Gerd Leonhard to speak at TRA 2018 – the Digital Era of Transport

Gerd Leonhard: a key speaker at Transport Research Arena 2018 – TRA 2018 - in Vienna in April

International futurist Gerd Leonhard has been confirmed as a key speaker at this year’s 1109 Transport Research Arena 2018 in Vienna in April.

To underline the visionary nature of TRA 2018, Leonhard - author and head of The Futures Agency - will speak at the opening session, exploring the importance of new technologies and the role of humans in the world of today’s digital mobility.

From April 16-19, the 7th Transport Research Arena (TRA 2018) in Vienna will address the biggest international transport challenges including decarbonisation and digitalisation. Held every two years, TRA 2018 will ensure that Austria’s technological expertise regarding future mobility is highlighted for several days, said Austria’s Minister for Innovation and Transport, Norbert Hofer.

This means thinking less about perfection and more about transparency and better coordination. "In order to meet the future transportation needs of urban centres, we need to organise the transport of people and long-term planning for a shared vision of mobility,” he says.

The conference aims to present the latest results of European research and technology
Development to ensure that Europe takes centre stage on these important issues. Also, for the first time, a TRA - High Level Industrial Roundtable will take place to put this topic in the spotlight.

A strong link between research and economic measures is essential, and the TRA 2018 offers a platform for this at the European level, explains Ingolf Schädler, head of innovation and technology at the Federal Ministry for Transport. With the increasing demand for freight and passenger mobility, the transport sector is challenged more than ever to identify new solutions and products quickly and competitively in the face of global competition.

"With TRA 2018, we want to show that Austrian research and industry is up among the European leaders," says Schädler who is also chairman of the event.

All modes of transport will be covered. In addition, the 7,000m² international exhibition will provide additional interactive presentations and demonstrations and feature other highlights of the programme aimed at bringing transport research to life.

Host of TRA 2018 is the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology together with the Austrian Institute of Technology and AustriaTech. It is run in collaboration with the European Commission and a host of leading European transport organisations, policy groups and think tanks in the public and private sectors.

The motto “A Digital Era for Transport” is a fitting focus for the Vienna event, said Herald Ruijters, director for investment, innovative and sustainable transport at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE).

“The European Commission has been a keen supporter of the TRA since its inception in 2006,” he said. “For me, it will be my first time attending the event that covers all modes of transport and their interconnecting activities such as logistics, urban mobility and multimodal traffic management.

“This variety – gathering industry, academia, researchers, policy-makers and users from all modes of transport under one roof – gives the opportunity for attendees to talk not only with his or her peers but to enlarge the dialogue with others who are not easily reachable in daily work,” said Ruijters.

Programme highlights and registration details are available online at <%$Linker:2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external www.traconference.eu/registrationTRA Conference website linkfalsehttps://www.traconference.eu/registration/falsefalse%>.