IRF Conference on Funding & Leveraging AI Applications for Roadway Innovations: Full Schedule

7:30am EEST

Breakfast / Registration

Wednesday June 3, 2026 7:30am - 10:30am EEST

Networking Break

10:30am EEST

Opening & Keynotes: Funding and Managing Roads in a Changing Mobility Landscape

Wednesday June 3, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am EEST

Speakers

Eng. Todor Anastasov

Chair, Management Board, Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA)

Plamen Kitipov

Vice Mayor, City of Varna

Wednesday June 3, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am EEST

Executive Session

11:00am EEST

High-Level Roundtable - Funding and Managing Roads in a Changing Mobility Landscape

Wednesday June 3, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Speakers

Flavius-Florin Paval

Associate Professor, Deputy Director ITS, CNAIR Romania / UTM Moldova

Ivica Budimir

Chairman of the Management Board, Hrvatske ceste and President of the Croatian Association for Roads and Railways - Via Vita

Ivica Budimir holds a degree in Civil Engineering. He graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Split in 1997 and has spent his entire career working in the road construction sector. He began his career at the Institute of Civil Engineering of Croatia (IGH), continued in... Read More →

Steve Phillips

Secretary General, CEDR

Dr. Prof. Oleg Asenov

Director, National Toll Administration (NTU)

Eng. Oleg Asenov is a Professor of Computer Networks and Communications and holds a Doctor of Science degree in Informatics and Computer Science from St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. He also holds a Master’s degree in Automation and Computer... Read More →

Wednesday June 3, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Executive Session

12:00pm EEST

Networking Lunch

Wednesday June 3, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm EEST

Networking Break

1:30pm EEST

Innovation in Road Funding: Road Pricing and Revenue Models

Wednesday June 3, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Speakers

Walter Planer

Head of Global Market Coordination, Skytoll

Walter Planer is a qualified electrical engineer with in-depth knowledge of traffic engineering and has more than 15 years of professional experience in the toll industry. He has been with VITRONIC for 4 years, whose core competence in traffic engineering is vehicle monitoring. The... Read More →

Jorge Lopes

Board Advisor, Brisa

Alberto Lodieu

Partner, Ptolemus

Wednesday June 3, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Executive Session

1:30pm EEST

Construction & Monitoring

Wednesday June 3, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Technical Session

3:00pm EEST

Networking / Coffee Break

Wednesday June 3, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EEST

Networking Break

3:30pm EEST

AI Innovation in Practice: Evidence from Safety, Operations, and Asset Management

Wednesday June 3, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Speakers

João Neves

Infrastructure Intelligence Manager, Ascendi

Eng. Miroslav Tsenov

Director of Situation Center and Traffic Management, Bulgaria Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA)

Jan Filipovsky

Country Manager for Central Europe, Roadscanner Oy

I studied Civil Engineering at the University of Zilina in Zilina, Slovakia and at AALTO University in Espoo, Finland. During my studies I worked 5 years as a road construction supervisor for one of the biggest construction firms in Slovakia – Doprastav Ltd. Later I worked 2 years... Read More →

Kristin Eklöf

Data Scientist, PhD, Salbo.ai

Flavius-Florin Paval

Associate Professor, Deputy Director ITS, CNAIR Romania / UTM Moldova

Wednesday June 3, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Executive Session

3:30pm EEST

AI Tools for Road Management and Asset Performance

Wednesday June 3, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Technical Session

7:00pm EEST

Cocktail Reception

Wednesday June 3, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm EEST

Networking Break

10:30am EEST

From Innovation to Implementation: What Road Agencies Need to Succeed

Thursday June 4, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm EEST

Speakers

Dr. Ali Almonbhi

General Manager for Logistics Roads, Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services

Executive Engineering Leader with over 20 years of experience in infrastructure development, asset management, and strategic leadership. Currently spearheading critical Vision 2030 initiatives for the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services to enable the Kingdom’s status as... Read More →

Sudeshna Mitra

Senior Transport Specialist, The World Bank

Currently responsible for coordination and implementation of the Road Safety Research Program at the Global Road Safety Facility, The World Bank. She is an experienced researcher and educator with expertise in Road Traffic Safety with skills in Statistical Modeling, ArcGIS, Sustainable... Read More →

Máté Verdes

Head of ITS Department, Hungarian Public Roads

Thursday June 4, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm EEST

Executive Session

10:30am EEST

Case Studies: Digitalization of Road Operations and Management

Thursday June 4, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm EEST

Technical Session

12:00pm EEST

Networking Lunch

Thursday June 4, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm EEST

Networking Break

1:30pm EEST

Road Safety as a Core Outcome of Digital and AI-Enabled Road Systems

Thursday June 4, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Speakers

Dina Tzonevska

Senior Expert, Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA), Bulgaria

Ivan Koleliev

Manager, EngConsultProject Ltd.

Ivan Koleliev is a civil/transport engineer with over 20 years of professional experience. His areas of specialization include road and airport pavement surveys, pavement management systems, cost–benefit analysis for transport infrastructure, and public–private partnerships. He... Read More →

Philip J. Wijers

Chair, IRF Road Safety Committee, Sensys Gatso

After positions in the airline industry, he joined the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs. He worked as counsellor at Netherlands embassies in several Asian countries where he was responsible for transportation, trade and business promotion and innovation related matters.In... Read More →

Thursday June 4, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Executive Session

1:30pm EEST

Funding, Investment, Data

Thursday June 4, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EEST

Technical Session

3:00pm EEST

Networking / Coffee Break

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EEST

Networking Break

3:30pm EEST

Roundtable | Governance, Leadership, and Scaling Innovation

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Speakers

Matt Ireland

Project Manager, International Transport Forum (ITF)

Matt Ireland is a Project Manager / Policy Analyst in the Research Centre of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where he works on decarbonising aviation, urban demand management and sustainable accessibility... Read More →

Steve Phillips

Secretary General, CEDR

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Executive Session

3:30pm EEST

Digital and AI-Enabled Innovation in Engineering, Delivery, and Lifecycle Management

Thursday June 4, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EEST

Technical Session

5:00pm EEST

Official Closing

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:00pm - 5:30pm EEST

Executive Session

7:00pm EEST

Gala Dinner

Thursday June 4, 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm EEST

Networking Break

7:30am EEST

10:30am EEST

11:00am EEST

12:00pm EEST

1:30pm EEST

1:30pm EEST

3:00pm EEST

3:30pm EEST

3:30pm EEST

7:00pm EEST

10:30am EEST

10:30am EEST

12:00pm EEST

1:30pm EEST

1:30pm EEST

3:00pm EEST

3:30pm EEST

3:30pm EEST

5:00pm EEST

7:00pm EEST

Get help with the event