UIC launched its first global rail hackathon as part of a series of attractiveness measures targeting universities and railway undertakings. The first European hackathon was held on 26 November 2021 at the University of Žilina in collaboration with the ASTONRail Eramus+ project.
The hackathon focused on the question, “How can railways be resilient in the face of pandemics?” and offered participants and rail enthusiasts the opportunity to imagine the future and develop solutions for railway operators to be better prepared for pandemics.
The novel ‘hackathon’ format involves teams of professionals and students working for a limited time to devise a novel solution to a question or problem; hence the origin of the name: ‘hack’ (creative solution to a problem) and ‘marathon’ (the length of time teams have to present their proposals). On this occasion, the competition was held online due to the pandemic.
This international event, organised by UIC and ASTONRail, was sponsored by the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Malaga (UMA) and was led by a group of four researchers from UMA.
Five groups led by UMA presented their projects on strengthening the railway sector. The competition gave participants from Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, the UK and Italy the opportunity to present the results of their work over the past number of weeks. The proposals showcase novel ideas that aim to help the railway sector meet the challenges that have emerged in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. All teams performed at a high level during the hackathon both in terms of the quality of the proposals and their commitment to offering truly resilient solutions.
The winning team, with a proposal entitled ‘Train, Stations and Infrastructure: Automatic Safety & Cleaning System’, was composed of:
- Philip Mortimer, Truck Train Devolopment, UK
- Tiago Jorge de Mendoca, Infraestructuras de Portugal, Portugal
- Rubén Fllipe Xavier Camilo, Infraestructuras de Portugal, Portugal
- Cristiano Majorca, Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy
- Fabiano Fumagalli, Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy
The jury was composed of five professionals and academics from the railway sector who are also members of the ASTONRail project
The jury was composed of five professionals and academics from the railway sector who are also members of the ASTONRail project.
The winners will represent the European bid in the global competition to be held in May 2022 as part of the World Congress on Rail Training, Talent and Development (WCRT) in Moscow.
Information on and results of the other regional hackathons will be provided shortly.
About UIC’s partner organisers
ASTONRail is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and is led by Aston University (UK). The main objective of ASTONRail is to develop a portfolio (toolkit) of innovative methods, approaches and professional practices for railway skills development and, as a result, improve and modernise the railway higher education offering in Europe.
Hackathon organisers from the University of Malaga
Dr. Sergio Postigo and Dr. Juan J. Castillo are associated professors at the School of Industrial Engineering (UMA); Dr. Isabel Ruiz-Mora is associated professor at the Faculty of Communications (UMA) and Pablo J. Salas is project intern and PhD student in communications (UMA).
For more information, please visit:
UIC hackathon: https://uic.org/com/IMG/pdf/uic_hackathon_-_eu_-_flyer_v03-2.pdf
https://railtalent.org/train-rail-hackathon-2022/
https://wcrt.uic.org
