"Zukunftsforum Mobilität" with digital format successful

Last Friday, the "Zukunftsforum Mobilität" was held at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) to promote dialogue between scientists, entrepreneurs and interested citizens on future mobility. The various requirements of society were to be discussed and brought together to find common approaches to solutions.
The event was organised by the Innovative Mobility Cluster of the transfer project "Mensch in Bewegung". Due to the corona pandemic, the Zukunftsforum Mobilität was held completely digitally for the first time. Through intensive application in advance using traditional and social media as well as personal recommendations, over 500 experts and interested parties registered online. They were able to actively follow the programme on the specially created internet platform with a dashboard and video sequences.
After a short welcome by THI President Prof. Dr. Walter Schober and KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien, Prof. Dr. Andreas Riener spoke in his keynote about the evolution of automated driving. Riener, who conducts research at the THI in the field of human-machine interaction, spoke about the potential and dangers of automation. This was followed by a total of six specialist presentations and nine science slams, alternating between them. For five hours they provided entertaining insights into the research areas of automated driving, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, smart city, sustainable mobility and energy system transformation.
THI Vice President Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Hof, for example, spoke about the results of a project with Continental on automotive security and provided answers to the question: "What if the increasingly networked and digital cars become the target of hackers? Or Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uwe Holzhammer, expert for energy system technology at the THI, treated e-mobility as a driver of the energy turnaround in Region 10 and met with lively interest in his presentation.
Via the chat it was possible to participate in discussion rounds on the respective topics. This opportunity for interaction was used by numerous participants. In general, the quality of the presentations - especially those by young scientists - met with a positive response. One participant wrote: "I liked the fact that concrete research projects were presented (also by doctoral students). It was a very nice event that showed what different aspects are being researched at the university".
The science slammers also received a lot of praise, such as Prof. Dr. Harry Wagner, who traced the age of the mobility pyramid in rhyme form, or Prof. Dr. Andreas Festag with his slam: "5G - What's up?". At the end of the event, the audience voted for the best slammer. The winner was the lecture "Automotive Forensic - a trace analysis" by Kevin Gomez Buquerin, who is researching in the field of digital vehicle forensics as part of his doctoral thesis at the THI's CARISSMA Research and Test Centre.
Prof. Riener: "The entire team of Mensch in Bewegung with the Innovative Mobility Cluster would like to thank you very much for the high level of interest in the event and the active participation in the discussion rounds. This was the best reward for all the commitment we showed in organising the Zukunftsforum".
THI President Prof. Schober: "With over 500 participants, the Zukunftsforum Mobilität was a great success and shows that the topic of the future of mobility is moving our region".

About "Mensch in Bewegung":
"Mensch in Bewegung", is a joint project of Ingolstadt University of Technology and the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.  Together with partners from business, politics and civil society, the two universities are building a regional network for the exchange of knowledge. The thematic areas are innovative mobility, digital transformation, sustainable development and civic engagement. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the State of Bavaria over five years with around 15 million euros as part of the "Innovative University" funding initiative.