FRIDAY SEMINAR SERIES - From Research to Applications: A Railway Journey
Dr Mark Ho received his BEng and PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. He started his academic career at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, teaching railway-related subjects and undertaking research and consultancy on railway engineering and rail open market.
Mark continued his career at the Queensland University of Technology, overseeing development and management of engineering postgraduate courses, before moving to the University of Wollongong to lead railway research at the SMART Infrastructure Facility.
Mark then stepped into the railway industry to advocate and foster education and research for its sustainable development. Mark is now the Dean of MTR Academy. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and a Chartered Engineer.
Railway is one of the traditional public transport modes and it has come back to mainstay after a few decades in oblivion during mid-20th century. Railway operations worldwide are now striving for high performance and service excellence amid economic growth, evolving business goals and demanding customer expectation. The drive to the much-needed transformation on technologies, management, business models in railway sector requires extensive research which however has not been forthcoming. This seminar looks at the motivation and challenges of railway-oriented research and the pathway of translating research into applications with impact. It will also highlight the innovation push in the local railway sector and the role of MTR Academy.