Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon calls participation for ideas on future mobility

The Embassy of Sweden, the Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai and the Swedish Institute have invited participants – students, entrepreneurs, innovation enthusiasts, developers, designers, creatives and mobility experts across India and Sweden – for a 42-hour digital Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon christened ‘Changing the way we move!’ on February 26-28, 2021. The mission of the hackathon is to design, test and execute ideas for the future – with a particular focus on mobility.

Sweden and India have joined forces to tackle important issues regarding safe and sustainable transportation. This hackathon is a designer sprint-like event in which participants collaborate intensively on digital innovations to create functioning solutions to predetermined challenges by the end of the event namely - lethal accidents in traffic, safe and sustainable transport, air pollution/ emissions from traffic sector, infrastructure for connected vehicle and sustainable logistics.

Commenting on the initiative, Anna Lekvall, Consul General of Sweden in Mumbai said, “Innovation is at the heart of the Sweden India relationship, and safe, sustainable transport has grown immensely as a vital new area of co-operation. The Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon is expanding this partnership, providing a strong platform for students, start-ups, companies, experts from the two countries to co-create new solutions for mobility. Together, we can change the way we move.”

The event is open for students, entrepreneurs, innovation enthusiasts, developers, designers, creatives and mobility experts across India and Sweden to innovate and co-create on the topic of the future of sustainable mobility sector, to work on industry challenges and develop solutions and proof of concepts. The participants will have access to a unique network of major Swedish and Indian companies and institutes and will work to solve questions based on open data sources. The winners will get to pitch ideas and receive guidance from the partners to further develop, realise and implement their solutions. Institutions and universities are also invited to join as key partners in recruiting talent, providing guidance and supporting co-creation, innovation and sustainability. Professors, Leaders, Engineering, Transport and Creative experts are also encouraged to enrol as Mentors whose aim would be to guide and support their assigned teams on the mobility challenges.

The theme has a strong connection to the Joint Innovation Partnership that exists between India and Sweden and the Sweden-India Transport Safety & Innovation Platform (SITIS) which was launched in February 2020.

Fanny Von Heland, Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden, New Delhi, said, “The global demand for safe and sustainable transport solutions is tremendous. I’m proud and delighted that Sweden and India are taking a leading role in developing and testing what the future of transport could look like. With the mobility hack we are giving students and entrepreneurs an opportunity to co-create and strengthen our already strong partnership. I’m looking forward to seeing what game-changing solutions we together can create.”

The Hackathon is led by the Swedish Institute with support from several Swedish and Indian partners including startups, incubators, research institutes, innovation cells, road safety organisations and companies in sectors of sustainability, automotive and transport.

Madeleine Sjostedt, Director-General of the Swedish Institute, said, “Sweden and India have come together to tackle important issues regarding safe and sustainable transportation. Issues that affect us all. Leading companies, experts and top talents from both our countries have joined, and we are full of expectations of what ideas, solutions and connections this hackathon will be the beginning of.”

Participation is free and registrations are open till February 25, 2021. To register click here