Student Award
Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2026
Where: De Hallen Studio's, Amsterdam
Theme: The right to access: mobility in the growing city
Join an inspiring event with perspectives on mobility in growing cities
We are excited to invite you to discover the Appeltjesmarkt area, including Q-Park Europarking, its associated mobility challenges and the Q-Park Thought Leader Event and Q-Park Student Award. Through our site visit, talks and networking opportunities, we aim to explore the exciting world of urban mobility with our speakers, students and guests.
This event is designed to inspire and engage a diverse audience, including public and private landlords, local officials, (micro-)mobility providers such as car rental/sharing or bicycle sharing, and public transport services.
Event highlights
Site visit: Gather at Q-Park Europarking and get an understanding of the area plans and challenges.
Thought leaders: Two renowned experts will share their insights on mobility in growing cities.
Student Awards: Three brilliant students will present their winning research, offering ideas and solutions.
Why attend?
Accessibility is crucial for visitors, residents and businesses in growing cities as the need to connect socially, with businesses and local amenities, is ever-growing. As an international parking owner-operator, we are committed to being a Sustainable Mobility Partner for local authorities and sustainable mobility providers.
We believe that sharing knowledge creates value for all. Sharing knowledge from different perspectives: from topical experts, from students, and from local officials is very powerful and inspirational. Strengthening our collective goal to create and offer solutions to enhance accessibility, urban liveability, economic viability and sustainable mobility together.
Join us to explore the right to access growing cities, and be part of the conversation that shapes our way forward. Together, we can create a more sustainable and connected urban environment.
Site visit
The Appeltjesmarkt area, including Europarking, is a promising location for a neighbourhood hub offering a wide range of transport options and amenities. Research into the integration of neighbourhood hubs within the existing city shows that this area already has many hub functions.
For example, the Europarking offers parking spaces for residents and visitors, and there is a tram stop and a bus station for regional transport. Micro-mobility providers also offer bicycle and scooter sharing options in the Appeltjesmarkt area. Furthermore, the area is strategically interesting because it lies on the inner ring road and on the edge of the busy city centre.
By adding functions such as shared mobility, bicycle parking, electric (fast) charging, the transfer of goods from water to land, parcel services, neighbourhood amenities and the enhancement of public space, an integrated approach also addresses the public space, seeks to enhance the area to be of a higher quality, more attractive and socially safer.
Visual of the Appeltjesmarkt / Europarking area, city of Amsterdam
Thought leaders
Drs. Willem van Heijningen, a traffic and public space strategist at the City of Amsterdam and project lead for Hubs Amsterdam. He focuses on linking up the city’s various challenges as public space in Amsterdam is under immense pressure. From additional housing and charging points to greening initiatives and circular economy facilities. Everything requires space, yet such space is in extremely short supply.
He advocates a fundamentally different approach. “We need data and digital tools to tackle the issue of allocation.” Willem takes an integrated approach to complex issues. Not just seeking solutions to a single problem, but trying to contribute simultaneously to sustainability, accessibility, and quality of life.
Dr. Carl Friedrich Eckhardt, a group strategist of BMW, focuses on how technological excellence, digitalisation, and responsible industrial practices can reinforce one another in an era of rapid transformation for the automotive sector. He brings a rare combination of deep technical expertise and strategic perspective to BMW, where he has built his career at the intersection of engineering innovation, sustainability, and long‑term mobility strategy. He is known for his ability to translate advanced research and technology into practical, scalable solutions.
Carl Friedrich is particularly interested in how systems thinking – across the vehicle, the value chain, and the wider mobility ecosystem – will define competitiveness in the years ahead. For him, the challenge is not only to develop cutting‑edge technology, but to ensure that it contributes meaningfully to economic resilience, environmental responsibility, and societal trust.
Giuliano Mingardo is a researcher at Erasmus University with a strong focus on urban mobility, public space, and governance in rapidly growing cities. His work explores how cities can remain accessible, liveable, and fair as they densify and face increasing pressure on infrastructure and public services.
Mingardo is especially interested in the role of public institutions in safeguarding access to the city as a shared good. In an era of congestion, platformisation, and competing claims on urban space, he argues that access should be understood not just as a technical problem, but as a social and democratic one. His work invites policymakers, planners, and researchers to rethink access as a fundamental urban right—central to the future of growing cities. With a particular attention to the tensions between efficiency, sustainability, and inclusivity, asking who benefits from urban development and who may be unintentionally excluded.
Student Awards
Part of the event is the annual Q-Park Student Award. The competition is organised by the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Q-Park, and open to students from European colleges and universities. Any bachelor or master project related to parking and/or mobility, in the broadest sense of the word, is eligible. During the event, the three students who submitted the best projects will present their results.
Frank De Moor is CEO of Q‑Park BV and brings extensive experience in urban mobility, infrastructure, and strategic transformation. In his current role, Frank oversees the evolution of Q‑Park from a traditional parking operator into a sustainable mobility partner for cities and mobility providers. He focuses on redefining parking as part of a broader urban ecosystem—supporting public transport, active mobility, electric driving, and shared mobility solutions.
He argues that sustainable mobility is not about eliminating cars, but about managing them more intelligently. He stresses the importance of data, digitalisation, and collaboration between public and private actors to guide traffic flows, reduce emissions, and organise public space for people. For him, parking policy is a powerful but often underestimated instrument in shaping sustainable, accessible, and future‑proof cities.
Event moderator
Theo Thuis is President of the European Parking Association (EPA) and Managing Director, Innovation at Q-Park. With a background in Economic Geography and Regional Economics, he has held senior roles in both public administration and international parking operations.
He is an innovator and inspirator with a more than average interest in solutions for smart cities and smart mobility. He will guide us through the event, Theo loves to challenge all guests to engage with the thought leaders, students and each other.
Event information
Date: 18 November 2026
Agenda:
10:30 Reception at the Waterkant
11:00 Presentation about Q-Park Europarking and its surroundings
11:30 Site visit
12:30 Walking to De Hallen Studio's
13:00 Reception at De Hallen Studio's
14:00 Thought leaders
15:00 Discussion & break
16:00 Student presentations & Award ceremony
17:00 Networking, beverages & bites
Address:
De Waterkant, Marnixstraat 246, 1016 TL Amsterdam
De Hallen Studio's, Hannie Dankbaarpassage 18, 1053 RT Amsterdam