EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders

EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders

Join the 2025 EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders leadership program

Empowering the next generation of urban leaders, the EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders program is a six-month initiative for early- and mid-career public sector professionals.

Participants engage in hands-on learning, one-on-one executive coaching and collaborative problem-solving to tackle real urban mobility challenges. Through a flexible, hybrid format, small cohorts of 6–10 rising leaders from across Europe gain practical skills, expand their professional networks and build the experience needed to step into senior strategic roles in city leadership.

the illustration images of six cities: dublin, budapest, london, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Tallinn and Las Rozas.

Unlock your potential with this professional development program

Following a successful launch in Barcelona in May 2024, the EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders Program has brought transformative experiences to seven cities across Europe through an alternative learning experience.

The 2025 edition builds on this foundation, offering a six-month program with approximately 40 hours of tailored professional development. Emerging Leaders is a hybrid training program blending immersive in-person sessions with interactive online learning to maximise flexibility and growth.

This participant-driven program thrives on active engagement from both participants and their organisations, fostering a cycle of continuous learning and collaboration applied to the urban planning and sustainable mobility sector.

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Be a part of the next generation of city leaders to drive sustainable urban change

A leadership program built on practice, the Emerging Leaders program stands out for its highly personalised, action-oriented approach. Small, intimate cohorts foster peer-led learning, hands-on problem solving and unscripted conversations with senior urban mobility leaders.

By connecting future leaders to drive urban transformation, participants develop practical leadership skills, gain unique insights into applied innovation in cities and position themselves as the next generation of strategic city leaders.

Why should you join?

  • Enhance your leadership competencies 
  • Apply leadership in practice 
  • Learn to engage effectively with stakeholders 
  • Benefit from personalised leadership development 
  • Build your community and network 

Our pillars

The program is built on a series of interconnected pillars that reinforce each other, creating a continuous process of learning and impact for participants’ career development. Over six months, participants will engage in the following activities:

The Learning Circle

Participants draw on each other’s experiences and insights to explore future leadership challenges and enhance their skills to deal with those challenges. Each learning circle is bespoke, its composition and outcomes unique to each set of participants.

Coaching

Many future leaders may never have experienced the benefit of focused coaching. The program provides a short, time-optimised series of executive coaching sessions where participants can explore their personal leadership goals and aspirations.

The Conversation

Experienced professionals recognise that leadership is a craft. The program offers participants the opportunity to meet with experienced senior leaders and explore their approach to leadership in unscripted, closed-door sessions.

The Conference

Participants are invited to join and shape a bespoke conference with their peers, people from their cities and guests. They will explore leadership challenges for the workforce of the future, including how to deal with the pace of change, cultivate trust, drive positive impact, and create shared value.

The Community

The program is participant-centred, meaning that total commitment and participation from future leaders and their cities will drive a growth loop of benefits. On completion, participants are invited to remain as part of the alumni community of practice to maintain ongoing collaboration and connection.

Are you the next emerging leader?

The EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders program is designed to empower the next generation of urban mobility leaders. 

To participate, candidates must be nominated by senior leaders within their organisations, such as department heads, executives, city council leaders, or leaders of urban transformation projects.

To nominate a team member for the October 2025 cohort, nominators must complete the nomination form. The program team will review all submissions and notify the selected participants.

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Emerging Leaders program eligibility

  • Be nominated by a senior figure within their organisation
  • Be based in a European city or metropolitan area with a population of more than 300,000 inhabitants
  • Work in a city council, public transport authority or a related public entity
  • Hold a mid to senior-level leadership role with technical or strategic responsibilities in urban mobility or governance
  • Act as an agent of change and be passionate about shaping the future of sustainable and inclusive urban mobility
Nominate an emerging leader from your team

Meet Emerging Leaders alumni

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Ben Kennedy, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Ben Kennedy is part of the third cohort of Emerging Leaders, nominated by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. He is the Head of Transport and Environment in the Place Department and manages four teams covering air quality, ecology and landscape, transport strategy and active travel.

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Núria Pérez Sans, City of Barcelona

Meet Núria Pérez Sans, an Emerging Leader nominated by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, who is Head of the Mobility Department and develops applied research in urban studies.

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Gustavo Reyes Rodríguez, City of Helmond

Meet Gustavo Reyes Rodríguez, Urban Innovation Project Manager at the Municipality of Helmond in the Netherlands and a participant in the third cohort of the Emerging Leaders program. He plays a central role in shaping how Helmond adapts to growth while maintaining a high quality of life for its residents.

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Hinesh Mehta, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Hinesh Mehta is part of the second cohort of Emerging Leaders, nominated by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. He leads the council’s climate strategy and sustainable transport initiatives to help achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

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Olev Parts, City of Tallinn

Olev Parts, a member of the second cohort of the Emerging Leaders program, is a transport policy expert leading Tallinn’s Public Transport Operations and Infrastructure Unit. From managing daily services to driving long-term mobility strategies, Olev is at the forefront of transforming urban transport in Estonia’s capital.

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Jack Kavanagh, City of Dublin

Meet Jack Kavanagh, Open Data Lead for Smart Dublin and a participant of the Emerging Leaders program, cohort 2. His work spans mobility planning, digital twin development and leadership.

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Leire Balzategui, City of Vitoria-Gasteiz

Meet Leire Balzategui, an Emerging Leader nominated by Vitoria Mobility Lab, who is leading innovative projects in transport modelling and mobility planning.

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Nuria Blanco Caballero, City of Las Rozas

Meet Nuria Blanco Caballero, a participant in the second cohort of the Emerging Leaders program, who is shaping the future of mobility in Las Rozas through people-centred, impact-driven projects.

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Áron Halász, City of Budapest

Meet Áron Halász, a participant in the second cohort of the Emerging Leaders program, whose innovative work enhances sustainable mobility in Budapest.

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Julia Azpiroz de Achával, Barcelona

“Urban mobility is key to reducing social and territorial inequalities”

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Péter Dalos, Budapest

“We started with the seeds; now we have a jungle”

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Lianne Cassar, Malta

“It’s my dream to replicate this program on local levels”

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Jordi Marfà Vives, Barcelona

“It’s important to develop the skills to listen, understand and negotiate”

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Silvia Demetri, Milan

“In urban mobility, we have to practise what we preach”

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Sayalee Pendharkar, Munich

"I want to actively contribute to discussions with policymakers on mobility transformation"

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Kate Riggs, Croydon

“I think urban mobility is still a work in progress with everyone learning from each other all the time"

Program pricing

The program fee is €5,000 per participant. 

For the October 2025 intake, EIT Urban Mobility is covering 40% of the program cost, reducing the fee to €3,000 per organisation. 

For this cohort only, we are pleased to offer an early admission opportunity: the first five accepted registrants, nominated by 8 September 2025, will benefit from an additional 50% reduced admission fee – €1,500 instead of the standard €3,000.

Additional financial support may be available for cities with significant needs. Any associated travel costs will be covered by the participating organisation. Please contact emerging.leaders@rmit.edu.au for further assistance. 

Nominate an emerging leader from your team
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Ready to lead?

Be a part of the next cohort of emerging leaders and join our community of innovators shaping tomorrow's cities.

For any queries, please get in touch emerging.leaders@rmit.edu.au

Nominate today

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