The Swiss Pavilion Focuses on Digitalization and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) during the Travel & Connectivity Week at Expo 2020 Dubai

IGLUS (EPFL), FAIRTIQ and the UAE University partner together to discuss the future of urban mobility 

Dubai, January 17, 2022:  The Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is organizing a series of panel discussions and workshops, during the Travel & Connectivity Week, with a focus on the mobility sector’s digitalization and MaaS (Mobility as a Service). During the event that is running until 15 January, the Swiss pavilion is bringing together experts from Switzerland, the UAE and region to address the paradigm changes in the mobility sector and its impact on urban planning.

Mr. Dante Larini, Project Manager of Swissnex at the Swiss Pavilion, said: “Technology has completely changed the perspective from which we view mobility and transportation, with the proliferation of smart phones and applications bringing in new modes of accessing transportation with seamless ease, or for executing delivery of goods. Our aim is to throw light on these evolving mobility landscapes and its significance to the community and future.”

The Travel & Connectivity Week at the Swiss Pavilion is managed by a team behind IGLUS, an action-packed research programme created by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the UAE University, and the smart-ticketing company FAIRTIQ, representing the private sector.

Dr Taieb Znati, Dean of the College of IT, UAE University, who is chairing the event on MaaS said: “MaaS is poised to be a game-changer of the industry, paving the way for a transportation revolution. Are we there yet? The workshop experts and high-level specialists will analyze current trends, tested ideas, best practices and transformative approaches to shed new lights on the future of transportation”.

The FAIRTIQ offers an app for travellers, transport authorities and public transport authorities’ cost-effective ticketing solutions, while IGLUS and the UAE University bring together practitioners and academics from relevant disciplines on urban governance issues.

Dr Fida Dankar, who leads the event organization and the UAEU team on the Expo site, added: "We were very happy to connect UAEU faculty with EPFL and the Swiss pavilion through their shared interest on MaaS. We hope this will lead to long-lasting research collaborations".

On the first day of the week, IGLUS (EPFL) will held a panel discussion on 'Efficiency in Urban Mobility and Logistics’ with the participation of Manjunath R.S. is the Director at FAIRTIQ India in collaboration with Swissnex India. The following day, a joint UAE-Swiss Conference – ‘ Peering through the MaaS cloud’ – will be held with Prof. Matthias Finger, head of IGLUS in collaboration with the UAE University and Schindler.