Good competition is always useful, but we are ready to reward good ideas and student innovations. Sofia Development Association and Sofia Municipality in partnership with the University of Food Technology - Plovdiv and Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" announce student competitions that allow students to put into practice what they have learnt and show their talent by proposing solutions for more sustainable and greener future. Through the INNOAIR project, the competitions give the young people the opportunity to give life to their ideas and change the environment!
The students from the University of Food Technology - Plovdiv, who decide to participate in the competition will have the opportunity to work on creating a calculator that calculates the economic benefits of using active transport such as walking, cycling, cycling electric bicycle or driving electric scooter.
Students from Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" will develop a calculator that calculates the health benefits of the above-mentioned active modes of transportation.
All students who would like to take part in the competitions should register for participation no later than April 4, 2022:
Registration link for students from the University of Food Technology - Plovdiv: https://forms.gle/KDhdM7b7PhBNUbkq7;
Registration link for students from Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar": https://forms.gle/cWCqcr4yH9R9dRHCA.
You can follow up-to-date information about the events on Facebook HERE.
From April 5 to April 28, the student teams will develop a calculator that calculates the economic or health benefits of using active transport.
The purpose of developing calculators for the economic and health benefits of active transport is to increase people's motivation to use active mobility, to support decision-making in this direction at the urban level and to enable the secondary use of data.
A competent jury with representatives of the universities, the Sofia Development Association and Sofia Municipality will select 2 winning projects - one health and one economic calculator, which will receive funding to become working prototypes and to be introduced for use by the general public.
The competition is held within the INNOAIR project, the first and so far the only project from Bulgaria, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Initiative "Urban Innovative Actions". The project introduces for the first time in Europe public transport on request, as well as for the first time in Sofia and Bulgaria low emission zone, green corridors, mobile application SofiaCoin with prizes for active transport, available for Android and iOS. However, sustainable urban mobility still has many dimensions.
"We believe that young people are the engine of innovation and development. That is why we rely on them to help us design next generation urban mobility in Sofia," said Yordanka Fandakova, mayor of Sofia Municipality.
"Young people are a generator of valuable ideas and opportunities for integrating green technologies into everyday life. They are not burdened by outdated ways of working and they set new models for sustainable development. The traditions of the University of Food Technology in research allow them to obtain modern and specific knowledge that can be turned into working solutions," said Assoc. Prof. Veneta Markovska, Lecturer in the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Management, UFT.
"Our students already have experience in building an application with open data on the immovable cultural heritage of the Municipality of Varna. They have developed IoT solutions and satellite data for urban mobility applications, as well as participated in numerous events to generate innovative ideas and start a business in the country and abroad. This gives us confidence that they have the knowledge and skills necessary for creating application of new technologies for solving everyday problems," shares Assoc. Prof. Vesselina Spasova, Head of the Master's Program in Software Engineering and Management, VFU.
The presentation of student projects will take place on April 29, 2022 online at the following link in ZOOM.
Follow INNOAIR on social networks on Facebook and Twitter and stay tuned about the latest developments in the field of mobility.
For more information:
Sanya Raeva - coordinator of student competitions, SDA - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veneta Markovska - Lecturer in the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Management, UFT - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galina Momcheva - Head of the Department of Informatics, VFU - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
