On 14-15 October 2026, the partners of the HARMO (Human-Aware Road Mobility Optimisation) project gathered in Leuven, Belgium, for the project’s official kick-off meeting, hosted by Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML).
The two-day event marked the first opportunity for all consortium partners to meet in person and begin building the collaborative foundations that will support the project over the next three years.
Together with the official start of HARMO project in October 2026, the kick-off meeting allows researchers, industry representatives and mobility experts from across Europe to come together, exchange perspectives and align their efforts around the project’s common goals. The meeting included detailed presentations of the different work packages, discussions on methodologies and timelines, and the first steps towards establishing a shared roadmap for the months ahead.
The project, coordinated by ITS Norway, combines expertises from 12 other partners: ENIDE Solutions, FZI – Research Center for Information Technology, IRU – World Road Transport Organisation, TML – Transport & Mobility Leuven, NORD University, MILLA Group, CIDAUT Foundation, University of Surrey, SafeAD GmbH, LOXO AG, Trygg Trafikk and CTAG.
Beyond the technical discussions, the meeting provided an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the relationships between consortium members. Bringing together expertise from diverse disciplines and countries is one of HARMO’s greatest strengths, and the open exchanges during the kick-off meeting highlighted the collaborative spirit that will be essential to the project’s success.
For TRAFIKKLAB and Nord University, participation in HARMO represents a unique opportunity to contribute expertise in traffic psychology, human factors and road safety research while expanding international cooperation within the rapidly evolving field of automated mobility.
During the guided walk through Leuven’s historic city centre, the consortium also met one of the city’s most famous residents: Fonske, the “Source of Wisdom”. The statue shows a student studying a book while pouring wisdom into their own head, an image that perfectly captures the spirit of a university city.
As researchers starting a new European project together, we could only hope that a little of Fonske’s wisdom rubbed off on us. With three years of exciting work ahead, it seemed an appropriate good-luck symbol for the HARMO journey!
We would like to thank TML for hosting an excellent kick-off meeting and all project partners for two productive and inspiring days in Leuven.
We look forward to the next stages of the journey!