Project News: SIMBA Workshop in Denmark
Date: 25 June 2007
 SIMBA project identifies areas of cooperation for EU with Brazil, China, India and South Africa at the 6th European Congress and Exhibition on ITS in Denmark.
The ERTICO – ITS Europe-coordinated SIMBA project held its European Priority Workshop on 21 June 2007 at the Hotel Hvide Hus in Aalborg, Denmark, and was attended by around 40 participants.
Guest speakers from the SIMBA project National Coordinators gave comprehensive and detailed presentations on what opportunities exist for European cooperation. The event presented the outcomes of the Regional Priority Workshops from each SIMBA country; Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and discussed the countries’ identified areas for cooperation with the EU on ITS, automotive and infrastructure. The purpose of the workshop was to present where priorities from the EU matched those of the SIMBA countries in order to direct and drive future international cooperation activities.
Recurring themes for all of the SIMBA countries were electronic toll collection, public transport management, real time traffic information as well as emergency response. For automotive, it appeared research and development into alternative fuels was a priority for all SIMBA countries. The SIMBA countries are also interested in ‘intelligent infrastructure’ and pavement construction and management as well as road pricing issues.
Future SIMBA projects
Participants also discussed the desired outcomes of SIMBA activities which should be the formation of expert Working Groups and concrete recommendations for project ideas. The National Events taking place in each SIMBA country will establish exactly this.
SIMBA project activities have not only played an important part in relationship building with the governments and key stakeholders within the SIMBA countries, but also in defining mutual areas of interest for research topics. The latter half of the project will work towards prioritising key projects to take forward between the EU and each SIMBA country.
Those interested in future development and deployment of ITS, automotive and infrastructure in Brazil, China, India and South Africa should attend the National Events to contribute to defining the next concrete steps in the cooperation. The events will provide an opportunity to join expert Working Groups and work on project proposals in collaboration with local stakeholders.
For more information about each of the SIMBA National Events and topics to be discussed, please visit the links below.
For more information on the SIMBA project, please contact ERTICO Junior Project Manager, Javier Barrio.
SIMBA country representatives presented outcomes and priorities.
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