Our new Scholarship Programme: It is time to meet the 2021 scholars

Last month, when we launched our new UITP Scholarship programme, we hoped that we would attract a wonderful selection of applicants interested in advancing their public transport careers.

Not only would those who applied get the chance to learn from industry experts in order to take the next steps in their working journey, they would be able showcase their passion for urban mobility along the way.

Now, after an impressive number of applications from all corners of the world, UITP is pleased to unveil the five winners who will be our scholars for the inaugural Laurent Dauby Scholarship programme.

All our scholars are highly motivated and ambitious to learn more about the sector…and UITP is looking forward to helping them develop their careers.

So let us introduce them as they begin to select and undertake their courses throughout the year.

Our new scholars come from India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. The international selection of our scholars shows the global reach of UITP and our sector.

Our scholars are from members and non-members of UITP and work across the public transport sector as officers, specialists, engineers, managers, lecturers and more.

• Iqbal Ahmad Noor is a transportation planning specialist from the Kabul Municipality in Afghanistan
• Joemier Pontawe is Evaluation Officer for the Department of Transportation in the Philippines
• Utkarsh Sakalle is an Assistant Manager at Chennai Metro Rail in India
• Mariana Thebit is a transportation Engineer at Federacao DasEmpresasDe Transportes DePassageiros Do Estado in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Danait Gebremichael Gebremeskel is an Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of Technology at Mekelle University in Ethiopia.

The programme’s content covers all aspects of public transport and our five scholars will choose their courses and begin their scholarship with a wide variety of topic choices, including Bus Procurement, Maintenance and Asset Management, Public Transport Fundamentals, New Mobility Services and more.

The content for their elective courses will range from Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), Quality and Service Excellence, Crowd Management and much more.

To begin with, the UITP Academy offers four virtual classroom training sessions, to give the chance to learn and develop under the guidance of our industry experts in public transport.

Physical sessions will become part of the discussion down the line.

The Scholarship Programme has been created in honour of our late Rail Director Laurent Dauby, to acknowledge the contribution he made to our sector.

Laurent’s main focuses were within the rail sector and our training programmes with the UITP Academy, where he took great pleasure in sharing his expertise and being inspired by the next generation of public transport leaders.

It’s important to all of us at UITP that we help the next generation of public transport leaders make their own way…and we wish Joemier, Iqbal Ahmad, Mariana, Danait Gebremichael and Utkarsh the best of luck as they begin their new courses.

As our scholars undertake this new learning experience, we will be getting to know each of them at special intervals throughout the year.

Advancing talent in public transport: Learn more about the UITP Academy