The Future of TRAIL

As Ben Immers, the Scientific Director of TRAIL, indicated in the previous column, there is an increasing need for scientific researchers who are able to solve real world transport, infrastructure, and logistic problems. TRAIL aims to contribute to solving these problems by Training and Education (T&E), Research and Development (R&D), and Knowledge Transfer (KTrans). A TRAIL vision for the longer term for each of these activities is the following.

With respect to T&E, TRAIL will expand its programs to match the changing needs of students and employers. Ideally, this expansion should involve:

• A revised PhD education program for regular PhD students, in which basic research skills, fundamental TRAIL domain knowledge, and specializations are offered in a coherent program.


• A new TRAIL PhD education program for ‘external’ PhD’s (i.e., non-university employees with the ambition to get a PhD) that is a flexible and tailored version of the regular PhD program.


• A new TRAIL designer program ─ i.e., a post-MSc, two-year program to design, build, test, and implement complex transport, infrastructure, and  logistic systems. This program leads to the academic degree Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng)   


• A set of professional TRAIL courses to transfer to policymakers and decisionmakers the knowledge, tools, and strategies to enable them to handle their specific TRAIL problems.

Currently, each of these T&E-activities is in a developmental stage. It is expected that the programs will start next year.

In R&D, TRAIL intends to strengthen its position as the enabling partner for TRAIL members in acquiring and performing innovative R&D. Such improvement can be achieved by lobbying funding bodies, notifying TRAIL researchers about relevant research calls (e.g., NWO, ERF, EU-FP8, etc.), supporting TRAIL researchers in writing proposals and/or finding research partners, and performing financial and administrative management for projects for TRAIL members, as well as supporting marketing and communication. TRAIL management is currently contacting various partners in the public and private sectors to explore possibilities for structural cooperation on R&D.

Finally, an important TRAIL activity involves knowledge transfer. We provide this by publishing scientific books, PhD theses, and research reports, supporting professional magazines, and organizing conferences and workshops. Each of these activities can and will be intensified. For instance, TRAIL intends to support the publishing of new books on TRAIL domain knowledge and TRAIL research methods for PhD students, and to develop stronger collaborations with scientific journals in relevant TRAIL fields. Apart from the current scientific workshops and conferences, TRAIL intends to become more active in the public debate about possible solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s transport problems.  

In conclusion, the future of TRAIL is full of ambition. As Managing Director of TRAIL, I fully accept the challenges and think that the vision for TRAIL presented above will increase the importance of TRAIL in solving the transport problems of today and tomorrow. Vincent Marchau.