The 2024 IEEE ITSS R8 Chapters Meeting was hosted by the ITSS Italy Chapter and held in Genova, Italy, October 24-25. It was a successful event, gathering experts from universities, industry, research institutions and authorities, as well as young researchers and enthusiasts passionate about intelligent transportation systems. This meeting was the third edition of the ITSS R8 Chapters Meetings and welcomed representatives of 11 ITS Chapters of Region 8: Austria, Benelux, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Norway, Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, Tunisia, UK & Ireland.

61 participants attended the event and, thanks to the funding of ITSS through the 2024 IEEE ITSS New Initiatives Program, 31 fellowships were assigned, offering financial support for traveling and attending the event. The Scientific Committee (Roberta Di Pace, Michele Fiorini, Stefania Santini, Silvia Siri) and the Local Organizing Committee (Alessandro Bozzi, Tommy Chaanine, Rexhina Hoxha, Cecilia Pasquale, Simona Sacone, Silvia Siri, Enrico Zero) made this event successful and inspiring for all the attendants.

The program was very rich in contents, with interactive sessions and technical discussions on the latest trends and discoveries in the field of ITS, with a stimulating round table on “New challenges for intermodal transportation systems”, involving international experts from academia, private companies and public institutions.

The first Keynote Speaker was Arnaud de La Fortelle (Heex Technologies, France), giving a stimulating talk on “Engineering the data: The smart-data approach illustrated with autonomous driving”. The second Keynote Speaker, Jonas Mårtensson (KTH, Sweden), made an inspiring presentation on “Platooning for improved transport and energy efficiency”.

The Italian Chapter Young Professional Representative, Angelo Coppola, organized a successful YP Poster Session and Competition, with 19 participants. Kyriacos Theocharides and Giacomo Basile won in the Ph.D. Students Category, while Alessandro Bozzi and Facundo Storani won in the Researchers & Professionals Category.

A hybrid session with all Chapter Chairs of the ITSS was organized in order to exchange best practices and new ideas about the management of Chapters around the world and to increase the collaboration of ITSS Chapters in different regions.

The visit to Palace of Saint George, headquarters of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, and the social dinner further reinforced the spirit of collaboration and networking among the attendants, making the 2024 IEEE ITSS R8 Chapters Meeting in Genova a unique occasion for inspiring innovation within the dynamic community of intelligent transportation systems enthusiasts.