The first Info-Days of UPGRADE are were held in Cairo on the 12th and 13th of October 2021.

The Info-Days aimed to present the project and its findings to public stakeholders, as well as to serve as a meeting for all project partners to discuss past and future project activities.

Day 1

1.      Welcome Speech, Project Overview and Info-day aim - HBRC and TUB

Welcome speech was given to all attendees in both languages English and Arabic by both partners , TUB as project manager and HBRC who were in charge of hosting the info day at the premises of HBRC. Professor Houshmand from TUB attended the info day online, welcomed all attendees, and gave of brief of the target of the info day commission and the day plan. Later giving the speech to UNIVAQ and UoB to start presenting the work and results of WP1 and WP2

2.      WP1: Overview - UNIVAQ (Italy) and UoB (Lebanon)

UNIVAQ and UoB representatives schemed through WP1 implementation steps, analysis and data gathering procedures explaining their work plan and how the aim of WP1 was achieved

3.      WP1: Surveys Contents and Results - UNIVAQ (Italy) and UoB (Lebanon)

UNIVAQ and UoB representatives provided a full explanation of surveys design and the targeted data of each survey designed and sent out for all partners. Later on they discussed survey results and how they reached the concluded courses required for each university leading up to the final courses list.

4.      Recommendations for Updating-Creating Existing-New Courses - UNIVAQ (Italy) and UoB (Lebanon)

Each partner country university was asked to confirm their courses list titles and providing university. The AASTMT and FUE had changed required in course titles and a final list was created on the spot with confirmation from all universities on the lists finalized that day.

5.      Discussion- Questions and Suggestions from participants

Dr Ahmed El-Dorghamy , Basic Services and Climate Change Officer at the UN-Habitat gave praise to project UPGRADE aim and value . he also expressed the intent for further collaboration with project implementation as well as interaction with students who take the courses and become more involved with smart sustainable mobility.

Mr Abdelrahman Melegy attended on behalf of Trasport for Cairo. He gave notes regarding the courses content saying that we need to reflect people travel behavior in the course material. He stated that having ground based material and data – like the one from their project of transforming 6^th of October transportation analysis -  will help students gain experience regarding the society they live in at the moment.

Day 2

1.      Smart Village Welcome

The UPGRADE team was greeted by the head of the Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design Department at AASTMT- Smart Village. An introductory speech was given.

2.      Smart Village Visit/Tour

The UPGRADE team was guided by AASTMT Smart Village representatives on a tour to visit the Highway Laboratory and the Fabrication Laboratory. The team was then guided by two professors at Smart Village to review sample of displayed students’ work at the department of Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design.

3.      Lecture by External Speaker: Dr. Mohamed Gobara

Dr. Mohamed Gobara presented a lecture on Transportation Planning Fundamentals.

4.      AASTMT Lab

The AASTMT team presented a detailed overview of the following points:

-          The list of required lab equipment: as previously presented during the first Project Meeting. Including Hardware equipment (Desktop Computers, Videoconferencing Setup and Urban Surveying Equipment), Software Programs (Traffic/Transportation Software, General Research Software, and Online Storage and Servers)

-          The conducted procurement process: including stages of generating the preliminary list of equipment, then providing detailed specifications for each item on the list. The team also described the arrangements made with the procurement department at AASTMT, and ensured frequently following up with them to ensure the equipment is delivered on time.

-          Issues Encountered and Mitigation Strategies: the team encountered two minor issues so far, one was the occasional unavailability or inflation in prices of specific equipment items. This was mitigated by preparing a list of alternative equipment which could be purchased instead. The team also encountered a few delays on part of the procurement department, and was consistent on following up with them in order to ensure the lab equipment are delivered and set on time.

-          The status of the Lab at present: the team described the process of allocating an appropriate vacant room to be designated for the Urban Mobility Lab, and provided videos and pictures showing its condition before and during the preparation phases.

-          Future Actions: including proceeding with finishing and furnishing the room, following up with the procurement process, installing lab equipment and conducting lab training for faculty and technical staff.

Points of discussion raised by TUB for AASTMT

After the presentation, the following questions were asked by TUB:

1-      Whether the floor area of the room is greater than or equal to 35 square meters.

AASTMT: The area of the room is around 28 square meters.

2-      Whether the room is capable of accommodating 10 desktop computers + lab equipment.

AASTMT: As shown using the architectural plan provided in the presentation, the room is capable of accommodating the required computers and equipment.

3-      Will the lab be complete and operating by December 15^th 2021?

AASTMT: The procurement process and lab preparation phases are so far proceeding according to the agreed time plan. The lab will hopefully be complete and operating by December 15^th 2021.

5.      FUE Lab

The FUE team presented a detailed overview of the following points:

-          The list of required lab equipment: showing equipment specifications, prices and potential suppliers. The FUE team discussed a few concerns regarding the type of equipment their lab should include and whether they should be more focused on equipment for gathering urban data or the analysis of urban data. A brief discussion between FUE, UPV and TUB took place, agreeing on having both type of equipment available for students to become familiar with, even if a limited number of pieces will be purchased from each item.

Points of discussion raised by TUB for AASTMT

After the presentation, the following questions were asked by TUB:

4-      Whether the floor area of the room for the lab is greater than or equal to 35 square meters.

FUE: The area of the room is less than 35 square meters.

5-      Whether the room is capable of accommodating 10 desktop computers + lab equipment.

FUE: The room is capable of accommodating the required computers and equipment.

6-      Will the lab be complete and operating by December 15^th 2021?

FUE: The lab will hopefully be complete and operating by December 15^th 2021.

6.      Discussion: Next Steps

FUE raised the following point for discussion:

Whether the equipment list should be ed to specifically serve the courses that will be developed for each university. A brief discussion took place between FUE, TUB and AASTMT, and the partners agreed that the list of equipment and list of courses should be detailed and overviewed simultaneously, ensuring that the courses exploit the purchased equipment and that the equipment are used in all outlined courses.

Decision: a new list of Course Outline questions will be sent by UPV to Beneficiary Universities, and a detailed account of the used equipment in each course will be required.

The following question was also asked by NDU:

Should the equipment requested by Beneficiary Universities be limited to those from an EU origin only, as was the case during previous projects?

The answer was that this rule no longer applies since 2017. Beneficiary Universities are now capable of requesting equipment from any origin not only the EU.

Next Steps:

1.       Proceeding with the procurement process of lab equipment and with preparing the lab for inauguration by December 15^th 2021.

2.       Development of course outlines to be elaborated by EU Partners by mid November 2021.