Do you think an important need or issue related to training and education in urban mobility is missing? We primarily look for needs and issues that the EIT Urban Mobility Academy is able to address. This may be education within a specific area for a specific target group, a demand for cheaper and more efficient training, lack of innovation capabilities etc.
Make a suggestion as a comment below. Try to explain the need or issue being as concrete and succinct as possible. Add references and links when appropriate. If we think the suggested topic is of general interest and in line with the scope of EIT Urban Mobility it may be posted as a separate new area.
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EIT Urban Mobility Academy Calls 
How does (electrified) micromobility such as bicycles, scooters, and skateboards fit in to the urban streetscape?
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Agreed.
We´ve heard a lot about cities who did poorly at managing micromobility, i.e. electric scooters (among many examples: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/15/invasion-electric-scooter-backlash /// https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/30/tech/scooter-management/index.html)
But do you have examples of cities who have integrated micromobility offers successfully / With limited backlash coming from citizens?
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Agreed!
Recently, we´ve had many examples of cities dealing poorly with new micromibility offers, i.e. electric scooters,(among many articles):
– https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/15/invasion-electric-scooter-backlash
– https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/30/tech/scooter-management/index.html
But do you have example of cities who have dealt successfully and integrated these new forms of transport with little to no backlash from citizens?
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Interesting news here “Spain announces plans for flying taxi service in Barcelona”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/05/spain-announces-plans-flying-taxi-service-barcelona
Urban mobility taken to the skies, is this the future? One can think of the many regulatory hurdles, but which education and training challenges does this bring?
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I suppose a remaining challenge in cities is to design and plan mobility with a gender perspective, understanding the different mobility patterns and needs of diverse socio-economic groups. Moreover, planning mobility with a view of vulnerable groups can open up a diverse range of solutions that otherwise may have not been considered.
E.g. a study on care-related travel data in Madrid found that ‘care was the single and foremost purpose of travel for women, in much the same way as employment is the main purpose of men’s travel’. Understanding this and many other issues can considerably affect how we plan cities.
Addressing this from an educational perspective is fundamental to support urban mobility planners to understand these issues and empower them with the right tools to respond to them.
Some resources:
Click to access sump_topic-guide_gender-equity_vulnerable-groups_final.pdf
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41104077-invisible-women
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One of the most important issue to be addressed is the “multi-stakeholders collaboration”. This lacks in public organisations. This lack creates “silo” problems, whereas our cities need more and more multi stakeholders collaboration in order to carry on a systemic approach to meet their challenges. As Academy, therefore, I’d propose training based on stakeholders theories. Literature demonstrates that stakeholders’ collaboration is a requirement for sustainable development (McKinsey&Company, 2013). A participatory approach and interaction between stakeholders in the community is needed to successfully manage sustainable development (Leeb & Rudeberg, 2014).
Multi-stakeholders collaboration could be therefore the key to such a transformation, as it is critical to achieving sustainable urban mobility (UN, 2016).
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One need expressed in a meeting the other day was that the universities do far too little regarding building or facilitates the building of a solid and lasting network within relevant ecosystem stakeholders on an individual level for the students. In this particular case this was expressed in different ways by students now starting own companies or working in more entrepreneurial settings. Is it so that we focus too much on learning outcomes and too little in preparing the students for post-degree activities and their professional life? Is this really the task of the university? In any case this could be of a significant value for the student, and if done in a correct way maybe not too heavy for the university/teachers to offer? How could this be targeted and measured?
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We need to provide a “highway” for universities and students to move closer to the market and to commercialize their solutions and ideas in service of society. Europe will only gain if it builds an international network of pre-accelerators and incubators within the university ecosystems that support and encourages innovation and entrepreneurship across all faculties and national borders. Education and HEIs can play a real role in providing entrepreneurship and innovation courses and opportunities for all students at different stages of their study in a lean and fast way.
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Some reflections regarding the above and relevance for the 2022 Academy call:
– Specific topics such as micro mobility etc can be covered by the existing 2021 activities for the Competence Hub in cooperation with partners and there’s no reason to postpone this until 2022 if relevant now.
– Regarding gender, diversity and inclusion we plan in 2021 to run a course regarding female entrepreneurship in urban mobility. Also the coming 2021 Master School Summer School (open also to young professionals) cover parts of this area. The topic as such is very important and should be integrated in a number of activities/courses within the Academy. To make a study is however beyond the scope of the Academy and need be handled elsewhere within the KIC (Citizen Engagement?).
– Multi stakeholder collaboration is a critical enabler and could be an interesting topic to cover cross the three Academy segments in 2021 and 2022. This could be a specific request in the 2022 call. In a similar way the Network building can be treated. Both as separate course initiatives but also as an integrated part of the training within the Master School, the Doctoral Training Network and the Competence Hub.
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These are really interesting points. Some additional comments on the reflections above: I think it’s key to approach urban mobility as a multifaced issue in terms of gender, diversity, and inclusion. For example, there are interesting studies on how mobility patterns can be influenced by gender and mobility reasons (e.g. going to an office, leaving the kids at the school, taking care of older people). Taking this into consideration impacts, for example, what and how data is collected (e.g. gender-segregated data). As for the multistakeholder collaboration: How could be civil society involved? For example, there are many urban biking associations that have been advocating for changes in urban mobility. Some of them have excellent skills (e.g. some are urban planners), extensive experience, the ability to reach a critical mass, and a solid network (e.g. with the public administration). Also, there is a need for skilled mediators between stakeholders and therefore mediation becomes a crucial skill to learn. Finally, how is impact measured? I think an important impact factor is the extent to which expertise in urban mobility can influence public policy making. For example, some cities rely on “evidence-based policy making” therefore understanding public policy making and what constitutes “evidence” might be interesting topics within an educational programme in urban moblity
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The topics of ‘transitions to sustainable urban mobility’ and ‘sustainable urban mobility planning’ are increasing well researched. There is an urgent need to disseminate conceptual and empirical findings related to these topics with policy-makers and practitioners across Europe and beyond through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) methods and materials. ‘Translating’ academic knowledge related to these topics into a suitable format adapted to relevant policy-makers, experts and practitioners is paramount to ensure that these areas of research generate an impact beyond academia. Policy-makers and practitioners can gain a unique perspective by understanding urban mobility evolutionary patterns, socio-technical transition issues, correlated opportunities to leapfrog through innovation (technological and societal), and innovative planning processes. Ensuring that scientific knowledge related to these issues is shared with a wide range of policy-makers and practitioners is critical to achieve a green and sustainable transition in urban areas in Europe and beyond.
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