Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the University of Birmingham Dubai for setting up a transport education and research programme to train the next generation of UAE transport engineers.

Nasir Bu Shehab, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance, and Professor Tim Jones, Provost and Vice-Principal, signed the MoU for the RTA and the University of Birmingham, respectively, at a recent ceremony.

"The MoU reflects RTA’s efforts to cooperate with universities and academic institutions in line with its vision and policies, especially as academic programmes provided by RTA for employees are linked to several programmes run by universities in the UAE," Bu Shehab said.

"The signing of the MoU with the University of Birmingham is part of this strategic objective. It provides a means for the RTA to access all academic programmes offered by the University and take part in research and consultancy studies for the benefit of the Dubai economy and the UAE as a whole. The cooperation between the two parties includes seminars, conferences and research of relevance to the RTA," he added.

"We are proud of working with a prominent regional and global entity in the field of roads and transport such as RTA with impressive achievements that have put Dubai in the world map of global competitiveness," Professor Jones said while expressing his delight at the university’s cooperation with the RTA.

"Through the MoU, we will cooperate in designing educational programmes tailored to the needs of the RTA and enable its employees taking such programmes at the University to use the University’s facilities in this regard," he added.

The MOU will see experts from world-renowned Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, BCRRE, support the RTA’s work in expanding the country’s rail network.