Annex 5 - United Kingdom

(Information provided by Nick Hounsell)

Universities

a) Undergraduate courses

Suitably qualified students enter UK Universities at the age of about 18 and undertake either 3 year 'Bachelors' courses (BEng, BSc, etc) or 4 year Masters Courses (e.g. MEng). These are usually full-time courses, but some are organised on a 'sandwich' basis, including a period spent in 'industry'.

From a brief survey of UK courses, there appear to be no courses devoted entirely to ITS, although some courses do contain limited elements of ITS. Examples here include Computer Science, Electronics and Civil Engineering. Universities have some freedom in their syllabus for courses such as these, so the coverage of ITS is quite mixed.

There are also a limited number of undergraduate transport courses, some of which include limited coverage of ITS. These are:

• Aston University (BSc in Transport Management and BSc in Logistics)
• Cardiff University (2 BSc courses related to Business Transport Management)
• University of Leeds (3 Transport-related BA courses)
• Liverpool John Moores University (2 BSc courses on Transport Management)
• Napier University (BEng in Civil and Transportation Engineering)
• Oxford Brookes University (BA in Transport and Travel)
• Swansea Institute of Higher Education (BSc in Transport Management)
• University of Glamorgan (BSc in Transport Studies)

The academic requirements of some professional institutions (e.g. the Institution of Civil Engineers) are causing a movement in favour of 4 year MEng courses, which have increasing scope to diversify into topics such as ITS.

b) Postgraduate courses

Transport has been taught predominantly at postgraduate level in UK Universities, where a number of courses exist. The most common form of training is the Masters Degree (MSc or MA). The MSc is most relevant to ITS. These courses are usually taken as a 1year full time option, although many Universities offer part-time attendance over a longer period. MSc courses usually involve a taught element of 6-9 months combined with an individual project for the remaining period. Most courses offer a Diploma alternative, which has a reduced content and/or a lower academic standard. Although there is substantial ITS coverage in many of the courses, there is currently no MSc course devoted entirely to ITS. The 'leading' Universities providing MSc Transport Courses are those supported by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), within a National Masters Training Package (MTP) in Transport. (EPSRC is one of the UK Government Research Councils and supports Masters Courses through the MTP process. It currently only supports one MTP in Transport.

The Universities involved in the MTP are:

• London, Imperial College and University College (MSc in Transport)
• Leeds (A variety of transport-related MSc, MA and MBA courses)
• Napier (MSc in Transportation Engineering)
• Newcastle (3 Transport-related MSC courses)
• Southampton (MSc in Transportation Planning and Engineering)
• Westminster (2 MSc Courses, including one on 'European logistics')

These courses offer both full-time and part-time options, with modules organised for day-release, short-course attendance and/or 'distance learning'. Some courses include specific modules on ITS (e.g. at Newcastle and Leeds, whilst others incorporate ITS into modules wherever relevant. As an example, the Southampton MSc includes coverage of ITS in passenger transport, freight transport, traffic management and control, road safety and traveller information, as well as coverage of ITS architecture.

Many other UK Universities also offer MSc Transport Courses. These include:

• Aston University (Two 3-year Transport-related courses by Distance Learning)
• Cardiff University (MSc in Transport and Planning)
• London Guildhall University (MSc in International Trade and transport)
• University of Loughborough (MSc in Airport planning and management)
• Nottingham Trent University (MSc European Traffic and Transportation)
• Oxford Brookes University (MSc's in Urban planning and Transport Planning)
• University of Plymouth (MSc's in International shipping and logistics)
• University of Salford (MSc in Transport Engineering and Planning)
• Sheffield Hallam University (3 postgraduate courses)
• Staffordshire University (MSc course including 'sustainable transport')
• Swansea Institute of Higher Education (MSc: Transport planning/management)

ITS education can also be achieved through postgraduate research programmes. These include MPhil/PhD programmes, typically lasting 2-3 years, and are offered by most of the Universities listed above. The Universities in the MTP have substantial Transport Research Groups, and support PhD activities with an increasing emphasis on ITS in many cases. A new initiative, supported by EPSRC, is the Engineering Doctorate (EngD). This is a 4 year programme involving 2 years of postgraduate training followed by 2 years research in industry. The new EngD in Transport Knowledge and Systems Engineering at the University of Southampton is particularly relevant to ITS.

As seen above, transport teaching and research is multi-disciplinary and dispersed across a number of UK Universities. This led to the formation in the 1960s of the Universities Transport Study Group (UTSG) which is a focus for transport activity. It now has some 50 member Universities with activities which include an Annual Conference.

ITS training for professionals

Training opportunities for professionals already working in the ITS sector include:

• Attendance at short courses, relevant modules or complete MSc programmes provided by the Universities. Many courses/modules are now being run to meet the increasing demands and time availability of professionals. For example the University of Newcastle runs a 3 day course on 'Transport Telematics' concurrently as a module for MSc students and a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course for professionals.
• Attendance at numerous short courses, conferences and seminars available on ITS-related topics, often supported by the Professional Institutions (for the UK, these include the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT), the Institute of Logistics and Transport (ILT) and the Transport Planning Society (TPS)).
• Courses offered by PTRC (Planning, Transport, Research and Computation). PTRC is a specialist organisation offering short-course training to professionals across the range of transport topics.
• Employer-led initiatives. These can include (i) in-house training courses on ITS-related topics, relevant to their business and skills requirements and (ii) arrangements made with specific training providers. For example, Transport for London (TfL) are collaborating with the University of Westminster and UCL/Imperial College London to provide training modules specific for their needs.

Recent initiatives

A number of relevant recent/current initiatives related to ITS training and education in the UK can be identified:

The Universities

Some of the UK Universities in the MTP grouping (above) combined in 2000 to propose a joint UK MSc in ITS. This was to target ITS professionals through part-time modular courses and was backed by many ITS UK members(below). However, it was not supported at the time by EPSRC, partly because of the award of the MTP in Transport. Nevertheless, considerable interest in the proposal remains and it is likely to be re-submitted.

The MSc in European Traffic and Transportation referenced above for Nottingham Trent University is an example of collaboration/consortium of European Universities. It also includes the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden (Netherlands), the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and the Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV (France). It is a professionally orientated course of 3 years part time study delivered predominantly by distance learning and week-long residential blocks. No modules cover ITS specifically, although a number contain ITS elements.

ITS UK

ITS UK is an association of Organisations involved in ITS in the UK, including over 100 members from Government, industry, consultants and academia. Education and training is a key concern, given the acute skills shortage which is widely recognised. An Education Interest Group (EIG) has been set-up and surveyed ITS members to determine training requirements. Proposals have been drawn up and are being considered.

The Professional Institutions

The skills shortage in transport is recognised across all of the UK Institutions and a number of initiatives are underway. These include the Transport Planning Skills Initiative (TPSI) being championed by the Transport Planning Society (TPS), with financial backing from Government and Industry. The TPSI is in the first phase of a 10 point Action Plan to boost education, training and careers in transport.

The Department of Transport

Apart from supporting the TPSI, the Department of Transport has also set up a project called ITS Assist. This aims to take a pro-active role in encouraging awareness and take-up of ITS solutions; as a first stage leaflets and other dissemination activities relating to guidelines and good practice are being produced across the range of ITS applications. Actions in the project include liaison with educational Institutions to increase the awareness of ITS in appropriate courses and to develop ITS modules.

Concluding Points

• Education and training in transport is well established across UK Universities, predominantly at postgraduate level
• The coverage of ITS is varied and dispersed across a range of courses/modules. There is evidence of need for a more co-ordinated and targeted approach
• Initiatives to improve/increase 'transport skills' are growing in the UK, including ITS
• The European MSc courses and the CITE initiative provide examples of more co-ordinated, networked approaches. These could usefully be explored for evidence of effectiveness and success to inform proposals to emerge from ROSETTA