Thanos Pappas, a 23-year-old man from Kalamata, Greece, recently took part in FIAT’s “Design the future of accessibility” contest and won. Thanos had always wanted to drive a car that he had designed and now his dreams are starting to come true.
At the moment, Mr. Pappas is part of a design team called “Exarsis” which undertakes vehicle design projects in Greece. In 2012, he did an internship through the Department of Product and Systems Design at the University of the Aegean, where he worked from Syros with Korres Engineering for Project D3, a city car designed for people who use wheelchairs.
The young man is also taking part in the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award with a hybrid (or purely electric) small vehicle which will be manufactured in Greece and is accessible to people with disabilities.
“When I was eight or nine years old I used to say that I wanted to be a car designer when I grew up, but everyone reacted as if I had said I wanted to be an astronaut. I didn’t give up though…” he said.
However, as Thanos Pappas stated, he chose to work in Greece instead of an international company such as FIAT. “In order to work for FIAT I need to have a Master’s degree. I don’t have the money for that. Furthermore, many people who do have a Master’s degree end up unemployed. I believe that I will be more productive in a Greek company.”
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