Detailed description (English): Ford Motor Company Fund is the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company with the mission to help improve people's lives and strengthen communities. We run a challenge, the Ford Fund Mobility Challenge with Universities in the UK, Germany and Spain .
The Ford Fund Smart Mobility Challenge requests student applications for project proposals that help to address in a fresh, original and creative way, a tangible, unmet social need related to the theme Sustainable Urban Solutions for Future Cities.
Through this Ford Fund Smart Mobility Challenge, Ford Motor Company Fund (Ford Fund), working with the international grant making-partner, Global Giving, is supporting universities as they work with students to design and develop programs that will help to make cities more attractive and healthier places to live, work and play through the creation of affordable urban mobility solutions.
The proposal could be something that supports the following:
Overcomes an obstacle to daily mobility
Provides more affordable mobility solutions for people needing easier access to healthcare or community services
Helps people and goods move around more easily, safely and securely
Ensures the well-being of mobile workers
Creates a scalable proposition for active mobility (e.g. cycles, scooters) to promote healthy lifestyles
Plays a role in tackling congestion
At each University, 2 winning teams are selected to receive a seed grant of 5,000 euros and an overall winning team is selected to receive a seed grant of 12,500 euros to help kick start their project.
Detailed description (original language): The challenge first launched in 2018 with Loughborough University (UK), and has subsequently been run with TH Köln (Germany), RCA (UK), University of Valencia and UPM in Spain. It has attracted students across different years and across several faculties including industrial design, product design, urban planning, economics, architecture, graphic design, automotive engineering, mechanical engineering, marketing, politics, philosophy, economics, transportation and intelligent mobility.
This year's winning project examples include:
A mobility station utilising hydropower from the Rhine River to charge e-bikes and e-scooters
A proposal to turn battery charge in private vehicles into a source of currency, enabling users to pay for the next phase of their journey or for goods and services
A mobility hub that gathers various forms of micro-mobility into one accessible location
A proposal to set up supermarket checkouts for people with autism, creating a private area without music and with silent scanners in order to reduce the possibility of sensory overload
A mobility app designed to place all sustainable mobility options into a centralised place for easy access and more efficient multi-modal journeys
A door to door transportation solution for patients needing to attend medical appointments provided by volunteers who have experienced the same medical condition
Reimaging urban furniture that can be used in either static or dynamic mode
A proposal to equip private vehicles with AEDs to help in an emergency situation
An interactive vehicle that can help homeless and vulnerable
Target group(s): Student teams from several Universities across Europe aged between 18-25.
Objectives: The objective is to help to develop mobility solutions that will have a clear benefit to the local community, and while doing so help participating students develop new skills and knowledge that will further support their professional and personal development.
Partner: Loughborough University, Royal College of Art, University of Valencia, Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), TH Köln.