Today, at A4 Holding’s headquarters in Verona, the award ceremony for the fourth edition of the “Abertis Chair” Prize took place—an award established in 2021 by the Abertis Group, Fundación Abertis, and A4 Holding, in collaboration with the University of Padua and managed by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (ICEA). The initiative aims to highlight the most innovative university research in the fields of sustainable mobility, transport infrastructure management, and road safety.

In addition to awarding two theses—a master’s thesis and a PhD dissertation—receiving a total financial prize of €7,000, the event also provided an opportunity to discuss the results of a national survey conducted among users of Italian motorways. The survey explored travel habits, expectations, and motorists’ perceptions regarding motorway mobility.

The discussion, aimed at reflecting on the evolution of services and motorway infrastructure in relation to travelers’ needs, took place during the roundtable titled “Listening to travelers: elements supporting the evolution of mobility systems.” Participants included Elena Salgado, President of Fundación Abertis, A4 Holding executives, and several distinguished guests such as the Mayor of Vicenza, Giacomo Possamai; Verona’s Councillor for Mobility, Tommaso Ferrari; Marko Bertogna, Leader of Spoke 6 of the National Sustainable Mobility Center (MOST) on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and Full Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; and Riccardo Rossi, Full Professor of Transport Engineering at the University of Padua.

Returning to the “Abertis Chair” Prize—coordinated in Italy by Professor Riccardo Rossi—the two awarded research projects this year focus on:

• innovation in rail freight transport to reduce environmental impact and dependence on road transport in Europe and Italy (Simona Gurrì, PhD thesis titled “Synergies between bimodal electric multiple-unit freight trains and advanced ICE technologies for sustainable intermodal transport”), and
• the analysis of critical issues arising from the interaction between port freight traffic and urban mobility, with the aim of promoting integrated governance between port authorities and city administrations to reduce congestion and road network saturation (Giovanni Battista Burlando, master’s thesis titled “Assessment of the impact of roadworks and port infrastructure on an urban transport network: the Lungomare Canepa case study”).

The Abertis Chair Award is an international initiative developed by the Abertis Group—one of the world’s leading motorway and mobility service operators—and Fundación Abertis, a non-profit organization established to promote research and activities related to the role of the private sector in economic and social development.

The award aims to promote academic education and research on sustainable mobility through a biennial call, recognizing doctoral theses, master’s research projects, and other academic studies focused on mobility, transport safety, and sustainable infrastructure management, with particular attention to economic, social, and environmental impacts and the role of emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence. This research is part of a broader international project involving all countries where Abertis operates and seven universities, aimed at building a shared knowledge base to support the development of more efficient, safe, and user-oriented mobility systems.

“We have promoted the growth of our international Abertis Chair platform for over 22 years,” said Elena Salgado, President of Fundación Abertis, “with the aim of strengthening ties between universities and businesses and enhancing education in the management of today’s and tomorrow’s mobility. We also aim to foster research, innovation, and development in transport planning and management, as well as in the application of new technologies, to support projects that promote road safety and social, economic, and environmental sustainability.”

“Once again this year, we are taking a further step forward,” commented Bruno Chiari, CEO of A4 Holding, “along the path we have set to help design cutting-edge solutions for the future of mobility in Italy, also by collecting feedback from motorway users. Our survey shows that Italian motorists associate motorways with reliability, safety, and quality of service, while expressing high expectations in terms of innovation and ease of use. The goal now is to continue investing in the transition towards more sustainable and intelligent motorway systems, doing so quickly through clear, accessible solutions based on a balance between environmental, social, and economic benefits.”