On 14-18 January, the De La Salle University organised a 5-day research workshop to explore challenges the Philippines is facing in terms of transport systems and asset management.
The country’s rapid urban population growth results in increased demand of transportation networks, leading to road congestion, road asset deterioration and accidents. The workshop explored various innovative solutions to enable smart, safe and sustainable management of road networks.
Professor Zeeshan Aziz, lead workshop coordinator said “The workshop focus is on the use of smart city innovations to improve efficiency, safety and reliability of road infrastructure."
The workshop brought together 19 UK participants from 12 UK universities and Philippines researchers, academe, industry partners, transportation clients and service providers from multiple disciplines such as built environment, engineering, management, computing and social sciences. They identified relevant, smart transport strategies, technologies and approaches to improve planning, construction, maintenance and operation of roads in the country.
Participants worked together in intensive group activities to develop new collaborative research projects. These projects are aimed at enhancing smart cities, transportation and economic development, and futuristic 2030 scenarios for transportation in the Philippines.
The workshop also contributed to the professional development of early career researchers as it provided the opportunity for real time peer review. Researchers worked alongside senior mentors and built long-lasting research collaborations.
“It was a venue for both the UK and local experts to learn about the smart transport practices in respective countries, as well as to better understand the local challenges, culture, demand and limitations, with the view of realizing collaborative efforts towards formulating more relevant and applicable approaches and technologies locally,” Dr Jose Bienvenido, DLSU coordinator said.
The workshop is part of the Newton programme supported by the British Council to encourage international research partnerships.