BCRRE announces new Industry Advisory Board

The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) team at the University of Birmingham has welcomed the members of its new Industry Advisory Board (IAB). The Board will lend support to the Centre’s mission to educate new and experienced railway engineers and operators in the areas of Railway Systems Engineering and Railway Safety Management.

The Board will advise BCRRE on the current and future needs of the railway industry, both in Britain and overseas, thus ensuring that its academic provision reflects current developments and industry skills requirements.

Chaired by Simon Higgens MBE, Senior New Business Development Manager at Amey and a graduate of the University of Birmingham, the membership of the IAB is drawn from across the sector representing larger organisations, SMEs and Government bodies who will offer their expertise, advice and commitment. Members include:

• Simon Higgens MBE, Amey plc
• Sinead Trudgill, Network Rail
• Kuldeep Gharatya, Transport for London
• Ivan Youd, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
• Eli Rees-King, BCRRE Rail Alliance
• Rhianne Evans, Thales
• Robert Dean, HS1
• Peter Randall, Department for Transport (DfT)
• Paul Cooper, Rail Freight Group
• Robert Brown, Razor Secure
• Mark Morris, HS2           
• Neil Robertson, National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR)
• Richard Jones, Rail Industry Association (RIA)
• Neil Ovenden, Rail Delivery Group (RDG)             
• Tom Painter, West Midlands Rail Executive
• Daniel Vaughan, Transport for Greater Manchester
• Michelle Nolan-McSweeney, Network Rail          
• Karen Boswell, Hitachi Rail UK
• Mohanad Ismail , Young Rail Professionals
• Jenny Steere, University of Birmingham
• Jenny Cooke, Railway Engineers Forum

Professor Felix Schmid, Director of Education at BCRRE said, “Every year, we welcome some 150 students to study with us in Birmingham and Singapore on one of our postgraduate programmes. They join us from a wide range of backgrounds and with differing levels of experience. We are committed to providing them with the best possible education to allow them to shape rewarding and successful careers in the rail industry. Our Advisory Board will be invaluable in helping us develop and enhance our programmes and we look forward to their contributions.”