A baggage of knowledge regarding the latest digital trends innovation in transport and developing entrepreneurial skills
Description
The course of Transport innovation, digitalisation and entrepreneurship foresees the following three types of complementary activities:
- A set of 6 theoretical courses in the begining of the semesters about: digital technologies, innovation, entrepreneurship, business models used for digital solutions
- The students will have 2 workshops on process mapping and calculating the benefits of digital products
- A set of 5-6 industry practical guest lectures regarding sector challenges and solutions with the focus on triggering the entrepreneurial skills of the students
- Towards the end of the semester will have 3 working sessions on very specific cases to develop an entrepreneurial strategy and sell a digital product
Program
Study load: 6 ECTS credits
The course starts by giving an introduction to what digital solutions are, what is the status quo of digitalization in transportation and logistics, and how researchers expect that this trend will evolve within 10 to 15 years from now. Consequently, the course focuses on discussing each digital trend in detail. Namely, a set of lectures are going to be developed around one digital trend providing insights on what are different solutions linked to that trend, what is the impact of each solution on supply chains and transport operations, which specific challenges and opportunities they are facing, and what are types of costs and benefits that they generate to the involved stakeholders. These lectures are focused on trends like blockchain, digital twin, AI, IoT, robotics and unmanned (automatic indoor and outdoor) assets, synchromodality, big data and supply chain control centers. Concrete concepts and applications will be illustrated for the various modes of transport or their combination, including maritime transport, seaports, air transport, airports, trucking, rail freight and inland navigation. The course will be composed of conceptual academic sessions combined with and illustrated by guest lectures from practice speakers. The students will be challenged as well to develop their entrepreneurial skill by picking up a challenge related to the sector, documenting it, identifying a digital solution to it and pitch it as one would try to collect investment funds. The later would simulated in a work group the skills of students of collaborating, assigning tasks and think practically towards placing a solution in the market.
