ITS UK News
T e ITS (UK) Interest Groups and their Champions
Automotive User Coventry University and MIRA Communications TAN and TRL Connected Vehicles White Willow Consulting and Highways Agency Enforcement Transport Telematics and Cubic Freight
Steven Norris and AECOM Inclusive Mobility Newcastle University and Assist-Mi Local Authority / Urban SGTI and TRL Public Transport Hogia and AECOM Road User Charging Wyeval Consulting and University of Southampton Security University of Aberdeen and SmartCCTV Smart Environment Newcastle University, Arup, KAM Futures and IRC Women in ITS Atkins and Mouchel
Chairman’s message
What would you think if you were turned down for a job because your hair was the wrong colour or because the employer thought that your height had a direct impact on your ability to manage? T at is unthinkable! So why is it still common practise in the transport industry not to consider some candidates for positions because of their gender and a belief that this makes them unfi t to carry out the job? A women has been our Head of State for
over 50 years and has more than satisfactorily dealt with the vast number of male politicians who have crossed her path; we have had a female Prime Minister, Germany has a female Chancellor, the Royal Navy has a female commander of a warship, there have even been two female Space Shuttle Commanders. So why then, despite many people saying how important it is to encourage women into the industry, when push comes to shove, do these older gentlemen still prefer “play it safe” and
Calendar
1 May Enforcement Interest Group Meeting - TRL, Wokingham; 7 May ITS (UK) AGM/Council Meeting TRW Conekt, Birmingham; 14 May Road User Charging Interest Group Conference CGI, London, N1; 15 May Cambridge Wireless / ITS
to appoint a man to the senior positions in their organisa- tions whilst assuming that “someone else” will actually employ women. What does this
situation say to intelligent, talented young women? Join our industry and do great stuff at a junior level
but we don’t trust you to have a
senior position? Why should they bother if they know that their career growth will be stunted especially if another industry is more welcoming and inclusive and happily promotes women on merit and will encour- age them to reach their full potential. Come on guys, get your act together,
women are not some strange sub-species, we are as capable of doing senior jobs as you are … or is it just that you are scared that we might actually do a better job? Sharon Kindleysides is Chairman of ITS UK and is Managing Director of Kapsch Traffi cCom Ltd . Email:
Sharon.Kindleysides@
kapsch.net
(UK) Communications Interest Group Joint Meeting - Hethel, (near Norwich); 22 May DfT / ITS (UK) Event for Local Authorities - DfT, London; 3 June Public Transport Interest Group - Atos, Crewe; 11-12 June Newcastle University / Freight Interest Group Urban Freight Event - Newcastle; 16-19 June ITS (UK) Exhibition Stand
mind, was felt to be a good example for others in the industry to follow. Danella Bagnall of Jaguar Landrover gave a
ITS (UK) welcomed a delegation of public transport officials from Nigeria during April. They heard talks by ITS (UK), Hogia, Warmanconsult, and Austin Analytics as well as visiting Centro in Birmigham and Transport for London. The Nigerian association launched at the Vienna ITS World Congress in 2012, with a photocall on the ITS (UK) stand. This picture shows the delegation and the ITS (UK) hosts.
INTEREST GROUP ROUND-UP T e Women in ITS group met as the guests of Mouchel in London and covered a wide spread of topics. T e Highways Agency and Atkins explained how the HA’s Roads Academy works, with the Atkins representative providing insight
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as somebody who has passed through the Acad- emy process and clearly felt she had gained enor- mously from the experience. T is innovative approach to training and
development, which the HA is clearly undertak- ing with a very long-term and inclusive view in
smarthighways.net
very engaging talk about her own experiences from joining the company as an apprentice, to now holding a senior position and working mainly on innovating vehicle design. Other speakers from Atkins and Mouchel also shared their current work, enabling the meeting to learn about everything from the latest design concepts for all-terrain vehicles, via smart city transport planning, to transport in emerging economies in Africa and Asia. T e purpose of this group is two-fold: it
tries to fi nd ways of improving the recruitment and retention of women in the ITS sector (see above) which to say the least needs work in the UK and in many other countries, always with the Nordic countries as the honourable
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