YEAR-2010 - Young European arena of research - 2010
Overview
Background & policy context:
The Young European Arena of Research ('YEAR') 2010 was a competition for early-stage researchers exploring the area of surface transport. The competition gave students an opportunity to showcase their work to experts within the field, and for the best applicants at the Transport Research Arena conference in Brussels (June 2010).
Objectives:
The project was a kind of Transport Research Olympics to complement the goals of the Transport Research Arena ('TRA') conference in Brussels in 2010. The YEAR 2010 goal was to stimulate interest among young researchers in the conference and contribute to establishing the conference as the premier transport event in the world. This activity directly supported the TRA event and reinforced its profile as a major European and internationally important conference. At the same time it strengthened European research in surface transport by promoting collaboration, promoting interdisciplinary research and by recognising and rewarding excellence.
Methodology:
The YEAR competition was divided into two stages. In the first stage, up to about 600 students submitted abstracts, clearly specifying the deliverables and practical outputs of their research. There was a network of about 80 judges, experts in surface transportation research, to encourage a wide participation from all over Europe. The abstracts were hosted on a website which constituted a showcase of early stage research in Europe.
In the second stage, about 50 finalists were brought to the TRA2010 conference to present their work in the form of posters and other displays. There were gold, silver and bronze medals for each of the 6 categories and winners were featured prominently at the conference to stimulate interest among delegates, journalists and the general public. The exhibition was a prominent area to encourage discussion between students and delegates who constitute future potential employers and stakeholders in road transport.
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