Successful launch of EIT Urban Mobility in Barcelona to transform Europe’s cities into liveable spaces

On 19 November EIT Urban Mobility celebrated its Inauguration Event at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. The event represented the official start of this EIT Innovation Community, which aims to facilitate and fund the collaboration of cities, companies, knowledge and research institutes to create mobility solutions that will accelerate the transition towards more liveable urban spaces.

Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, said: “EIT Urban Mobility will improve the quality of life in cities, and have a positive impact on climate and economies. After a year of setting up our operations,  we are now ready to kick off and turn plans into reality. We are ready to make a difference and to work towards making our cities more liveable for all citizens”.

Prior to the official inauguration event, a high-level dialogue of EIT Urban Mobility was held, offering the stage to the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala and the President of SEAT, Luca de Meo.

Subsequently, the celebration of the official inauguration took place, with approximately 150 participants. Inspiring opening speeches were given by the CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, Maria Tsavachidis, the coordinator of EIT Urban Mobility, Luís Gómez, the Rector of UPC, Francesc Torres, the Head of the European Commission representation in Barcelona, Ferran Tarradellas and the EIT Head of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Alice Fišer.  This was followed by an interactive panel discussion with high level speakers representing the EIT Urban Mobility community, from universities, knowledge institutes, cities and industry. You can find all details of the event here.

The Inauguration Event marked a significant milestone for our partnership, representing the start of our acitvities to educate and inspire mobility solutions for 21^st century cities.

Business Creation aims to become the reference in the market for transforming innovative mobility projects into the most successful business models through the creation of start-ups or the scaling up of existing businesses.

The EIT Urban Mobility Business Creation team is looking for exceptional proposals to launch and drive the following activities in 2020:

1. Accelerator programme
   (Open for EIT Urban Mobility partners of Innovation Hubs North and West* only):
   • Support for start-ups working on innovative mobility solutions
   • Business coaching, training and mentoring
   • Access to living labs and cities for the creation of new products and services
   • Technology and market validation, product-market fit, access to customers
   • Access to financial investors and funds
   • Co-working spaces
   • Use of local ecosystems/infrastructure/accelerators to drive growth and internationalisation
2. Scale-up Club
   (Open for all EIT Urban Mobility partners)
   The scale-up package includes:
   • Access to end-users of innovation
   • International pilot customer
   • Landing pad for internationalisation
   • Support in dealing with regulation and country-specific administration
3. GoGlobal
   (Open for all EIT Urban Mobility partners)
   Enabling global outreach and business opportunities, which includes:
   • Organisation of travel opportunities for urban mobility start-ups and scale-ups looking to internationalise
   • Welcoming start-ups and scale-ups targeting Europe
   • Facilitation of attendance at third-party events such as a Smart City Congress

You can find the links to the guidelines and submission templates for the different activities below.

1. Accelerator programme
   (Open for EIT Urban Mobility partners of Innovation Hubs North and West* only):
   • Call submission template and guidelines Accelerator Programme Innovation Hub partners North and West
2. Scale-up Club
   (Open for all EIT Urban Mobility partners)
   • Overview EIT Urban Mobility Scale-up Club 2020
   • Call submission template and guidelines Scale-up Club EIT Urban Mobility partners
3. GoGlobal
   (Open for all EIT Urban Mobility partners)
   • Overview EIT Urban Mobility GoGlobal 2020
   • Call submission template and guidelines GoGlobal EIT Urban Mobility partners

You are invited to submit full proposals to call2020@eiturbanmobility.eu, using the templates, by 12 November 2019. Evaluation via independent experts will take place from 13 November 2019 to 27 November 2019. Results will be reviewed by the interim Management Team (with conflicted members abstaining) and results will be communicated early December.

EIT Urban Mobility is pleased to welcome you to our Inauguration Event, which will take place on 19 November at the Central Agora of the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

This Inauguration Event is a key moment for EIT Urban Mobility as it represents the official launch of our Innovation Community.

Do you want to be part of our launch event and get inspired, connect with us and meet peers and high-level stakeholders from the urban mobility innovation ecosystem? Come and join us!

We will offer you a complete programme with inspirational discussions, high-level speakers and networking opportunities.

Motivating opening speeches will be given by Luís Gómez, Coordinator of EIT Urban Mobility, Francesc Torres, Rector at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Ferran Tarradellas, Head of the European Commission representation in Barcelona, Alice Fišer, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility.

Challenging questions will be discussed during a dynamic panel debate among high-level experts from cities, industry, universities, research and the European Commission. Panellists include Emanuel Forest, Board Member of the European Commission’s “Mission on climate-neutral and smart cities”, Manuel Valdés, Infrastructures and Mobility Deputy Manager at the City of Barcelona,  Lucas Casasnovas, Head of Urban Mobility at SEAT, Uwe Clausen, Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics and Head of the Institute for Transport Logistics, University Dortmund and Muriel Beser Hugosson, Head of the School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

To close the event, all attendees are invited to stay and enjoy the networking cocktail until 19.30h.

Please note that  an Expo pass of the Smart City Expo World Congress is required to be able to access the location of the inauguration event. You don’t need to register to attend the event. Seats will be available at a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information:

• Download the information package, including the programme and practical information here

• You can find the biographies of all our speakers here

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Do you have questions or want to learn more about EIT Urban Mobility, its vision, mission and activities?
Come and visit us at the EIT Urban Mobility stand, which is part of the booth of the Barcelona City Council, at the Smart City Expo World Congress – Booth C 367 – Hall 2. Please find a detailed map on the last page of the info package for information regarding its location.

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Are you passionate about urban mobility and making our cities more liveable? Do you want to work in a dynamic, international working environment with Europe’s top-class universities, research centres, industry and cities?

Join our team and help us to become the largest European initiative transforming urban mobility.

We stand for high level of professionalism and efficiency and are looking for staff members that contribute to making EIT Urban Mobility an inspiring and rewarding organisation to work, with a strong team spirit.

Below you can find the list of the 13 professionals we are hiring with links to respective vacancy postings. 

1. City Club Director
2. Academy Director
3. Innovation Director
4. Business Creation Director
5. Factory Director
6. Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
7. Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Manager
8. Innovation Hub Central Director
9. Innovation Hub Director East
10. Innovation Hub North Director
11. Innovation Hub South Director
12. Innovation Hub West Director
13. Head of Finance

Publication Date: 15/06/2019

InnovaCity is a project of EIT Urban Mobility, which took place between April and June 2019, offering a challenge-based learning opportunity for professionals from cities, start-ups and corporates.

During EIT Urban Mobility’s InnovaCity programme, 90 employees from municipalities, start-ups and corporates came together in three local hubs in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Munich and Barcelona to learn how to solve urban mobility challenges in a user-centered way while getting to know the main stakeholders in this area.

The InnovaCity trainings were undertaken by three leading engineering schools in Europe in close collaboration with the three cities, namely with the Technion, the Technical University of Munich and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

In the local hubs, participants worked in cross-sector teams to tackle prevailing challenges, prototyping viable solutions and finally pitching their results in front of a panel of experts.

In collaboration with EcoMotion, the winning teams from each location were offered a travel stipend to visit the global event in Tel Aviv-Yafo, the EcoMotion Fair, a global start-up fair for Urban Mobility.

There, the three local winning teams had to pitch their ideas to a professional jury. The winner of the competition was the team from Tel-Aviv (see photo). Congratulations!

For more information, please visit the InnovaCity website https://eit.cdtm.de/urban-mobility/

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) today officially presented its two newest Innovation Communities: EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility.

Publication Date: 24/01/2019

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Together with some of their  leading  partners: TomTom, COMAU, Siemens, CEA, Czech Technical University Prague, Technical University of Vienna, and the City of Barcelona, they offered a glimpse of what society could look like in 15 years. A society with a sustainable, resource‐efficient, digital and above all competitive  manufacturing industry. One that contributes to a circular economy and allows for growth, with different  types of job opportunities for a diverse, highly qualified workforce. Where logistics and traffic are smart-managed. Where people use highly efficient modes of electric, shared or individualised and on‐demand  (public) transport. Where cities provide more space for living, walking and playing. Where no one worries  about air quality, traffic jams or finding a parking spot.

Is this what Europe will look like in 15 years? One thing is for sure; impact like this is precisely what the EIT aims for.

Gioia Ghezzi, Member of the EIT Governing Board, said: ‘I’m thrilled to be presenting our two new Innovation  Communities  that  will find  solutions  to  these  crucial  global  challenges  and  will  effectively  contribute  to  the  industrial revolution needed to build a sustainable world. They are great examples of what the EIT strives for:  stimulating  tangible innovations by bringing  together business, education and  research with concrete impact  that ultimately create better, sustainable lives for citizens across Europe.’ 

70 % of Europeans live in urban areas, and urban mobility accounts for 40 % of all CO2 emissions of road transport. Congestion across the EU is often located in and around urban areas and costs nearly EUR 100 billion, or 1 % of the EU’s GDP, annually.

Maria  Tsavachidis,  CEO  of  EIT  Urban  Mobility,  commented:  ‘The  current  mobility  model  is  simply  not  sustainable. To change it, we need solutions to a number of key challenges – decongestion, sustainable urban  growth and eco‐efficient  transport. We need  to do it now, by deploying and scaling  technologies, by pushing  change  in  regulations  and  infrastructure.  Citizens  must  also  be  given  a  voice  and  an  active  role  in  the  transformation of the urban mobility ecosystem to explore innovative solutions together. We want to reclaim  the public space for what the ancient Greeks used to call the “agora” functions: living, working and meeting.
 This is exactly what we will achieve with EIT Urban Mobility: making our cities more liveable for citizens.’

In the EU, the manufacturing sector employs close to 30 million people in 2.1 million enterprises and accounts  for  close  to  20%  of  the  GDP  on  average.  However,  the  manufacturing  industry  is  under  pressure  from  a  number of factors, varying from rapid technological advancements to the need for a more circular economy.  

‘If  we  want  to  create  sustainable  growth  in  the  European  manufacturing  sector,  we  need  to  innovate  and  embrace industry 4.0. Such a shift requires investment and education’, says Prof. George Chryssolouris from the  University of Patras, EIT Manufacturing’s key coordinating partner. ‘The EIT’s innovation model is perfect for  this:  by  bringing  together  business, industry,  research  and education  as well  as  the  public  sector, it  not  only  acts as a catalyst for change, but also creates new investments and opportunities. There’s no other initiative  like the EIT in the world.’

Publication Date: 06/12/2018

Two dynamic new partnerships join Europe’s largest innovation network. They will bring Europe’s innovators together to create a better and more sustainable future for citizens.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has announced the winning teams that will set up Innovation Communities: EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility. These two pan-European partnerships bring together leading organisations from business, education, research and the public sector to tackle challenges through innovation and contribute to sustainable growth and job creation across Europe.

Following the decision of the EIT Governing Board, its Chairman, Dirk Jan van den Berg, said: ‘On behalf of the entire EIT Community, congratulations to the two winning teams! The EIT now has eight Innovation Communities, increasing our reach and ability to empower innovators in Europe. I am thrilled with this exciting milestone for the EIT – fittingly happening 10 years after Europe’s one-stop shop for innovation was set up.’  

Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, responsible for the EIT, welcomed the announcement: ‘I am very pleased to see two new EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities selected. The EIT’s unique, education-focused approach to boosting innovation, will now create even more opportunities for talented entrepreneurs and students across the EU. This is essential for us to find innovative solutions to the pressing challenges of added value manufacturing and urban mobility – and help us build a resilient, competitive Europe.’

During EIT Urban Mobility’s InnovaCity 90 employees from Municipalities, Start-ups and Corporates will come together in three local hubs to learn how to solve urban mobility challenges in a user-centered way while getting to know the main stakeholders in this area.

In the local hubs, participants will be working in cross-sector teams to tackle prevailing challenges, prototyping viable solutions and finally pitching their results in front of a panel of experts. The winning teams from each location will then be offered a travel stipend to visit the global event in Tel Aviv-Yafo in collaboration with EcoMotion a global start-up fair for Urban Mobility.

The local hubs will take place in Tel Aviv-Yafo in collaboration with the Technion, in Munich in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich and in Barcelona in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

Do you want to learn the tools you need in order to make urban mobility better for all, while tackling a real world challenge and get to know all stakeholders?