Last year during my first steps as a postdoc I applied to the institutional Swiss Open Research Data Grants. For my work at the Center for Sustainable Future Mobility (CSFM) at ETH Zürich, I gained the support of Prof. Kay W. Axhausen and Prof. Martin Raubal to submit a project together with the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) Open Research Data Engagement & Services team under the leadership of Oksana Riba-Grognuz to create an Open Digital Twin Platform (ODTP). In line with the nature of the center, we suggested that the first application case be the Swiss Mobility Systems. Hence, our grant proposal for an “Open Digital Twin Platform for Research on the Swiss Mobility System (ODTPR-SMS) was born.

In December 2022, we received a conditional acceptance but where requested to clarify the roles of our industry partners and outline our initial prototype in more detail to ensure the success of the project. After an explanatory note we got the green light to start on March 1, 2023. The project will run in line with the Swiss National Strategy and Action Plan for Open Research Data until the December 31, 2024. Both the SDSC and ETH Zürich went through a quick hiring process to gather a team with the necessary skills.