From June 11 to 14, the international conference and doctoral school Mobile Tartu 2024 took place in Tartu. The conference discussed how to best utilise the possibilities of big data collected during daily mobility for planning public services, just and liveable spaces, and sustainable transport systems. This was already the ninth Mobile Tartu conference, which gathered more than 100 researchers and practitioners from 17 countries.
PhD School at Kavastu and Tartu
We started the event with our traditional PhD School day out of Tartu. Approximately 60 people, including 39 PhD candidates, workshop leaders, lecturers, and organisers, gathered in Kavastu. The venue, located just on the bank of the River Emajõgi, is a gate to Emajõe Suursoo, a nature protection area close to Lake Peipus.
The first day featured three lectures. Assoc Prof Kristjan Vassil from the University of Tartu discussed e-governance and how sensor data can inform public services. Grigori Parfjonov from the Tallinn Transport Administration addressed the role of data in the decision-making of the public transport system in Tallinn. Joonas Puura from Bolt introduced geospatial analysis domains at Bolt, focusing on wayfinding and time estimations. Assoc Prof Urška Demšar most unfortunately could not make it to the conference to deliver her keynote, but gladly, the recording of her talk is available for all. Check it out!
Each PhD School participant took part in one of the four workshops that were organised in collaboration with Aalto University, Technical University of Munich, Tallinn University of Technology, and University of Tartu.
Workshop participants analysed travel-related carbon emissions using open-source Python libraries while using data from the Helsinki Metropolitan area, designed new mobility hubs for the city of Tartu using publicly available data and even data collected during fieldwork in Tartu, measured temporal and spatial aspects related to micro-mobilities and their connection with external factors using open data sources and investigated spatiotemporal movements of Ukrainian refugees in Estonia using passive mobile positioning data.
Many thanks to Henrikki Tenkanen (Aalto University), David Duran (Technical University of Munich), Aaron Nichols (Technical University of Munich), Anu Masso (Tallinn University of Technology), Anniki Puura (Tallinn University of Technology), Siiri Silm (University of Tartu), Ago Tominga (University of Tartu) and Martin Haamer (University of Tartu) for supervising the workshops and guiding our participants!
Main Conference
The main conference was opened by the third Rein Ahas Lecture, this year delivered by Prof Jukka Krisp from Augsburg University. With this keynote speech, we honour the memory of the late Professor Rein Ahas, the founder of the Mobile Tartu Conference and our Mobility Lab. Prof Krisp discussed how mobility research might be used to develop route-finding services for driving based on personal preferences. People do not necessarily want to take the fastest or the shortest route, and considering personal preferences can help reach, e.g., the safest routes. Prof Krisp prompted us to consider the potential merits and pitfalls of using artificial intelligence for mobility research. Some open-ended questions were: Will it be possible to do so ethically? What are the potential impacts of AI monetisation for research? Will we trust the results?
In his keynote speech, Prof Nico Van de Weghe from Ghent University explored the possibilities of generative AI in human mobility research and the paradigm shift in how humans and technology interact that it represents. Through an engaging discussion of a wide array of human mobility research contexts in which generative AI can be used (e.g., use of virtual reality environments for analysing cycling and driving behaviour), he underlined that AI is a disruptive technology that we must engage with. Thinking critically and creatively and acting responsibly are key to positively exploiting its potential.
In her keynote speech, Assoc Prof Anu Masso from the Tallinn University of Technology dealt with the topic of mobility justice and the development of an Estonian Data Manifesto. Using examples from numerous studies, she pushed us to consider the intersections of mobility, data, and social life. She proposed a definition of mobility justice, which is considered a social process in which stakeholders consider the tight connections between data and human experiences and ensure fairness via a combination of infrastructural conditions and social interactions. Prof Masso outlined the major postulates of an Estonian Data Manifesto focused on achieving justice and fairness in using human mobility data.
In our final keynote speech, Assoc Prof Robin Lovelace from the University of Leeds and Active Travel England delivered a highly engaging discussion on reproducible research and open tools for future-proof transport planning. Using concrete examples from both research and practical application, he addressed questions of what reproducible research means, how it can be conducted, and its key advantages. He also pointed to the key roles that open-source data and tools play in this process and underlined how reproducibility contributes to the future-proofing (i.e., long-term relevance) of research results.
The conference featured two panel discussions. Our first discussion was chaired by Assoc Prof Anto Aasa (University of Tartu) with Erki Saluveer (Positium), Assoc Prof Anu Masso (Tallinn University of Technology) and Prof Nico Van de Weghe (Ghent University) as panel discussants. The panel focused on the possibilities and risks that are associated with the advancements of AI models. Participants also discussed topics like the digital divide and the creation of synthetic data.
Our closing panel discussion with Assoc Prof Robin Lovelace (University of Leeds), Dr Kerli Müürisepp (University of Helsinki), Prof Luc Wismans (University of Twente) and Kertu Vuks (Tartu City Government) was chaired by Prof Matthew Zook from the University of Kentucky. The panel discussion focused on key messages from the conference and future insights into human mobility research and its societal impacts. In particular, the critical question is how to use data more effectively to meet practical challenges. Participants highlighted major advantages to be found in interdisciplinary collaboration as well as working directly with professionals from organisations such as municipal governments as real partners in the research process and explicitly incorporating goals with practical relevance.
Mobile Tartu Conference also featured a poster session, where PhD School participants introduced posters based on their submitted abstracts. Some of the PhD School participants had a chance to present their work in paper sessions instead.
All in all, the conference had nine paper sessions with a total of 38 presentations. One of these sessions was a special NECTAR session on the topic of transport information extraction from mobile big data.
A good conference can’t succeed with only academic talks – participants would be too tired to remember any of the very cool presentations! So, as usual, we also had a social programme at our conference. Conference participants took part in a bike tour of Tartu and enjoyed the conference dinner at the restaurant Kolm Tilli in Aparaaditehas, which also featured our traditional quiz! And, of course, there were many unofficial gatherings in the many bars of Tartu. Pictures of the many aspects of our conference can be seen in the conference gallery.
Those who opted to stay for an extra day could also participate in a one-day field trip to the island Piirissaar, which is located on Lake Peipus near the border with Russia. This isolated island has a unique way of living, and even time feels different on the island. Our field trip started with a 3-hour boat ride through Emajõe-Suursoo, a large swamp area which is also a nature reserve. Once on the island, we walked around, immersing ourselves in the different feelings of time while listening to our guide, Assoc Prof Taavi Pae, who explained the nuances of the history and culture on the island.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in or presented at either the Mobile Tartu 2024 Conference or in our PhD School. Without your energetic and openminded participation and thought-provoking presentations our conference wouldn’t have been half as successful!
On the other hand, without our Lab members and volunteers this event wouldn’t have happened at all! Many thanks to Age Poom, Elise Jalonen, Jürgen Öövel, Anto Aasa, Martin Haamer, Ago Tominga, Siiri Silm, Janika Raun, Veronika Mooses, Laura Altin, Karl Saidla, Daiga Paršova and Arvi Kiik from the Mobility Lab, University of Tartu and many thanks to our volunteers: Iris Luik, Bernard Raafael Niitra, Eva Lotta Lepp, Kadi Tralla, Raul Garcia Estevez and Roosi Ahas.
The conference was organised by the Mobility Lab at the University of Tartu, in collaboration with EIT Urban Mobility Doctoral Training Network, NECTAR Cluster 8: ICT, and Positium. The event was partially funded by the University of Tartu and the City of Tartu.
The PhD school was organised with the support from EIT Urban Mobility, and the event was partially funded by the European Union.
The PhD School workshops were organised in collaboration with TalTech, Aalto University, and Technical University of Munich.
We would also like to thank the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences of the University of Tartu for providing us the conference venue Oecologicum.
We look forward to meeting you at the tenth Mobile Tartu Conference in June 2026!
The Mobility Lab of the University of Tartu is an interdisciplinary research group that studies human mobility and its associations with society and the environment using mobile (big) data.