In the context of climate change and continuous urbanisation, there is a need for modal shift to rail, as it is the backbone of a future sustainable mobility system.
Rail is a critical solution for providing mass transport in the modern world. Innovation in railways is necessary to improve customer experience and meet customer expectations of a clean, attractive and green railway sector. Innovation can reduce operating costs, and improve performance in terms of safety, capacity and reliability to make rail more efficient and more competitive compared to other modes of transportation.
In light of this, UIC has the pleasure of inviting you to an online webinar on innovation in the railways on 2 February 2024 from 9 am to 11 am.
During this webinar, you will hear more about innovation, models of innovation, and why we need to consider the role and value of innovation for the railways. We will consider the process of innovation as well as key factors and enablers/barriers to innovation and why we need to address these.
The webinar will be led by Alexander BURROWS
Director of Enterprise & Innovation at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) at the University of Birmingham – the largest specialist railway research, education and innovation centre in Europe – responsible for commercial and enterprise activities, applied research and innovation projects, and building partnerships and collaborations with the global rail industry. He is the lead for enabling and introducing innovation into rail, which is his area of research interest. as well as wider strategy and public policy in this field. He is also the Thematic Lead for ‘Introducing Innovation’ in the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) - a ground-breaking partnership between academia and the rail industry. Before joining the University of Birmingham in 2018, Alex was Marketing & Strategy Director at Alstom UK & Ireland and has previously held senior roles at Atkins, the Transport Systems Catapult and Centro (the West Midlands Transport Authority). Alex is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.
About BCRRE
The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) is part of the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham. BCRRE is a multidisciplinary centre bringing together academics, researchers, innovators, and commercial staff to deliver and support research, education, and innovation activities across the rail industry. With almost 200 staff, BCRRE covers a broad range of areas with a particular focus on collaborating with industry to drive digitalisation, decarbonisation, and enabling innovation. We operate globally with partnerships and activities on every continent with our main activities delivered from the main University of Birmingham campus in the UK as well as our recently opened University campus in Dubai. BCRRE is the lead university in the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) and the academic lead for the Centres of Excellence in Digital Systems, and in Testing and Validation.
If you would like to join the discussion and learn more about innovation in rail, please register for the webinar using the form below:
The event will be held in English.
For more information, please contact Christine Hassoun at hassoun@uic.org