New Delhi (NVI): Sweden and India have joined forces to tackle issues regarding safe and sustainable transportation, following which a digital Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon will be organized from February 26 to 28, to develop solutions to these issues.
The Embassy of Sweden, the Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai and the Swedish Institute are organizing a 42-hour digital Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon: Changing the way we move! on February 26-28, 2021, according to an official release.
The aim of the hackathon is to design, test and execute ideas for the future, with a particular focus on mobility.
The release further said that, “Sweden and India have came together to tackle important issues regarding safe and sustainable transportation.”
These issues will be part of Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon, which is a designer sprint-like event in which participants collaborate intensively on digital innovations to create functioning solutions to predetermined challenges by the end of the event namely- lethal accidents in traffic, Safe and sustainable transport, Air pollution/ emissions from traffic sector, Infrastructure for connected vehicle and Sustainable logistics.
“Students, entrepreneurs, innovation enthusiasts, developers, designers, creatives and mobility experts from across India and Sweden will to participate in the 42-hour hackathon,” the release said.
They will innovate and co-create on the topic of the future of sustainable mobility sector, to work on industry challenges and develop solutions and proof of concepts.
The theme has a strong connection to the Joint Innovation Partnership that exists between India and Sweden and the Sweden-India Transport Safety & Innovation Platform (SITIS) which was launched in February last.
SITIS was launched in Stockholm, in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Transport & Highways, Government of India and Thomas Eneroth, Minister for Infrastructure, Government of Sweden.
Speaking about the initiative, Klas Molin, Ambassador of Sweden to India said, “Sustainable transport and road safety are areas that our governments are deeply engaged in. As emissions, traffic accidents and inefficient traffic flows characterize more and more of the world’s major cities, the hack aims to, develop solutions to these problems.”
“We are delighted that the Swedish Institute is organizing a Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon on this subject in the end of February, with the Embassy of Sweden and the Consulate General in Mumbai as partners,” Molin was quoted as saying in a statement.
Moreover, the hackathon is led by the Swedish Institute with support from several Swedish and Indian partners including startups, incubators, research institutes, innovation cells, road safety organizations and companies in sectors of sustainability, automotives and transport, the release noted.
During the hackathon, the participants will have access to a unique network of major Swedish and Indian companies and institutes and will work to solve questions based on open data sources.
The winners will get to pitch ideas and receive guidance from the partners to further develop, realize and implement their solutions. “Institutions and universities are also invited to join as partners in recruiting talent, providing guidance and supporting co-creation, innovation and sustainability,” the release said.
It added that professors, leaders, engineering, transport and creative experts are also encouraged to enroll as mentors whose aim would be to guide and support their assigned teams on the mobility challenges.
-RJV
