The CIHT Young Professionals Technology & Innovation challenge is an annual competition designed for young professionals to push themselves by encompassing an analytical approach to a key question on everyone’s minds. The winners are invited to present at the CIHT Young Professionals Conference which usually takes place in the autumn.
We are on the cusp of a revolution in transportation. Rapid advances in technology are changing how we move people and goods, and how we design, build and manage the supporting infrastructure. Simultaneously we face challenges such as climate change and changes in demographics and we need to make sure that the technology that is developed will benefit society.
Every year we ask the CIHT Young Professionals what their vision of the future is and what does the profession need to do to address the challenges in realising this vision? See the top entries from earlier years below.
This year we asked the young professionals to identify how technology can help us solve the climate and air quality problems and how the transportation sector can create a sustainable future?
Stelios Rodoulis, one of the judges of the challenge and Chair of the CIHT Technology and Innovation Panel, said:
"It is fantastic to see the visions of the CIHT Young Professionals and the many great ideas they have for how our profession can respond to the climate emergency and air pollution challenges that we as a society are facing. The younger generation often have a fresh way of thinking, they grew up immersed in technology, and if we are to overcome these challenges we have to hear their voice."
There is a current culture of change and the transport sector needs to embrace this to get as many people as possible away from their cars and onto sustainable and active transport modes. Chloe Bates submission explains how advances in technology such as electric and autonomous vehicles should be used to improve mass transit modes of transport such as buses to reduce the overall number of vehicles on our roads.
Using technology to improve sustainable mass transit uptake – Chloe Bates
This paper calls for greater guidance on shared mobility options and their application. The current approach set from the DfT of “wait and see” is no longer fit for purpose in a largely unregulated network. With further disruptive technologies beginning to appear both legally and illegally on our streets, its clear policy needs to outline a vision for how they want the street to be used and how these technologies fit into local plans.
Have we waited long enough for mobility as a service? - Alex Thomas
Climate change and air quality issues share a common cause from transportation and are therefore closely linked. The two issues have gained increasing coverage in the past 12 months, as a result of renewed activism, but are viewed at different spatial and temporal scales: climate change (global) and air quality (local).This presentation focuses upon understanding air quality issues at a local level, and within the United Kingdom context. However, the ways in which technology could sustainably help resolve transport’s contribution to both issues as a ‘win win’ is the key theme.
My Transport Vision Competition was designed to challenge Young Professionals to push themselves further in their career by encompassing an analytical approach to a key question on everyone’s minds, ‘what does the future of transport look like?’
We are on the cusp of a revolution in transportation. Rapid advances in technology are changing how we move people and goods, and how we design, build and manage the supporting infrastructure. This is creating opportunities and challenges for the highways and transportation profession. As a young professional, what is your vision of the future and what does the profession need to do to address the challenges in realising this vision?
“We are on the cusp of a revolution in transportation” (CIHT Futures). As I begin to think about my transport vision I come back to this sentence stated by CIHT Futures at the start of this challenge and what it truly means for me at this stage in my career.
My Transport Vision – Emily See
Where I consider the journey from an older person’s perspective, isn’t very inspiring – it’s a world where many perceive that they have few realistic travel options. As a result, their ability to access opportunities are reduced compared to those around them. To counter this, I’ve had three ideas which, as a profession, we can do to avoid making my gloomy vision a reality.
My Transport Vision - Penny Gilg
Is there a rural vs. urban divide in the feasibility of CAV uptake due to deficiencies in underlying infrastructure? Or is this a step towards transforming roads infrastructure and blur the line between urban and rural?
Guidelines of this year's challenge are also available as PDF here.
If you have any further questions about the competition please do not hesitate to contact us at technical@ciht.org.uk
