2025 STA Annual Conference & Innovation Awards Proceedings.

Programme

Welcome Speech: Prof Thierry Vanelslander, Department of Transport and Regional Economics, University of Antwerp and Dr José F. Papí, CEO at Etelätär Innovation, STA President

Roundtable 1: AI Applications to Transport Infrastructures

  • AI Applications across the Transport Infrastructure Lifecycle, Mr Jorge Alfonso, Researcher at the Visual Telecommunications Application Group (VTAG) Research Group of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM)

  • AI-Powered Road Maintenance Inspections, Dr Elena de la Peña, Deputy Director General for Technical Affairs at the Spanish Road Association (AEC), STA Vice-President & Chair of STA’s Technical Committee on Smart Mobility (TC1)

Moderated by: Dr José F. Papí, CEO at Etelätär Innovation, STA President

Quick Guide to STA’s Safety+ Excellence Labelling for Road Restraint Systems

  • Setting a new benchmark for the safety performance of CE-certified Road Restrained Systems (RRS), Dr José F. Papí, CEO at Etelätär Innovation, STA President

Roundtable 2: STA Research in Action

  • STA Position Paper on EU Transport Research Priorities, Mr César Bartolomé, Director for Innovation at the Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications (IECA), Chair of STA’s Technical Committee on Smart Sustainability

  • Latest Developments of the EU-funded KEYSTONE Project: Cross-border Compliance by Design for Logistics Operations & Enforcement, Ms Friederike L. Kühl, STA Programmes Coordinator

Moderated by: Dr José F. Papí, CEO at Etelätär Innovation, STA President

Closing Session: Keynote Address

  • EU’s R&D+i efforts towards more sustainable and efficient transport infrastructures, Ms Isabelle Vandoorne, Acting Head of Unit, Innovation and Reseach, DG MOVE, European Commission

Innovation Awards:

  • Person of the Year, Mr Erwin Verstraelen, Vice-President Innovation, Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium)

  • Best Innovation Project, RECORAIL, (Decarbonised, circular and reusable safety barrier) – Award collected by Mr Antonio Amengual, Director, Road Steel by Gonvarri Industries