Leading Transport Futures

While the coming of steam, the automobile, and air travel all transformed the world economy and the way we lived at the time, today’s transport revolution is more incremental. And yet the impact on the global economic outlook of fast improving transport infrastructures and technology-enabled transport solutions will be profound.

From the New Silk Road being constructed by the Chinese, to the digitization of railway time-tables, to the building of futuristic new ports, to the deployment of electric and driverless vehicles there are big changes afoot. Not to mention the fact that much of the underdeveloped world is still struggling to deploy and manage existing technologies successfully.

The world’s transport networks are transforming and as with all transformational change effective delivery and management depends on effective leadership and leadership in the transport sector is unusually complex. Transport projects are by their very nature large, technologically and engineeringly demanding and on top of that, rather than one client or one set of predicable customers, transport leaders have to please a multitude to stakeholders – governments, investors, passengers, tax payers, suppliers, regulators, contractors, trades unions, environmental lobbyist, and a wide range of employees.

The Oxford Leadership Programme: Global Challenges in Transport Series of four independent courses, aims to provide current and would-be senior leaders in transport with the depth of knowledge and exceptional skills needed to succeed in this vital but complicated sector.

The courses focus on the major challenges and opportunities facing transport over the next twenty years, considering transport futures in the context of the social, economic and environmental implications of transport over time and space. They challenge participants to revolutionise how they think about developing transport solutions, exposing them to the latest thinking in this area, connecting them to leading university experts, international industry leaders, and a stimulating network of peers to facilitate in-depth debate, discussion, and learning.

Run by the University of Oxford's Transport Studies Unit, a world-class centre at the leading edge of national and international transport developments and research, in partnership with Oxford’s Saïd Business School. The series is split into four distinct four day coures, which can be taken separately or in conjunction with each other:

Governing Transitions in Urban Transport: 26 - 29 June 2018

Cities are increasingly the places where technological, behavioural and institutional transitions in transport have the greatest impact. This course explores how such transformations can be facilitated and steered through policy and planning.

Infrastructure, Development and Finance: 4-7 Sept 2018

The planning, management and appraisal of transport infrastructure plays a critical role in economic development. This course introduces a range of approaches to thinking about transport investments, from megaprojects to small-scale infrastructure developments. More specifically it considers the role of different stakeholders and the tools and techniques for transport investments and appraisals.

Health, Wellbeing and Transport: 5-8 Dec 2018

Increasingly, concerns about health outcomes in a range of contexts are linked to transport and mobility issues. This course considers health, wellbeing and social equity across spatial scales, geographical contexts and transport modes. It specifically concentrates on the relationships between urban form and design, mobility practices, and physical and mental well-being. Particular emphasis will be placed on the potential contribution of walking, cycling and public transport services to healthy cities.

Smart Technologies and Changing Behaviours: March 2019, dates TBC

Globally, transport is undergoing important changes in technology and user behaviour. This course offers the latest thinking on how such changes can be understood, and what their interactions mean for the future of transport demand. It explores emerging contemporary mobility cultures in different global regions, the diffusion of new technologies and new perspectives on their role, changing behaviours and energy reduction, and the sociocultural dynamics of behaviour change.

Visit the Transport Studies Unit for more information