Transport from a
University Perspective
Roger Bird
Transport Operations Research Group
School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Transport Infrastructure
What do you do?
 Teaching
 Lecture preparation, giving lectures, assessing
coursework/exams, UG/PG project supervision,
module/student administration, exam boards etc.
 Research
 Supervising PhD students, writing research proposals,
managing research projects, recruiting new PhDs,
writing academic journal papers and conference
papers, some time for personal research
 Engagement
 Liaison with industry, CPD Courses, work in schools,
professional institutions, editorial boards,
proposal/paper evaluation, committees, conferences
What sort of work is it?
 Two primary functions:
Education and Research
 Education – an education for life
Providing a supply of suitably qualified
graduates to the Civil Engineering and
Transport Industry (contractors, consultants,
local authorities, universities etc.)
Foundation Year, Undergraduate,
Postgraduate, Full/part-time, Continuing
Professional Development
What sort of work is it?
 Two primary functions:
 Education and Research
 Research
 fundamental and applied; theoretical and applied;
mainly externally funded (governments, EU, World
Bank, research councils, industry, charities); some
research consultancy; shaping future policy
What sort of work is it?
 Safety and Sustainability in Highway
Engineering
Safer roads through understanding:
how drivers drive
how roads were / are designed – All types of road!
the interaction between roads, vehicles, drivers and
other road users
Sustainable use of finite resources
Road space
Materials
Types of Projects in TORG
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Air pollution modelling
Electric vehicles
Monitoring and sensing
Driver behaviour – eco driving, road safety
Sustainable Urban Environments
(SOLUTIONS, ReVISIONS, SECURE)
 Social Inclusion and the Digital Economy
 Disaster mitigation and evacuation
Who are the main players?
 Teaching – undergraduate and postgraduate
applicants and students from home and
abroad
 Research
Funding –
Research Councils (e.g. EPSRC and ESRC);
local and national government (e.g. Dept. for
Transport; DEFRA; Technology Strategy Board);
 European Union (e.g. FP7 and Horizon 2020
Partners – research organisations;
consultants, Local Government
What kind of people do we employ?
 Typical career path – UG degree; PG degree (MSc
and/or PhD); contract researcher; academic staff
 Contract research staff – generally graduates
typically with a postgraduate qualification (MSc or
PhD); skills aligned with the requirements of the
project
 Academic staff – normal career progression for
contract research staff; PhD; track record of
research publication; specialist areas of research
How to go about getting a job
 Obtain high quality MSc degree (minimum
‘very good’ merit – 65%% and above)
 Obtain PhD: (Contact and apply for PhD places
with research organisations active in your
chosen area of research.)
 Look for vacancies for contract research staff
in the media (off-line and on-line e.g. University
webpages, www.jobs.ac.uk)
 Develop your own area of expertise and
establish a research profile through publication