We are proud to announce that 16 new RIS Education projects have been selected following the RIS Education call launched in June 2025.

The call attracted strong interest, with 62 proposals submitted by organisations from over 20 countries. This response further strengthens the programme’s geographical and thematic reach across the RIS region. The newly supported projects span almost the entire region and, for the first time, include educational initiatives implemented in some of the Balkan countries such as Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, expanding the portfolio to new national contexts.

From a content perspective, the projects cover multiple focus areas. Planned activities include winter and summer schools on innovation and entrepreneurship for Urban Mobility, alongside training programmes dedicated to, for example, achieving Vision2Zero, evaluating the impact of street experiments, or building resilient mobility systems in the face of natural disasters.

The selected projects are designed to engage a wide variety of participant groups. Their activities address the needs of young women, students and professionals from both industry and municipal administrations, thereby contributing to the integration of education, research and innovation across different stakeholder communities.

RIS Education Call selected projects:

1. CityMinds 2

CityMinds 2 proposes an innovative summer school curricula designed to cultivate entrepreneurship and foster disruptive thinking in smart urban mobility and city logistics. It aims to equip undergraduate students with the critical skills and knowledge needed to conceive and develop impactful smart urban mobility solutions that contribute to more liveable and sustainable urban environments.

• Partners: CENTRE FOR RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY HELLAS.
• Country: Greece.

2. CYBER-RAIL

The CYBER-RAIL project will deliver hands-on cybersecurity training to public transport staff in underserved regions across Europe. Focusing on urban rail systems such as trams and metro networks, the programme will help workers understand and prevent digital threats affecting everyday transport services.

• Partners: CyWeTa Ltd., Institute for Regional Development
• Country: Czechia

3. YOUth2visionZERO

YOUth2visionZERO will co-create and pilot the first Vision Zero training tailored to this group, combining behavioural science, survivor testimonies, simulations, and intergenerational learning. Delivered through the Safe Mobility Park and schools, the three-module curriculum will build risk awareness, safe e-scooter and cycling skills, and civic responsibility.

• Partners: Municipality of Ljubljana, Safe Journey Institute, Simbioza Genesis
• Country: Slovenia

4. GAMEMOB

GAMEMOB is an educational initiative that uses virtual reality and game-based learning to teach road safety and sustainable mobility to primary and secondary school students. By combining an interactive digital game with real-life traffic education parks and teacher training, the project will offer an engaging and inclusive learning experience. GAMEMOB will empower teachers with new tools, motivate students to learn through play, and help cities promote safe and sustainable travel habits from an early age.

• Partners: ANAPTYXIAKO KENTRO THESSALIAS, Directorate of Primary Education of Trikala, University of Niš
• Countries: Greece, Serbia

5. GIRLS MOVE LAB

GIRLS MOVE LAB will empower youth in Korçë, Albania, to address mobility challenges through a 12-month lab-based education and entrepreneurship programme. The project will establish five labs (maker, digital, living, knowledge exchange, hackathon) and train 75 participants (≥60% girls) in a 10-week rotation, delivering 15+ prototypes, 5 pilots, and 3 validated startups.

• Partners: Fan S. Noli University, Municipality of Korca
• Country: Albania

6. SheCreatesChange

The SheCreatesChange project will build capacity in innovation and entrepreneurship by addressing gender gaps in urban mobility across RIS regions. The project will equip girls and women with technical, creative, and leadership skills to act as future innovators and change-makers, advancing diversity and inclusion in the mobility ecosystem.

• Partners: Erkon Ltd, Entrepreneurship Centre of Krapina Zagorje County Ltd.
• Country: Croatia

7. ChargeUp 2.0

ChargeUp Summer School 2.0 in Croatia will contribute to closing the knowledge gap within the area of energy efficient urban mobility by raising the abilities of RIS students to implement and leverage new technologies, additionally strengthening their capacities to act as innovators and entrepreneurs with greater social awareness. It is designed as a combination of a challenge-based courses and study trips.

• Partners: North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency, Erkon Ltd
• Country: Croatia

8. MobiLLITY

MobiLLITY will address the skills gap in RIS regions, where cities generate vast amounts of unstructured data but professionals lack the tools to use it effectively. It will introduce Large Language Models (LLMs) into mobility training for the first time in RIS regions. The project will prepare the ground for tailored workshops for cities and companies as a sustainability pathway.

• Partners: xval.ai, FACTUAL
• Country: Portugal, Spain

9. CityMakers

CityMakers is a 12-month education and mentoring project that will turn teenagers and young professionals into city problem-solvers. Through a two-track pathway, they will design and test solutions for everyday transport problems. A public Demo Day will showcase working prototypes and connects teams with employers and local authorities.

• Partners: Digital Fabrication Laboratory – FabLab B&H, University Sarajevo School of Science and Technology
• Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

10. UrbanMinds

UrbanMinds is a 12-month cross-country capacity-building programme in Bulgaria and Malta that will address the lack of applied innovation and entrepreneurship skills in sustainable urban mobility across RIS regions. By bridging academia, industry, government, and civil society, UrbanMinds will close the knowledge gap, raise awareness of mobility career paths, and build a future-ready workforce driving sustainable urban transformation.

• Partners: Cleantech Bulgaria, Acceler8 Limited, Sofia Urban Mobility Centre, Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works
• Country: Bulgaria, Malta

11. EO2DigitalTwin

This project will equip municipalities and young professionals with skills to plan for floods, drought, and wildfires. Over twelve months, participants will learn to turn maps and data into living models that help cities prepare for emergencies and protect communities. The training will bring together universities, a technology company, and the Marmara Municipalities Union to combine knowledge, innovation, and local needs.

• Partners: VATUT TECHNOLOGY INC., Marmara Municipalities Union
• Country: Türkiye

12. PACE

PACE programme, Promoting Active Cities in Europe, will address the urgent need to accelerate the transition towards safer and more inclusive active mobility in RIS regions. Cities across Southern and Eastern Europe are growing and investing in walking, cycling, and micromobility, but progress is uneven among cities, and many municipalities can benefit from additional tools and expertise to ensure that investments are safe, accessible, and sustainable.

• Partners: FACTUAL, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Metropolitan Development Agency of Thessaloniki
• Country: Spain, Greece

13. STEPS

STEPS will create an ecosystem of startups developing advanced assessment tools to measure the success of street transformation implementations, supporting the Reclaiming Streets Programme of the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU). An open call, delivered with Yıldız Teknopark, will attract innovators whose assessment tools will be piloted alongside MMU’s work with cities to improve pedestrian infrastructure, support active mobility, and enhance road safety.

• Partners: Marmara Municipalities Union, Superpool, YTU Yildiz Technopark
• Country: Türkiye

14. Innov4Mobility

The Innov4Mobility RIS Summer School is an intensive and immersive learning programme designed to equip bachelor students and recent graduates with the skills to address pressing urban mobility challenges from an entrepreneurial perspective. Hosted in Aveiro, Portugal, the programme will bring participants together to work on real urban mobility challenges currently faced by European cities, engaging with decision makers from municipalities, industry leaders, startups, and other key stakeholders.

• Partners: BGI, S.A., Technical University of Berlin
• Country: Portugal, Germany

15. Urban Futures Symposium

Urban Future Symposium will bridge the gap between regional stakeholders and bringing them together to co-create a common educational agenda for mobility and innovation. The project aims to deliver a regional strategy built by a cross-border network with practical resources that can be scaled across nations. Leveraging Cyprus as a pilot site with neighboring regions allows us to validate the effectiveness through peer learning, policy dialogues, workshops, and more.

• Partner: SocialTech Lab
• Country: Cyprus

16. MobiScale

MobiScale Incubator is the first Central and Eastern Europe program fully dedicated to mobility and transport innovation. It will support early-stage founders and professionals in turning ideas into real products through a three-phase pathway: an entrepreneurship program, an idea incubator, and an accelerator. Participants will receive hands-on guidance from experienced founders and industry mentors to validate real market problems, build MVPs, and access pilot projects with business partners.

• Partner: BEDNARZ Ventures
• Country: Poland

The RIS Education programme continues to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship capacity across the RIS region, supporting the transition towards sustainable urban mobility in Europe.