The TecnoCampus in Mataró was the scene yesterday of the initial event of Imagine Express 2022, promoted by Imagine Express, Renfe-SNCF in Cooperation, TecnoCampus and Renfe 

More than 80 people gathered yesterday in teams at the TecnoCampus in Mataró to participate in the competition of ideas in the field of sustainability, tourism and mobility: the Dream BIG Express. This initiative is developed through a competition where solutions are proposed to proposed challenges on: efficiency in energy management, tourism or mobility. This new edition had the participation of teams from university courses and training cycles. After 3 hours of session, from 15pm to 18pm, a jury made up of different industry experts chose the winning team, which will accelerate their idea in the Imagine Express 2022 program, on board a high-speed train between Barcelona and Paris next February. The winning project was Efitrònica, which presented a solution to create more efficient and sustainable trains, and which was proposed by students Joan Gabarró, Pau López and Alberto Rodríguez. 

After a year and a half, a break derived from the Covid-19, this new edition of Imagine Express wants to promote young and innovative talent as part of a high-speed train journey between Barcelona and Paris. Participants, called dreamers, must develop in teams of three members an innovative project based on different technologies to respond to one of the selected strategic challenges. Teamwork is the main activity and is carried out on board two train cars dedicated to dreamers, as if they were their offices. 

In Paris, the dreamers, accompanied by mentors and experts, will continue to make a final presentation on board a ship that will cross the Seine as it passes through Paris. Back in Barcelona, ​​the edition will end with presentations as part of the celebration of the 4YFN of the MWC scheduled for February 2022. 

Energy efficiency, tourism and sustainable mobility  

Renfe is the second largest final consumer of electricity. The challenge facing the company is to improve the energy efficiency of its business and achieve a significant cost reduction, at this time of uncertainty in the energy market. 

On the other hand, and although Renfe consumes all the electricity with a certificate of guarantee of origin (100% renewable) in its commercial activity of operation, there are still some transits made with fossil fuels. Continuing with the objectives and energy strategies of the Government of Spain, as well as other international bodies, Renfe seeks to consolidate its commitment to the environment focused on reducing CO2 emissions as well as the search for viable energy alternatives. more sustainable. 

On the other hand, mass tourism is harming places and their residents, in the face of a global phenomenon in many destinations where the number of travelers has reached disproportionate proportions. The trend is described as “Overtourism”: the excessive growth of visitors that causes a place to become overcrowded and residents to suffer the consequences and permanent changes in their lifestyles, social welfare and access to services and goods. common. This impact of tourism also exacerbates energy and waste problems. 

Currently 50% of the world's population lives in cities. According to UN studies, the forecast is that by 2050, 70% of the population will live in a metropolis. This increase in urban areas means an increase in daily travel and is a challenge to achieve a mobility policy that involves a reduction and a change in the way we travel, more sustainable and respectful of our environment and at the same time avoid more 1,3 million deaths annually in traffic accidents that occur worldwide. Vehicle electrification is playing a very important role in the automotive and power generation industry. A challenge is presented to manage electricity demand, reduce losses due to energy transport and preserve the quality of electricity supply. 

Cases of previous editions 

Imagine Express has had several success stories born of this program in the previous six editions. Trip4Real is a service to connect travelers with local citizens of the destination. Driven by dreamer Gloria Molins, in 2016 it was acquired by AirBNB. HumanITcare by dreamer Núria Pastor, is the Artificial Intelligence platform based on real data from patients' lives, such as wearables and self-reported questions, which facilitates better medical care. Vincles Bcn is another success story that was also born on Imagine Express; is a platform to avoid the loneliness of the elderly driven by the dreamer Josep Maria Miró. It is an application for creating communication networks between the elderly (via tablet) and people they trust (via mobile App). The project has been awarded 5 million euros by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Barcelona City Council has invested 10 million more for a first deployment to 20.000 grandparents in the city of Barcelona. Also noteworthy is Psious, by dreamers Dani Roig and Xavier Palomer. The app works on treating phobias using augmented reality and has captured several rounds of funding. Or Ikigai, the platform that turns retired doctors into mentors, promoted by dreamer Cristina Coll and Xavier Tarradellas.  

 

Gallery d'imatges

Previous

New technological management tools in Tourism education

Next

How will AI affect video game creation?