The PopUp Tour continued in Portland today with a day full of events focusing on the potential of German-American cooperation in the business, technology and digital innovation.

The day began with a panel on “Electromobility and the Grid” hosted by BMW. The Bavarian car giant invited energy sector representatives, local government and other stakeholders to the PopUp Tour tent to discuss how to empower the mobility and energy transformation in Oregon. The panel was moderated by Andreas Klugescheid, Head of Steering Government and External Affairs and Sustainability Communications for BMW, and Jeff Allen, the Executive Director of Forth Mobility was among the speakers.

The conversation focused on electromobility, which is one major pathway for the mobility of the future. Participants asked themselves tough questions about the potential for electronic vehicles to combat climate change and the best strategies for promoting the growth of electromobility in the United States.

Following the panel, the Goethe-Institut San Francisco invited German learners from diverse backgrounds to the PopUp Tour to learn about the exciting places they can go with German on their resume.

Participants explored options for career paths, professional training, German university degree programs without tuition fees, scholarships, and apprenticeships in Germany and in the USA. Various workshops and panel discussions about working and studying German accompanied the fair.

Finally, the PopUp Tour closed out the day with another BMW Panel, this time focusing on transportation in urban areas with “Shaping the Future of Urban Mobility Through Innovation.” In a world in which 60% of the global population is expected to live and work in an urban area by 2030, industry needs to find solutions for alleviating pressure on local urban infrastructure and ecosystems.

Together with Urban-X, BMW presented examples of successful start-ups that implemented innovative, disruptive concepts to shape the future of urban mobility and discussed the future of urban mobility and the potential sway of start-ups to lead the transformation with mobility services providers, organizations supporting entrepreneurship, and start-ups. Micah Kotch, the Managing Director of URBAN-X and Urban U.s. was also a part of the panel.

After a full day of events, the day concluded with a special reception by the German Consulate in San Francisco in the evening. The PopUp Tour will be back tomorrow with more events celebrating German-American friendship. Visit the PoUp Tour website to stay up-to-date!