Creating Innovation In The Transport Sector: Theoretical Definition And Current Practice In Greece

Date

May 22 2026

Time

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Labels

Main Event Hall A

Location

Pavilion 15 Thessaloniki International Fair

Egnatias 154, TIF, Thessaloniki 546 36

Website

https://thessalonikifair.gr/el

The process of creating innovation in general (and in the Transport sector) is a complex interaction between different “actors” that exist in a given area. The conventional models of technology transfer (which have been around in one form or another since the 1950s) invariably fail the task to adequately describe today’s innovation systems and processes. This paper will present a more complex and comprehensive model of innovation based on the “ecosystems” concept that has definite advantages in describing and explaining the process of innovation creation including innovation on a transformational or revolutionary scale. This part of the presentation will be based on the author’s recent book titled “The Accelerating Transport Innovation Revolution”, published by Elsevier.

In the field of Transportation, there are many, incredibly dynamic and innovating sub-sectors that are moving rapidly towards new technological horizons. These subsectors embrace electric and autonomous vehicles, shared mobility services, connected transport services, smart infrastructure and many others. Undeniably Transportation is in a unique position to become one of the truly dynamic sectors of a national economy. To a significant degree, Transportation and Information Systems have transmuted into a single innovation sector transforming through advances in hard and soft information-related technologies that depend on the manipulation of electrons rather than energizing carbon fuels.

After presenting the most critical aspects of innovation creation concepts, the paper will focus on Greece and its emerging innovation ecosystem in the field of Transportation. The existing legal and regulatory regime will be presented together with the innovation financing opportunities that are available today for financing Greece’s innovatory fields. It is to be shown that the Transport sector in Greece is still lagging other economic sectors who seem to profit more from the available innovation financing sources and several suggestions as to what needs to be done will be made.

Who the
Speakers are:

Speaker

George Giannopoulos Professor emeritus Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Cor. Member Academy of Athens

George Giannopoulos

Professor emeritus Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Cor. Member Academy of Athens

Prof. George A. Giannopoulos is a transportation planner, professor
emeritus of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and
correspondent member of the Academy of Athens. He is the immediate past director of the Hellenic Institute of Transport – the National Transport Research Organisation of Greece – which he founded and chaired for 16 years.
He is currently, an Advisory Professor at Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU), China, and a member of the Energy Steering panel of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC).
During his career, Prof. Giannopoulos worked extensively in various
Committees and working groups of the European Commission as a
member or chair. For 12 years – 7 of which as its chair – he was a member of the Transport Advisory Group, the high-level advisory body of the EU Transport Research Programs.
He is the author of 19 books, 7 of which are in English, and of more than 250 papers.