Alicante Hosts First University Chairs Meeting on Sustainable Mobility

La Cátedra Vectalia Movilidad, affiliated with the University of Alicante, celebrates its tenth anniversary by organising the first University Chairs Meeting on Sustainable Mobility, which will take place next Tuesday, 11th February at the University Venue in Alicante City.

Mobility is undergoing a major transformation, facing significant challenges such as sustainability, decarbonisation, new habits of younger generations, and increasingly prevalent shared and multimodal mobility. In recent years, more universities have incorporated and created various Chairs for reflection and research on this subject. The Vectalia Mobility Chair at the University of Alicante aims to create a space for "networking, generating synergies, and collaborating on specific initiatives," says Mauricio Ubeda, director of the Chair.

At the opening of the event, scheduled for 10 a.m., speakers will include Juan Llopis, Director of Institutional Relations and Projects at the University of Alicante, Carlos de Juan, Councillor for Transport at Alicante City Council, and Manuel Ríos, Director General of Transport for the Valencian Government, as well as Salvador Ivorra, Vice-Rector for Infrastructure and Sustainability at the University of Alicante, who will explain the campus mobility plan.

Mauricio Úbeda, director of the Vectalia Mobility Chair affiliated with the Polytechnic School of the University of Alicante and host of the meeting, will explain the purpose of this gathering and some of the activities carried out by this chair over its ten years of existence. The first meeting is expected to include participants such as Tomás Ruiz, Chair of Transport and Society (Polytechnic University of Valencia), Francisco Alonso, SEOFER Chair (University of Valencia), Juan José Martínez, Chair on Intelligent and Sustainable Territories (University of Valencia), and Tomás Gómez-Acebo, Chair of Energy Transition (University of Navarra).

To conclude, a round table is planned where several journalists will reflect on the complexity and challenge of informing and communicating topics related to mobility. Participants will include Mayte Rodríguez from Carril Bus, a magazine specialising in the sector; Carolina Pascual from the newspaper Información; Miquel González from Alicante Plaza; Concha Pastor from Todo Alicante; and Miquel Hernandis from El Español de Alicante. At 2 p.m., Jorge Olcina, Director of the University Venue in Alicante City, will close this first meeting. The aim of this event is to create a space for "thinking out loud, getting to know each other, and presenting the projects we are working on at each of our universities," concludes Ubeda.

The Vectalia Mobility Chair has held various forums over the past year with experts and politicians to address mobility challenges, such as the "Rethink the City" and "Electromobility of Intermediate Cities" conferences held in Alicante and Albacete, respectively.