Parking BOXX Announces Parking Solutions Scholarship Winner

Parking BOXX Announces Parking Solutions Scholarship Winner

Sarnia, ON | March 6, 2020

Parking BOXX, the North American-based parking system manufacturer and software developer, announced the recipient of the 2019 Parking Solutions Scholarship for Technical Innovation in Parking Solutions .


The scholarship was awarded to Kristal Cerga, who wrote a forward thinking essay on the integration of self-driving cars and parking technology. Ms. Cerga is studying a double major in Biology, as well as Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University, which is currently ranked as a top 4 university in Canada.


Ms. Cerga’s essay was selected for the award because she provided a well-written analysis of a currently small, yet potentially disruptive, market for the parking industry. Ms. Cerga stated, “Given how technology is constantly changing the landscape of how we live day-to-day, I thought it would be important to see how it might affect the future of parking solutions.”


“The thought process in this essay is well-aligned with Parking BOXX’s forward-thinking strategies,” said Renee Smith, Parking BOXX’s CTO, “and how we continue to evaluate disruptor possibilities as we enter this new decade.”

This marks the third year that Parking BOXX has offered the international scholarship. To apply, students submit a 500-word essay identifying a parking industry problem and outlining their solution. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a student who presents the most innovative, yet practical solution for making parking more user-friendly, efficient, or otherwise enhanced. To be eligible, participants must be enrolled, or due to be enrolled, in a program at an accredited graduate school, university or college, vocational school, technical school, or community college.

In 2019, nearly 300 applications were received. Students proposed a variety of solutions: from time-saving solutions via to artificial intelligence to green parking initiatives utilizing solar power. Similar to prior years, the most popular theme was the use of mobile applications: apps to pre-book spaces, apps to pay online, and space-sharing apps.

The scholarship program initially launched in 2017 to foster creativity and problem-solving from the point of view of the student, who is typically a younger demographic with fresh and innovative ideas. As the need for technological solutions continues to rise in the parking industry, it is part of Parking BOXX’s mission to support an emerging class of technology-oriented professionals.

Parking BOXX would like to thank all of this year’s applicants for their creative and innovative solutions. We were pleased by the overwhelming global response and the Parking Solutions Scholarship is now open for 2020!

About Parking BOXX

Headquartered in North America, Parking BOXX is a leading parking systems and barrier gates manufacturer. Parking BOXX accommodates the needs of small lots as well as large, complex parking systems. Parking BOXX has over 80 years of parking industry experience, dealers throughout North America, and parking sites in operation from Los Angeles to the Caribbean to Newfoundland. Parking BOXX systems reliably run sites with thousands of daily vehicles and millions in annual parking revenue. For more information on how Parking BOXX can help meet your parking system and parking lot equipment needs, please visit https://parkingboxx.com , call 800-518-1230, or email info(at)parkingboxx(dot)com.