ITS UK is has launched its Early Careers’ Essay Competition, the industry’s annual celebration of those starting out in the sector!

Backed by Main Supporter ISR Recruitment and Media Partner Intelligent Transport, the Early Careers’ Essay Competition aims to bring out the creative expression, originality, technical understanding and effective communication of the next generation of intelligent transport professionals and to act as a catalyst for new ideas and thinking.

This year there are two awards available – for the best early careers professional essay (for those in the first five years of their career) and the best student or apprentice essay. The competition invites 1,500-word paper submissions on subjects related to transport technology and intelligent mobility.

The two winners will receive a major career-defining prize, including £500 per winner, a mentoring session with either Dr Joanna White, Roads Development Director at National Highways or Glynn Barton, Chief Operating Officer at Transport for London, and their essay published on industry publication Intelligent Transport’s website, the ITS UK website and circulated to the ITS UK membership, getting their work in front of thousands of industry professionals.

“The ITS UK Early Careers Essay Competition is a fantastic opportunity for those starting out in the industry to show their creativity, skill and innovative thinking, with the chance to win a major career boost and to get their name in front of thousands of industry professionals” said Max Sugarman, Chief Executive at ITS UK.

“The intelligent transport sector has a huge amount of talent and new ideas, so we look forward to see what the entries have in store!”

Ashik Nazar, Chair of the ITS UK Early Careers Forum, added: “We are excited to launch our essay competition for students, apprentices, and early careers members, as part of a first of its kind event of the Early Careers Forum at the state of the art UTAC testing facility in Millbrook.  

“In previous years, we’ve run a number of successful competitions with large numbers of high-quality entries. This year, we are proud to announce amazing cash prizes for the winners in both categories, backed by our sponsors ISR Recruitment, and an exciting mentoring opportunity with top leadership within the transport technology sector. With the three topics being carefully chosen from different ends of the ITS spectrum to spur some thinking, research, and articulation, we are looking forward to some amazing entries.”

Entrants will be invited to submit essays on the following topics:

1. Safety Assured – what role will technology play in delivering a safe transport network? Technology has a key role to play in ensuring we improve safety across the UK’s transport network. However, road safety measures and enforcement schemes can often face significant hurdles in implementation. Essays for this topic should explore what the purpose of enforcement technology should be in delivering a safe transport system, and ask how the industry gets implementation right. We would also welcome essays that explore how we get the balance between civil and criminal enforcement right (and increase public understanding of the difference) as well as the economic, technical and public perception aspects of delivering enforcement projects.
2. Technology as the glue – how can technology lead to better integration of transport? Technology is increasingly being used to support the integration of transport modes. Essays for this topic could cover mobility as a service, demand responsive transport, mobility hubs, micro-mobility schemes and any other tools that can be used to better integrate the transport network. We would also welcome essays looking at the transport network as a whole, and what more can be done to deliver seamless travel.
3. The data revolution – how will the better use of data transform transport and logistics? Data is having a radical impact on transport services across the world. For this topic, we’re looking for essays on the implications of the increased use of data in transport, as well as applications of artificial intelligence, open data services, machine learning, digital twins and predicative maintenance, for example. We would also welcome essays that consider the risks from increased use of data, such as the ethics of data use, cybersecurity and privacy implications, and how the sector can overcome these.

The Essay Competition was launched at UTAC Millbrook at a joint meeting of the ITS UK Early Careers and Women in ITS Forums.