spaces for Innovations in Urban Mobility’, moderated by Judith O’Meara, Director of Innovation Hub Central. Co-organised with Mobility Data Space (MDS), we looked at successful projects as well as the challenges that we face, and discussed the prospects for close cooperation between the public and private sector in Europe. All this to unlock the potential of accessing, pooling, and sharing data for a more sustainable mobility in our cities. The session included experts such as Killian Maier, Stakeholder Manager at MDS; Anna-Lena Sohl, Head of Market Access DACH at Vianova; and Dr. Patrick Dittmer, Referent at Behörde für Verkehr und Mobilitätswende (BVM – City of Hamburg).
Fostering collaboration and innovation
SCCON 2024 provided a unique platform for networking and knowledge exchange, bringing together leaders from various sectors. EIT Urban Mobility used this moment to not only showcase its innovative projects but also to foster partnerships and discuss future collaboration opportunities with representatives from local governments, tech companies, and mobility experts. We were thrilled to have the chance to expand our network and meet with Claire Piqueret Rose, Head of Smart Cities & Regions at aconium GmbH, Moritz Stober, Director Business Development at MDS, Linda Ozola, Vice Mayor of the City of Riga, as well as the Managing Director of Vefresh, Viesturs Celmiņš.
We look forward to continuing the conversation and collaborating on future projects!
