The Abertis Chairs Awards in Transport Infrastructure Management and Road Safety, which recognise each year the best final degree projects or doctoral theses of university students in two categories (transport infrastructure management and road safety), have been presented in France and Brazil.
In France, the Abertis-Sanef-École des Ponts Chair award went to Malalatiana Randriamasy, in the Transportation Infrastructure Management category, for a thesis on vehicle-infrastructure communication and its application to electronic toll collection. In the Road Safety category, the winner was Yann Meneroux, for a thesis on road signalling detection methods.
The awards ceremony at the Spanish Embassy in Paris was attended by the Spanish Ambassador, José Manuel Albares; the Chairwoman of the Abertis Foundation, Elena Salgado; the CEO of Sanef, Arnaud Quémard; and the Director of l'École des Ponts, Sophie Mougard.
The Abertis-University of São Paulo Chair Award, which recognises the academic work of Brazilian students, has also been presented in Brazil. Willian Fedrigo was the winner in the Transport Infrastructure category, and Aurenice da Cruz Figueira was the winner in the Road Safety category. The award ceremony was carried out electronically.
The Abertis-Sanef-École Ponts Chair and the Abertis-University of São Paulo Chair are part of the International Network of Abertis Academic Chairs, with similar awards in Puerto Rico, Chile and Spain, where the first chair was founded in 2003, and always in collaboration with leading universities. From all of them, the International Abertis award is held annually, which is selected from among the winners of the respective categories from all countries.
Network of Abertis Academic Chairs
Aware of the importance of working with the academic world to ensure social and economic progress, Abertis promotes training, research and the transfer of knowledge between University and Corporations. The International Network of Abertis Chairs is the first university think tank with the mission of promoting road safety in higher education, bringing together the efforts of academic partners, the public sector and the private sector. It is one of the pillars of Abertis' steadfast commitment to road safety via its strategic Road Safety programme.
With the international network of Academic Chairs, Abertis aspires to stimulate, generate and disseminate new knowledge and innovations in its fields of activity to put them at the service of the whole of society and the technical and educational community, caring for and helping the talent that universities are capable of flourishing and channelling.
The network of Abertis Academic Chairs in Spain is made up of those established in Madrid (UPM-Polytechnic University of Madrid) and Barcelona (UPC). The company also has four international academic chairs: France (École des Ponts-ParisTech), Puerto Rico (University of Puerto Rico), Chile (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) and Brazil (University of São Paulo).
The winning works can be viewed on the website of the International Network of Abertis Academic Chairs at: www.catedrasabertis.com
22 September 2026
• The Group, together with its Foundation, has opened applications for the Safe Road Operations Challenge, a new open innovation call aimed at technology startups and SMEs from around the world.
• According to the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic's National Registry of Traffic Accident Victims, 154 accidents related to road maintenance and conservation work were recorded on Spanish roads in 2025, with speed being the main risk factor.
• The challenge addresses a risk common to road operations worldwide: the direct interaction between road workers, live traffic and changing operating conditions.
• The winning proposal will receive a €40,000 ...
15 June 2026
• This is one of the main findings of a study conducted by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) in collaboration with the TRANSyT Transport Research Centre, and promoted by the Abertis Foundation as part of its international Chairs programme, analysing mobility habits, infrastructure assessments and future expectations.
• 77% of users believe toll roads have better pavement conditions than non-toll roads, and 67% say they feel safer driving on them.
• 85% call for real-time information on accidents and roadworks to be available directly in vehicles, while 75% support expanding barrier-free payment systems.
• 74% say they would use motorways more if they had access to a free electronic payment device, and seven out of ten already use mobile apps to plan their journeys.