Page 15

From the very beginning, it has been a strategic aim of the TSC to act as a neutral bridge between universities and industry, starting with its University Partnership Programme (UPP), which brought universities and businesses together to work on specific challenges such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Cyber Security and the Intelligent Mobility skills shortage. The Academic Engagement programme is broader reaching ‒ including not only 13 universities from the UPP, but also wider information sharing between academia and industry. From 2018, the TSC will open the Academic Engagement programme for all UK universities to explore academic knowledge in IM beyond the current partnership, and help UK universities to create even more impact. “By building a strong and coherent Academic Network for IM we will be able to disseminate the future needs of industry to a wider academic group and communicate the strengths of academics and universities in IM to industry,” says Szoboszlai.Events such as workshops, conferences and business breakfasts help both sides to network, while a programme of secondments, placements and internships is developing a pool of graduates with IM experience for this rapidly growing sector. “The universities see us as a neutral organisation that can give them direction to do the right research in IM,” says Szoboszlai, who is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with universities. She has seen how IM is increasingly covered in university courses and modules thanks to the TSC’s influence, with academics using the TSC’s knowledge base and content to develop their lectures. In turn, senior professors have assisted the TSC with research into skills in order for businesses and government to know which steps are needed to close the IM skills gap (more of which on page 16).Recent activities undertaken as part of the TSC’s Academic Engagement programme include the Mobility as a Service workshop with Coventry University, Rail Strategy workshop with the University of Southampton, Cyber Security workshop with the University of Aberdeen, and four placements within the Capability teams. One challenge at the moment is to create a common language. “When we talk to academics, businesses, the government or anybody, IM has different meanings. We must continue to create a common language for IM and encourage academic and industry collaborations,” Szoboszlai says. It is an area the TSC is currently working on, but it will take time. What is clear is that the TSC plays an invaluable role in furthering knowledge of, and activity in, Intelligent Mobility. “The TSC is a valuable national coordinating body for marshalling the needs of industry and priorities of government and for aligning these with academic research,” says University of Leeds’s Research and Innovation Manager Dr Erik Thomasson. “At the same time, for the companies, there are so many things to think of and there is no dedicated department or university for IM. They don’t know who is doing what in the universities. That is the other benefit of the Academic Engagement programme as we bridge the gap between academia and industry,” says Szoboszlai. “BY BUILDING A STRONG ACADEMIC NETWORK FOR IM, WE CAN DISSEMINATE THE FUTURE NEEDS OF INDUSTRY TO ACADEMIA AND COMMUNICATE THE STRENGTHS OF ACADEMICS TO INDUSTRY” HEAD OF ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT BEATA SZOBOSZLAIRightThe IM regional conferences are part of a programme of events designed to improve links between academia and the transport sector ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENTIMAGINE15