SYMPOSIUM
2025
As it returns for its 2025 edition, the Symposium on Urban Mobility Challenges will dive into a crucial mobility topic: the integration of vehicles and cities. As urban areas grow, the relationship between future vehicles and the cities where they move becomes increasingly complex.
Vehicles are evolving to digital autonomous machines. According to the World Bank, based on data from the UN Population Division (2025), the population líving in urban areas is growing fast. The UN estimates it was back in 2007 when the number of people in urban areas overtook the number in rural settings, and the trend to move from rural areas to cities continues. Today, more than 4 billion people – more than half of the world – live in urban areas.
This year’s event will focus on understanding how future vehicles fit into these growing cities by examining how cities are using data to shape their transport strategies, how impact evaluation is being integrated into decision-making processes, and how innovation plays a pivotal role in developing adaptable, efficient, and sustainable mobility systems.
Bringing together stakeholders from research, industry, and public administration, the symposium will offer a space for reflection and debate. By addressing how innovation is implemented and measured in real contexts, we aim to spark a conversation on how vehicles and cities can coexist more harmoniously, creating future urban environments for all.
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AGENDA
08:45 - 09:00h. Registration
09:00 - 09:15h. Opening Session
Prof. Dr. Lluís Jofre Roca, Academic Director of CARNET (UPC)
Santiago Hermida, Head of Innovation & Benchmarking & Strategy (SEAT)
Alexander Siebeneich, Industrial Director of CARNET (Volkswagen Group Innovation)
09:15 - 09:45h. Keynote Speech
Guido Di Pasquale, Managing Director (Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) Europe)
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09:45 - 10:45h. Usage of Data
Moderator:
Dr. Cecilio Angulo, Full Professor (UPC) - Founder (IDEAI-UPC)
Speakers:
Kishmala Imtiaz, Model Automation Specialist (PTV Group)
Dr. Miquel Estrada, Full Professor (UPC), Member of BIT UPC and CARNET's Academic Committee
Dr. Oliva Garcia Cantu Ros, Chief Research & Development Officer (NOMMON)
Download Roundtable 1 Slides
10:45 - 11:30h. Coffee break
11:30 - 12:30h. City Integration and Evaluation
Moderator:
Cristian Bardají, Director of Mobility Area (RACC)
Speakers:
Soledad Pérez-Galdós Enríquez de Salamanca, Infrastructure and Innovation Coordinator (Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid)
Manuel Crespo, Project Manager (CINESI)
Mariona Conill, Head of the Sustainable Mobility Section at Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB)
Download Roundtable 2 Slides
12:30 - 13:30h. Addressing Innovation
Moderator:
Andrés Monzón, Professor of Transport Engineering (UPM) and CIIMA-UP4 Member
Speakers:
Dr. Christian Schlitzberger, Senior Manager, Connected Energy Systems (Volkswagen Group Innovation)
Willem-Frederik Metzelaar, Head of Innovation Hub West (EIT Urban Mobility)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Vietor, Full-Professor (Technical University of Braunschweig-NFF)
Download Roundtable 3 Slides
13:30 - 13:45h. Closure
Miguel Angel Fernández Ros, Digital Innovation Manager (Telefónica)
Dr. Jordi Berenguer Sau, Vice Chancellor of Transfer, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UPC)
LOCATION
Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Camins, Canals i Ports de Barcelona,
C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, Edifici C2, Sala d'Actes Campus Nord - Edifici C2 Camins
ORGANIZERS & CO-FOUNDERS
