UAE University students called upon to share visions of safer future roads 23.10.2013: Inaugural TRL Road Safety Student Award to spotlight country’s smartest young minds at Gulf Traffic exhibition and conference

Inaugural TRL Road Safety Student Award to spotlight country’s smartest young minds at Gulf Traffic exhibition and conference



UAE university students have been invited to share their most innovative road safety solutions and projects as they vie to win the inaugural Transport and Research Laboratory (TRL) Road Safety Student Award in Dubai.




photo caption:   The TRL Road Safety Student Award at Gulf Traffic will highlight the most innovative road safety solutions by university students across the UAE.



Introduced by the TRL United Arab Emirates, the brand new award is aimed at tapping into the creative thinking of the UAE’s smartest young minds and future leaders, with a focus on projects that demonstrate ideas for improvement to road safety in the areas of education and training, communication, road safety data, engineering, and enforcement.


The winner will be celebrated at a prestigious gala dinner ceremony at the Gulf Traffic Awards on the 9th December – a feature of the Gulf Traffic exhibition and conference, taking place from 9-11 December at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.


Simon Labbett, Director of TRL United Arab Emirates, said that the award has attracted a huge amount of interest, highlighting students’ ambitions to play their part in maintaining safer roads, drivers, and vehicles across the country.


photo caption:    Simon Labbett, Director of TRL United Arab Emirates.



“The TRL Road Safety Student Award has received amazing support from UAE higher education institutes, and this is something we want to build on over the coming years,” said Labbett.


“As an internationally recognised transport research organisation, we want to promote awareness of road safety, and at the same time seek to build on the interest and motivation of students.”


“Road safety is a very wide subject so there is enough to interest a student specialising in engineering, education, medical or even enforcement. Our aim is to provide incentives to students for high profile recognition of their transport studies and to assist the step from academic study into the needs of society.”


TRL, the knowledge partner of Gulf Traffic, has been at the cutting edge of transport science since 1933, and has had a permanent presence in the UAE since 2007.  Labbett said that the organisation’s desire to exchange knowledge and develop future leaders is directly linked to the introduction of the Road Safety Student Award.


“Introducing a Road Safety Award for students is just the first step,” added Labbett. “It is our intention to expand the awards to cover wider categories of students across the full spectrum of transport studies.  For example, Highway and Traffic Engineering, Infrastructure, Intelligent Transport Systems and data led studies relating to transport issues.”


Supported by Abu Dhabi Police and SAEED, the tenth edition of Gulf Traffic will bring together more than 100 exhibitors from 20 countries involved in the design, build, and maintenance of the region’s road, rail, parking and public transport projects.


Organised by Informa Exhibitions, the region’s foremost transport infrastructure event is supported by ITS Arab, and returns with the Gulf Traffic Conference, bringing together senior-level professionals and government officials presenting the latest on road and safety management trends and global implementations of ITS.


The deadline for entries to the TRL Road Safety Student Award is 31 October 2013. More information and submission guidelines are available at: www.gulftraffic.com/en/Awards.





-- Gareth Wright, Total Communications Dubai - also photos