CIPTEC partners met in the Christmas-decorated city of Frankfurt, where Frankfurt’s Local Public Transport Authority, TraffiQ, hosted the second project meeting of CIPTEC from 25th until 27th of November.
The CIPTEC project meeting was opened with the welcome speeches of TraffiQ’s CEO, Mr. Hans-Jörg v. Berlepsch, the Divisional Head of Marketing & Mobility Research, Mr. Winfried Schmitz, the Senior Project Manager Sales & European Projects, Mr. Michael Dewes and the CIPTEC Project Coordinator, Prof. Aristotelis Naniopoulos (AUTh/TSRG).
The partners continued with the technical discussions on the progress of the project work packages, e.g. the Analysis of market & societal trends and needs of involved parties in Public Transport sector, the Mapping & Evaluation of Existing Innovative Services and Practices, the Development of innovative concepts in the public transport sector by means of collective intelligence, the Advanced Marketing Research and Consumer Experimentation, and the Development of the “Toolbox for Public Transport Innovation.
In Frankfurt’s meeting the Experts Advisory Board (EAB) of the CIPTEC project was introduced for the first time by one of its permanent members, Dr. Stavros Sindakis, expert in the field of innovation management. EAB was established according to the project proposal with the aim of supporting and guiding partners during the project implementation and bringing in the consortium some additional external expertise from individuals that will participate in the daily project work flow.
As an essential part of Work Package 2, two mini-workshops were delivered in Frankfurt during the project meeting in order to stimulate the debate about innovative ideas in Public Transportation; clarify the understanding among all partners contributing in different work packages; raise current issues relating to definitions of innovation (radical or incremental); and also establish a common vision of the CIPTEC knowledge tool that can be further developed and specified by the partners involved in Work Package 5. These two workshops incorporated innovative techniques in their design and structure. All participants were assigned particular roles and were asked to contribute from their own standpoint, presenting their visions to all team members. The mini-workshops were steered by CIPTEC partner Ortelio. The consolidation reports elaborate on the outcomes and will comprise a useful source for the following activities.
Finally, the consortium agreed to renew its meeting in Budapest from 11th to 13th of May 2016, inviting also EMTA’s members’ delegates to participate in its validation workshops. The meeting with be organised by EMTA with the active support of its local member, the BKK Centre for Budapest Transport.
“Family” photo of the CIPTEC partners at the second CIPTEC meeting in Frankfurt.