About the University of Maribor
Can you tell us a bit about University of Maribor and its core mission?
The University of Maribor (UM) is the second largest public university in Slovenia, with over 15,000 students and approximately 1,000 academic staff. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs. The university emphasizes internationalization, encouraging student and staff mobility and participation in international projects. UM’s mission is grounded in honesty, curiosity, creativity, freedom of spirit, collaboration, and the exchange of knowledge in science, art, and education. It aims to enrich the knowledge base, raise awareness, strengthen humanistic values, promote dialogue, enhance the quality of life, and foster global justice. UM comprises 17 faculties, including the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Architecture, which engages in diverse research and development projects.
What are the main products or services that offers?
The University of Maribor offers a wide range of educational programs at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels. It conducts extensive research for both industry and public institutions. The university also focuses on international cooperation and education, participating in various international associations and projects, and fostering the mobility of students and staff. Additionally, UM provides services like expert opinions, studies, and project planning for various clients.
How has your organisation evolved since its inception?
The University of Maribor was established in 1975, initially starting with fewer faculties and a focus on theology. Over time, it expanded to 17 faculties, including the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Architecture. This faculty evolved from a focus solely on civil engineering to encompassing transportation engineering and architecture, emphasizing modern, interdisciplinary education and research. The university has grown into a contemporary institution engaged in various international projects and associations, striving for international comparability and excellence in education and research.
Contribution to the TRACE Project
How did your company get involved with the TRACE project?
UM became involved with the TRACE project through its collaboration with various industry partners, including Pošta Slovenije. Leveraging its research capacities, UM contributes expertise in transportation, logistics, and modern information systems. This allows UM to play a crucial role in stakeholder engagement and in-depth research on collaboration within the project. The university’s strong knowledge of contemporary trends and innovative solutions positions it well for this role.
What specific role does your company play in the TRACE project?
UM plays a crucial role in the TRACE project, particularly in the Slovenian pilot demonstration. UM focuses on behavior change and conducts formal assessments of trial periods. Tasks include reviewing literature on ethical and trust issues in shared logistics, exploring best practices, and designing behavioral intervention mechanisms. UM collaborates in demonstrating cross-cutting pilot trials in Slovenia, aiming to optimize urban logistics and reduce CO2 emissions. Additionally, UM is responsible for the formal assessment of pilot demonstration outcomes, ensuring the project’s success and alignment with established methodologies.
Can you describe any unique contributions or innovations your research has brought to the project?
UM offers a systematic approach to research activities within TRACE, bringing specialized knowledge in urban logistics and logistic processes. The university’s understanding of business models, best practices, and industry challenges enriches the project’s development. UM’s involvement ensures the integration of innovative solutions and advanced research methodologies, enhancing the project’s overall impact.
How does your organisation’s involvement in TRACE align with its overall goals and mission?
UM’s involvement in TRACE is in line with its mission and vision of fostering sustainable development and advancing knowledge. By contributing to the digital and green transition in logistics, UM promotes innovation and excellence in research, education, and societal impact, as outlined in its strategic development documents. The project enables UM to apply and expand its expertise in modern logistics, facilitating knowledge transfer to academia and industry. UM’s involvement in TRACE also emphasizes the importance of staying up to date with the latest advancements in logistics, contributing to the development of competency-based knowledge. This participation enables UM to enhance its pedagogical processes by incorporating real-world experiences and cutting-edge research findings into its curriculum. Through active engagement in projects like TRACE, UM ensures that its students receive a comprehensive education that prepares them for the challenges of the modern world.
Vision and Impact
What is your long-term vision for the TRACE project?
UM envisions the platform being widely accepted and permanently usable by logistics operators in the long term, fostering collaboration and achieving synergistic effects that are not currently possible due to distrust of unknown or new logistics companies, fear of disclosing sensitive information, reluctance to collaborate with competitors, concerns about losing specific customers, and apprehensions regarding cybersecurity. By addressing these challenges and building trust and confidence among stakeholders, UM aims to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the TRACE platform.
How do you see the TRACE project impacting the industry and the community?
TRACE project will significantly impact the industry and the community by enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and emissions. It takes a step towards achieving the goals of the physical internet, leading to better vehicle utilization, fewer cars, and more livable cities. Additionally, it ensures faster, more frequent, and punctual deliveries, enhancing competitiveness and bargaining power of logistics operators. This results in reduced costs, increased demand, and improved optimization and efficiency of logistics processes.
What are some of the key challenges you foresee in the project, and how do you plan to address them?
Key challenges in the TRACE project include stakeholder engagement difficulties and lack of interest from stakeholders outside the project. UM is actively participating in Slovenian pilot demonstration, testing solutions, and identifying feasible ones. We anticipate challenges such as implementing autonomous delivery and raising awareness among logistics operators. However, with key partners already involved, we expect minimal deviations from planned activities. To tackle these challenges, we increase awareness through workshops, meetings, and discussions. Subsequently, we demonstrate the potential optimization effects of the pilot, proving its feasibility through practical examples.
Collaboration and Experience
How has the collaboration with other partners in the TRACE project been so far?
Collaboration with partners in the TRACE project has been excellent. We complement each other’s expertise, particularly with the lead partner and those responsible for platform development. ISIG addresses ethical aspects, ensuring a well-rounded approach. Overall, our collaboration is constructive. Currently, we’re closely working with CERTH on optimization algorithms, with BC5.0 on integrating blockchain technology into the platform and with ROBOTNIK for autonomous delivery vehicle development.
Can you share any success stories or notable achievements from your collaboration within the TRACE project?
A notable achievement in our collaboration within the TRACE project is the strong cohesion among Slovenian partners: Pošta Slovenije, UM, AVLL, and BTC City. Together, we’ve ensured close collaboration, laying the groundwork for a robust pilot demonstration. This demonstration will serve as a relevant showcase for urban logistics in Ljubljana and beyond, highlighting our collective efforts in addressing logistical challenges in cities.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of being part of the TRACE project?
The most rewarding aspect of being part of the TRACE project has been engaging in discussions, debates, and co-creation sessions with partners who are beyond the state of the art. The exchange of opinions, experiences, and expectations, along with cross-cultural comparisons and transnational collaboration, has been invaluable. Contributing to the creation of innovative solutions in the field of logistics has been both fulfilling and enriching.
Project Description and Values
In your opinion, what are the most important values that the TRACE project embodies?
TRACE project embodies several fundamental values. These include a commitment from partners to contribute to the development of innovative solutions in synchromodal logistics, a goal-oriented consortium, and a focus on developing practical and sustainable solutions. Additionally, the project emphasizes the importance of achieving excellence, maintaining consistency and timeliness, fostering collaboration, and ensuring partner dedication to project objectives.
If you had to describe the TRACE project in three words, what would they be?
Innovation, optimization, collaboration, logistics, future, physical internet, zero emission, autonomous delivery.
How do you think the TRACE project stands out from similar initiatives in the field?
The TRACE project distinguishes itself by setting high standards for solution applicability and developing successful business models for platform utilization. It integrates various technological solutions, such as diverse vehicles, optimization approaches, blockchain technology, and use cases spanning different logistical infrastructures and modalities. Its large-scale urban logistics demonstrations include collaboration between rail and road logistics operators, the use of drones, autonomous vehicles and cargo bikes.
Future Prospects
What are the next steps for your company within the TRACE project?
Within the TRACE project, our company’s upcoming actions involve several key initiatives. We’ll be actively supporting the platform’s development while also executing the pilot demonstration and aiding in its implementation. Additionally, we’ll be responsible for producing a comprehensive report on the formal assessment of trial demonstrations. Our tasks also include conducting an analysis of behavior change, which will inform recommendations for platform development. Furthermore, we’ll collaborate on the development of optimization algorithms tailored for executing logistical processes within the Slovenian pilot.
How do you see your involvement in the TRACE project evolving in the future?
The University of Maribor foresees its role within the TRACE project evolving towards enhancing logistics operators’ awareness through platform utilization, fostering behavior change competency, and advancing modeling of collaboration processes. These initiatives will not only unlock innovative avenues for our institution but also foster industry collaboration.
What new opportunities do you believe the TRACE project will open up for the University of Maribor?
The TRACE project offers our university a range of new opportunities. We’ll raise logistics operators’ awareness about collaboration benefits through the TRACE platform, alongside promoting its use to optimize logistics processes. Simultaneously, we’ll develop expertise in behavior change and advance knowledge in modeling and simulations for complex logistics collaboration, thereby enriching our institutional capabilities.
Personal Insights
What personally excites you the most about the TRACE project?
What excites us the most about the TRACE project is its focus on addressing socially significant issues like inefficiencies in logistics processes, noise, and emissions.
How do you stay motivated and inspired in your work with the TRACE project?
By tackling measures that are crucial and prevalent in Slovenian companies and beyond, we’re directly impacting the logistics sector and society. This aspect is particularly motivating because it aligns with our mission to make meaningful contributions to both industry and societal progress.
Do you have any advice for other organisations considering participating in collaborative projects like TRACE?
When considering participation in collaborative projects like TRACE, it’s crucial for companies to Firstly, identify your company’s challenges. Then, seek innovative solutions, utilizing cutting-edge technologies and integrating them into your processes. Don’t overlook behavior change to foster collaboration and involve all necessary stakeholders for long-term success. Finally, conduct pilot projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of tested solutions. Form an interdisciplinary team with top experts to ensure the project reaches beyond the state of the art.
