The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) at the University of Birmingham has today signed co-operation agreements with two organisations based in Serbia to strengthen ties with the rail industry across South and East Europe.
BCRRE, who recently integrated the Rail Alliance into its activities, signed the agreements with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering and with the Rail Cluster for South-East Europe (RCSEE).
The agreements, which were signed at the SEE Mobility Fair in Belgrade on 8 May 2019, set out plans for how BCRRE, Rail Alliance, the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering - University of Belgrade (FTTE), and RCSEE, will work together on collaborative railway research and innovation projects. The RCSEE agreement will focus on sharing knowledge and best practice between BCRRE Rail Alliance and RCSEE with a shared aim of increasing opportunities for SME members to grow and develop their business. There will also be collaboration on developing skills including a railway engineering education partnership between the Universities of Birmingham and Belgrade.
Alex Burrows, Managing Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education and the Rail Alliance said, “We are hugely excited to be working with the University of Belgrade and the Rail Cluster for South-East Europe to strengthen our links in this region of Europe. Serbia and the wider region is an emerging economy and location within Europe with a developing rail network and supply industry make it an ideal region for us to develop our activity.
“These agreements really mark the start of an exciting period of collaboration between the Universities of Birmingham and Belgrade to increase railway research and education. We also hope that this will bring significant opportunities to our Rail Alliance SME Community in terms of exporting and growing their business opportunities.”
Dragoljub Rajić, Operational Manager of Rail Cluster for South-East Europe said, “Companies from railway sector and universities in the South-East Europe countries cope with numerous challenges of revitalizing and modernizing the railway infrastructure and adoption of new technologies who are necessary for railway of 21st Century. We see cooperation agreement with BCRRE and Rail Alliance as very important bridge for further transfer of knowledge and technologies, exchanging information’s and making new business opportunities for members of both associations. New generations of engineers, developers, managers, scientific workers and students from South-East Europe are very open to know better their colleagues and partners from Great Britain and we think that this agreement will be a good base for wider connecting of people and developing of new business ideas. “
Prof. dr Nebojša Bojović, dean of the FTTE said, "We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to work with BCRRE and the University of Birmingham. Our two institutions have long traditions that confirm the quality of our work and dedication to the science and transport industry.
“This cooperation can bring a lot of benefits to our staff, professors, but also to our students. This will enable us to grow in a professional sense. We look forward to cooperating with BCRRE through projects, students and staff visiting, etc."