2018 STA INNOVATION AWARDEES
STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards have honoured again global innovators in the following categories:
Person of the Year: Acknowledging the vital contribution, as well as the achievements of exceptional individual accomplishments in the industry.
Best Innovation Project and Solution: Recognising a project and a solution that is breaking the existing paradigms for transportation infrastructures.
The 2018 Person of the Year award was presented ex-aequo to Dr Aniceto Zaragoza (OFICEMEN) and Mr Dirk van Loo (COPRO).
Mr Van Loo, CEO at COPRO (Belgium), holds 23+ years of experience in the construction and concrete sector.
The award endorses especially Mr Van Loo’s role and contribution in promoting better quality construction products through his work, namely BENOR voluntary quality mark, that increases the user confidence in the conformity of the product, process or service, by guaranteeing that well-defined quality requirements has been met accordingly.
The 2018 Best Innovation Solution Award was presented to Apertum, Real-Time Guide to Step-Free Mobility.
Apertum, a free mobility app, launched already in Madrid (Spain), offers real time effortless routeing to vulnerable and non-conventional public transport users, such as pregnant women, disabled and elderly. The app builds dynamic ‘bridges’ (step-free routes) that avoid non-accessible metro, light rail and tram stations/stops for the vulnerable and non-conventional population segment. It combines i) on-site assessments ii) Open Data from the City transport operators, and iii) real-time feedback from the users.
The award was collected by Mr Francisco Aletta, Innovation Manager at Etelätär Innovation OÜ.
Dr Zaragoza, the Director General of the Spanish Cement Association (OFICEMEN), has contributed to the development of advanced transportation infrastructures through his work for 30+ years.
The Award recognises Dr Zaragoza’s years of expertise in different institutions and organisations, and influential contribution to the transport industry both in Spain and at international level.
The 2018 Best Innovation Project Award was given to SUP&R-ITN
SUP&R ITN ran from October 2013 to October 2017 and was funded entirely by the European Commission through Marie Curie Action. The training-through-research programme has educated a new generation of multi-disciplinary professionals capable of conceiving, planning and executing sustainable road and railway infrastructures. Most of the technologies developed and researched through the programme have proved to be worthy of being further developed and are already making an impact in the industry.
The award was collected by Professor Gordon Airey and Dr Davide Lo Presti from The University of Nottingham.
