Briefing note: Ford Fund Smart Mobility Challenge Awards Ceremony
On June 17, the presentation and publication session of the winners in the Ford Fund Smart Mobility Challenge took place. Funded by the Ford Foundation and organized by TRANSyT-UPM, this competition sought to recognize and financially support the development of innovative projects that addressed in a tangible way a current problem of mobility in cities. The competition was open to all students of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Among all the proposals received, 5 projects were shortlisted that have been defended before the jury constituted by: Deborah Chennells, Ford Fund; Macarena Benitez, Ford; Jose Perez, Ford; Dolores Ortiz, Madrid City Council, José Manuel Vassallo, TRANSYT, UPM; Rosa M. Arce, TRANSYT, UPM.
After the evaluation of the members of the jury, the 3 winning projects were announced. These 3 teams will receive financial aid to develop the respective projects and support their implementation. In particular, the amount of the aid amounts to € 12,500 for the best proposal and € 5,000 for the other two.
The winning projects are:
- Best proposal: Urban Add-Ons. Project developed by the students Blanca Barragán Urbiola, Elisa Pozo Menéndez and María Teresa Baquero Larriva. This initiative aims to improve the mobility of the elderly from devices placed in urban furniture.
- Walknet: proposal presented by students José Carpio Pinedo and Manuel Benito Moreno. The project consists of the creation of a new tool that facilitates the decision-making process in active mobility thanks to the use of micro data on land uses.
- WeShall: project developed by the students Caio Felipe Bosco Santos and Rafael Kenzo Ishimoto. These students have devised an application that serves to connect people with mobility problems with people willing to help them voluntarily.