An Online Training Tool for Better Understanding the Operation and Significance of ITS

Developments in the fields of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Cooperative ITS (C-ITS) are continuous and new innovative technological solutions for the provision of more accurate and trustworthy feedback are employed on a regular basis. The last decade, the European Union has funded more than 140 million euros for research in innovative ITS and C-ITS technologies through the HORIZON 2020 funding mechanism. Taking into account the significance of ITS and C-ITS technologies, in the frameworks of the CAPITAL project, an ITS knowledge database has been introduced in order for a common framework to be provided for the deployment of ITS and C-ITS. The ITS knowledge database is presented in the form of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) through the CAPITAL Online Training Platform, developed in the standards of other online training platforms. The solution of MOOCs has been chosen due to the fact that more and more platforms, either university platforms or not, are already introduced for providing educational programs. The ITS knowledge database consists of nine independent topic studies, with each one aiming to describe the current state of the art of ITS and C-ITS. The aforementioned topic studies are the following: ·Introduction to ITS and C-ITS. ·ITS and C-ITS user services. ·TMC and roadside technologies for ITS. ·Communication technologies for ITS and C-ITS including relevant standards. ·Impact assessment of ITS and impacts of selected ITS and C-ITS systems. ·Financial incentives, business models and procurement models for C-ITS deployment. ·Cost-benefit analyses of ITS services. ·Guidance in deploying ITS and C-ITS. ·Data protection and privacy. The topic studies mainly take the form of literature reviews and they are presented as video lectures. They address all ITS stakeholders, divided by their know-how level into three categories: 1st level ITS start-up communities, 2nd level intermediary communities and 3rd level professional users. The educational and informational material is customized for each individual know-how level. Every trainee has the possibility to evaluate the concept of online training tools as well as the effectiveness of this specific tool both before and after the attendance to each course. Moreover, various quizzes have been developed based on the material of each lecture separately in order to measure the level of knowledge and the information that the trainees gain after each lecture. Within this paper, a first thorough analysis of the feedback of the participants - trainees is being presented and a consequent evaluation of the effectiveness of the platform is being executed in order to identify the efficiency and the success of such an online tool. The level of awareness and demand for ITS technologies is being measured through descriptive statistics that conclude to useful results for both the material of the courses as well as the usefulness of an online training tool for ITS.