Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in ...

ATLANTIS

Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems

ATLANTIS History and the Three Years of Implementation

Motto: At the beginning, courage, experience, and acceptable risk. At the end, success.

Helena Nováková et al.

Published to the Occasion of 20th Anniversary of Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Transportation Sciences

ATLANTIS Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems ATLANTIS History and the Three Years of Implemantation by Helena Nováková1 Ladislav Bína1 Miroslav Svítek1 Alena Novák Sedláčková2 Carlos Ferregut3 Ruey Cheu3 Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias3

Editor: Helena Nováková Reviewers: Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc. Prof. RNDr. Oto Hudec, CSc.

© Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, JUDr. Ing. Alena Novák Sedláčková, Ph.D., Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Dr. Ruey Cheu, Dr. Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias

ISBN 978-80-905432-1-8

Published by: LIBRA-IMPORT, s.r.o., Revoluční 729, 686 06 Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic First edition September 2013

Authors team: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek - Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic 2 JUDr. Ing. Alena Novák Sedláčková, Ph.D. - University of Žilina, The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, Slovak Republic 3 Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Dr. Ruey Cheu, Dr. Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias – The University of Texas at El Paso, College of Engineering, USA 1

ATLANTIS

CONTENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 5.

Introduction……………………………………………………… 4 Background of the universities ………………………………… 5 Proposal preparation ……………………………………........... 6 Program structure ………………………………………............ 7 History and progress of the project in particular years……… 8 The year 2005……………………………………………………. 8 The year 2007……….…………………………………………… 8 The year 2008……………………………….…………………… 18 The year 2009….………………………………………………… 19 The year 2010………….………………………………………… 20 The year 2011……….…………………………………………… 23 The year 2012…….……………………………………………… 34 The year 2013…………….……………………………………… 54 Challenges and sustainability of the ATL project ……………. 60 Conclusion.………………………………………………………. 61 References……. ………………………………………………… 61

3

ATLANTIS

Introduction In the past two decades several major events in the world, such as the opening of the economies in China and eastern European countries, formation of World Trade Organization (WTO), “open skies” and emergence of non-national airlines, proliferation of the internet, among others, have accelerated the globalization of the economy. To have a better chance to succeed in the global market, university graduates need to develop skills that will allow them to better interact, work and compete with graduates from all over the world. Skills like language training, international team building, cultural adaptation, and understanding of global engineering issues and, in general, “globability” will become an asset for engineering graduates. Helping students acquire these skills represents a big challenge for universities worldwide, many of which are already implementing innovative global programs, such as those sponsored by The Erasmus program in the European Union (EU) and the Atlantis Programme between EU and the United States (U.S.) [1]. Unfortunately, engineering programs, because of the demanding curriculum, seldom provide study abroad opportunities for students, even though engineers represent an increasingly significant percentage of professionals who are likely to work in multinational corporations. According to a 2009 survey conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools, joint dual masters and doctoral degrees in engineering represented 31% of all the graduate programs that responded to the survey. The dual masters programs were the most common type of program. The U.S. and EU are the two largest trading entities in the world. In 2010, the freight shipment between U.S. and EU amounted to €412 billion and trade services between U.S. and EU was €256 billion. In 2011, the total trade in goods between U.S. and Europe was $777 billion. Although universities in U.S. and EU countries have their distinct transportation degree programs catering to the road and freight systems in their respective regions, there are few programs that provide opportunities to study the transatlantic movement of people and goods. On August 2010, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in U.S., Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) in the Czech Republic and University of Žilina in the Slovak Republic (UNIZA), jointly launched the Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems (ATL). The objectives of the ATL program (also ATLANTIS program) are: • • • • •

To provide a rigorous and yet flexible graduate level transportation and logistics curriculum that will meet the needs of EU and U.S. students. To prepare students from EU and U.S. for careers in international/transatlantic transportation and logistics. To provide opportunities for professors to jointly conduct research and supervise students. To expose students, faculty and staff with professional practices, innovative research and cultural understanding of EU and U.S. and To establish a long-term and tangible cooperation between the partnering universities.

4

ATLANTIS The ATL synergistically combines courses of the existing master degree programs in the three universities to provide more breadth in training to students. The ATL went through an 18-month proposal preparation phase from November 2008 to April 2010 and post award implementation phase since August 2010. The post award implementation was further divided into a one-year administrative preparation phase and the subsequent student mobility phase. The program is co-funded for five years by the EU-U.S. Atlantis Programme, under the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC). The grant provides student stipends while study abroad, and travel for professors and administrators. Setting up and implementing a Dual Masters Program (DMP) is not easy. The task is more challenging because of the involvement of three (instead of two) universities. Each university has its own administrative and academic structures, protocol, academic calendar and social culture. In addition, UTEP and UNIZA had no prior experience with a DMP. The objective of this report is to document the challenges encountered, the solutions provided in the process, but mostly to share this unique experience with readers. The authors, who are the core team members of this project, hope that this positive experience will encourage colleagues at other universities to set up similar programs in the future to train engineers with “globability” skills. The next two sections of this report provide brief backgrounds of the three universities followed by a recollection of major events that led to the proposal writing submission and award. The ATL program structure is next presented. Several key issues that were overcome by the project team during its administrative preparation and implementation are also described. The experiences of the students and professors who have participated in this project are also discussed. Finally, the key factors that have led to the success of this project and major continuous challenges are summarized.

1. Background of the universities As previously described, The ATL program involves three universities: UTEP, CTU and UNIZA. The involvement of two EU universities and at least one U.S. university is the agencies’ funding requirement. UTEP is part of The University of Texas System. It is located in the City of El Paso, Texas. El Paso is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S.-Mexican border. The university has seven colleges and an enrollment of 22 800 students. The transportation Master´s and Ph.D. programs at UTEP are offered by the Department of Civil Engineering, in the College of Engineering. The focuses of the transportation programs are transportation planning, traffic engineering, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), freight logistics, transportation safety and infrastructure management. CTU is located in Prague, Czech Republic. CTU is the top engineering university in the Czech Republic. It has eight faculties (colleges) with a total student enrollment of 25 000. The transportation bachelor, master and Ph.D. programs are offered by the Faculty of Transportation Sciences (FTS). The Faculty has departments offering courses in traffic engineering, ITS, logistics, economics and air transportation.

5

ATLANTIS UNIZA is located in Žilina, the third largest city and also the vehicle assembly hub in the Slovak Republic. UNIZA has eight faculties with a student enrollment of 15 000. The transportation programs at UNIZA are offered by The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications. Among the focuses of the bachelor, master and Ph.D. transportation programs offered by UNIZA are transportation logistics, transportation planning, traffic safety and vehicle technology. The Transport program and the Logistics and Forwarding program at UNIZA are ranked number one and two in the Slovak Republic, respectively. The colleges in CTU and UNIZA are named faculties. To avoid confusion, the term “faculties” in this report refers to academic colleges in CTU and UNIZA, while the term “professors” is used to describe academic staff and teachers, usually known as faculty members in U.S. schools.

2. Proposal preparation Prior to this ATLANTIS program, UTEP and CTU had a relatively short history of collaboration. Both UTEP and CTU first signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in May 2005 to exchange undergraduate students from all colleges. Since 2008, the College of Engineering at UTEP has hosted at least 6 CTU students. During the same period, more than 15 UTEP engineering students have completed their exchange studies at CTU. On November 2008, the Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU led a delegation of professors to visit the College of Engineering at UTEP. A one-day bi-national transportation engineering colloquium was held in which professors from both universities presented and discussed research interests and ideas. A unanimous decision was made to apply for the mobility grants from the EU-U.S. Atlantis Program. The intention at the time was to carry out non-degree-granting exchange of graduate students for four years that would lead to the establishment of a DMP. As the EU-U.S. Atlantis Programme required the involvement of two universities in EU, UNIZA, which already had a close tie with CTU, was introduced to form the three-university consortium. The first proposal submitted to the EUU.S. Atlantis Program in next available funding cycle was not successful. However, the project team received valuable constructive feedback from the funding agencies which was used in the development of the second proposal. To continue with the effort, the Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU, the Dean of The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications at UNIZA, and several key EU team members visited UTEP again in February 2010. They participated in an International Workshop on Building Partnership and Pathways to Address Engineering Grand Challenges organized by UTEP and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. During this visit, the partners decided to submit a proposal for a degree-granting DMP. A MOU for the DMP was drafted and a preliminary program structure agreed upon by all the partners. The feedback received from the funding agencies was incorporated into the revised proposal. The ATLANTIS program proposal was submitted to the EU-U.S. Atlantis Programme in April 2010. The three universities received the notice of award in June 2010 and the ATL program began on August 2010. The ATL program project team spent the first ATL program year setting up administrative policies and procedures, while recruiting students to study in the respective home institutions. The student exchanges began on August 2011. 6

ATLANTIS

3. Program structure The ATL program awards each participating student two master degrees at the successful completion of the two-year study term: -

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) from UTEP1; and

-

Master of Engineering in Technology in Transportation and Telecommunication (Ing.) from CTU; or a Master of Science in Logistic and Forwarding (Ing.) from UNIZA.

The following explains the four options available to students, including credits accumulated in each university and eventual degrees awarded. These four options are as follows: 1. A U.S. student spends the first academic year attending courses and conducting research at UTEP. He/she earns 50% of the credits at UTEP. In the second academic year, he/she earns another 42% of the credits by attending courses and conducting research at CTU, and another 8% of the credits by attending courses at UNIZA. The credits earned at CTU and UNIZA are transferred to UTEP. The same student transfers the credits earned at UTEP and UNIZA to CTU. He/she receives a master degree from UTEP and a master degree from CTU. 2. A U.S. student spends the first academic year attending courses and conducting research at UTEP. He/she earns 50% of the credits at UTEP. In the second academic year, he/she earns another 42% of the credits by attending courses and conducting research at UNIZA, and another 8% of the credits by attending courses at CTU. The credits earned at UNIZA and CTU are transferred to UTEP. The same student transfers the credits earned at UTEP and CTU to UNIZA. He/she receives a master degree from UTEP and a master degree from UNIZA. 3. An EU student spends the first academic year attending courses and conducting research primarily at CTU. He/she earns 42% of the credits at CTU and 8% of the credits at UNIZA. In the second academic year, he/she attends courses and conducts research at UTEP to earn another 50% of the credits. The credits earned at UTEP and UNIZA are transferred to CTU. The same student transfers the credits earned at CTU and UNIZA to UTEP. He/she receives a master degree from CTU and a master degree from UTEP. 4. An EU student spends the first academic year attending courses and conducting research primarily at UNIZA. He/she earns 42% of the credits at UNIZA and 8% of the credits at CTU. In the second academic year, he/she attends courses and conducts research at UTEP to earn another 50% of the credits. The credits earned at UTEP and CTU are transferred to UNIZA. The same student transfers the credits earned at UNIZA and CTU to UTEP. He/she receives a master degree from UNIZA and a master degree from UTEP. All courses in the ATL are taught in English. In addition to the earned and transferred credits, each student must pass a thesis defense examination. The thesis must be written in English and the oral defense examination is also conducted in English. To earn a master 1

Starting in the Fall 2013 the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering program at UTEP will also be part of the ATL program

7

ATLANTIS degree from CTU or UNIZA, a student must also pass a state examination. Details of the thesis and state examinations will be discussed later in this report. More information on the program structure and courses offered can be found in each universities´ website. Any new degree program or joint degree program offered by an accredited university usually takes several years to receive approvals from the appropriate authorities. In order to implement the ATL in a timely manner, the project team opted to use the existing master degrees and courses to the most possible extent. To offer the ATL, UTEP uses the existing M.S.C.E. degree and courses, but simply allows more credits to be transferred from EU to UTEP. CTU and UNIZA also use their corresponding master degrees. However, a new study field (commonly known as “area of concentration” or “track” in U.S.) within the master degree was created by CTU. CTU and UNIZA also modified the degree requirements so that more credits could be transferred from the two other partnering universities. Several new courses were also added to meet the EU funding agency’s requirement and to achieve the desired program outcomes. All these changes required the approvals of the authorities within the universities as well as the respective ministry in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. These efforts took time but were succeeded within the one-year administrative preparation phase of the project.

4. History and progress of the project in particular years 4.1 The year 2005 On June 15, 2005, an Agreement of Cooperation between Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) and The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), was signed by Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP and Prof. Ing. Jiří Witzany, DrSc., Rector of CTU.

4.2 The year 2007 On May 28, 2007, a First Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement between CTU and UTEP was signed by Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP and Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček, CSc., Rector of CTU. This Agreement, defined the following principles for exchange of students: 1. Exchange students pay appropriate fees at their home institution, and the host institution charges no fees. 2. For the academic year beginning September 2007, each institution will accept approximately four students from the other, with essentially the same number exchanged each year. The length of stay of students will be determined after discussions between the two universities. The length of stay will be expressed in terms of student/months, unless otherwise agreed. 3. Each institution will endeavor to exchange equal numbers of students annually. In case the numbers of students in one academic year are not equal, correction will be made in the following years. Imbalances lasting more than one year should occur only with the written consent of the party that has received more students than it has sent. 4. Each institution agrees to supply regularly to the other information and material about academic offerings and requirements for exchange students. This will be avai1able through each universities´ website. 8

ATLANTIS 5. All costs of tuition, housing, and board will be paid by students to their home institutions. Corresponding services for these payments will be provided without additional charges by the host institutions. Housing as well as board will be provided at facilities of the host institutions. At UTEP, board shall consist of a living allowance, disbursed at the beginning of the semester. In the event that on-campus housing is not available, an amount equivalent to the cost of on-campus housing shall be provided to the student to pay for off-campus housing. 6. The host institution will offer advice to exchange students in the selection of courses and programs. 7. Following the completion of studies, the host institution will send official documentation (a transcript) to the home institution of each exchange student. 8. Each institution requires of its students evidence of health insurance to cover the cost of all necessary medical care during the period of the study exchange. Each exchange student is required to provide evidence of such health insurance coverage. 9. Each institution is free to name students for the exchange program, but the host institution reserves the right to decide on the admission of any student. 10. Exchange students are subject to the same rules and regulations as local students. 11. Exchange students shall provide the host institution with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three persons who can be notified in the case of emergency. 12. Each institution will name a coordinator or director, who has responsibility for correspondence and other exchange programme matters. Upon signing of the first amendment, exchange of students started between the two institutions The Czech Technical University grants individual scholarships to its students selected to participate in the exchange. Funds for the scholarships are provided by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports via CTU. From September 17 to 20, 2007 the team of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU visited the The Centers for Entrepreneurial Development, Advancement, Research and Support (CEDARS) and other academic units including the College of Engineering at UTEP. The aim of this visit, which was funded with external funds, was to establish cooperation in the areas of: 1. Development of transport systems, whith a focus on intermodal transport, intermodal logistics centers and traffic telematics. 2. Establishment of cooperation in academic programs, student exchange programs and dual degree programs at the bachelor´s, master´s and doctoral levels. 3. Dr. Frank Hoy prepared the agenda fot the visit to UTEP and CEDARS and scheduled a visit to The Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory, which is located in the technology area of Santa Teresa, New Mexico on the border between Texas and New Mexico states. The goal was to establish cooperation in the fields of scientific and technological parks and business development. As part of the visit a seminar entitled "Colloquium on Transportation and Logistics," was organized by the College of Business in which the research interests of CTU and UTEP were explained. The CTU team visited the following UTEP academic units.

9

ATLANTIS College of Engineering

From the left: Dr. Richard T.Schoephoerster, Dean of the College of Engineering, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ing. Ludmila Skurovcová, CTU team, Dr. Miroslav Pivoda, Bernelli University

College of Science

From the left: Dr. Michael P. Eastman, Dean of the College of Science, Ing. Helena Nováková, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc, CTU team, Dr. Miroslav Pivoda, Bernelli University

10

ATLANTIS College of Business Administration

From the left: Dr. Robert Nachtmann, Dean of the College of Business Administration, Ing. Helena Nováková, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc, CTU team, Dr. Miroslav Pivoda, Bernelli University

Department of Civil Engineering

From the left: Ing. Helena Nováková, Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., Ing. Ludmila Skurovcová, CTU team, Vivek Tandon, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU

Texas Transportation Institute

Dr. Miroslav Pivoda, Bernelli University, Rajat Rajbhandari Ph.D., Texas Transportation Institute, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Ludmila Skurovcová, CTU team, Heft Shelton, E.I.T., Texas Transportation Institute, Ing. Helena Nováková, CTU

11

ATLANTIS

Colloquium on Transportation and Logistics

Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.,

CTU

Technology parks and Business incubators in the Central Bohemia Region – Prague, Czech Republic

Associate Prof. Ladislav Bína (MSc., Ph.D.), Helena Nováková (MSc.), Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Transportation Science

El Paso September 17 2007

1

The CTU team presented a lecture: Technology parks and Business incubators in the Central Bohemia Region – Prague, Czech Republic (Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc. Ing. Helena Nováková, Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Transportation Science namely for professors and assistants UTEP and for the management of the Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory.

The Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory The entire park of BNSL is a non-profit organization that aims to develop technologies on the U.S. - Mexico border. A similar as FUMEC (The United States – Mexico Foundation for Science).

12

ATLANTIS

From the left: Dr. Alberto Correa, BNSL, Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., CTU, Dr. Miroslav Pivoda, Bernelli University, Dr. Paul C. Maxwell, Executive Director and CEO, BNSL, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, CTU

Findings from the September 17 to 20, 2007 trip: 1. 2.

Direct cooperation of CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences with UTEP´s College of Engineering was established. The CTU team presented the study programs of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU with regard to project-oriented tuition. UTEP expressed interest for the gradual establishment of cooperation, particularly in areas such as joint lectures with recognition of credits, projects, and possibly thesis co-supervision. The possibility of developing "double degree" programs was also included in the conversations.

13

ATLANTIS The University of Texas at El Paso

At the end of the stay a draft document (letter of intent) was prepared as the basis for further cooperation. Dr. Frank Hoy promised to discuss this proposal with management of UTEP and bring it to Prague Conference "Universities and Economic Development" November 30, 2007 in Prague, which was co-organizated by the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU.

November 2007 Meeting and Conference in Prague at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences On November 30, 2007, Dr. Frank Hoy, Director of UTEP´s Centers for Entrepreneurial Development, Advancement, Research and Support (CEDARS) and Dr. Alberto Correa, also from UTEP and from the Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory (BNSL) traveled to Prague to discuss further cooperation between UTEP and CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences and to sign Amendment No. 2 to the 2005 agreement between CTU and UTEP. Furthermore they actively participated in the international conference organized by the Faculty of Transportation Sciences entitled "Universities and Economical Development". Once Amendment No. 2 was signed on November 30 direct cooperation between CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences and UTEP´s College of Engineering started. The preamble of Amendment No. 2 stated: “In the spirit of the original Agreement of Cooperation between UTEP and CTU, both universities acknowledge their wish to explore possible cooperation between the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU and UTEP Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems (CTIS) which is affiliated with the Department of Civil Engineering and The Centers for Entrepreneurial Development, Advancement, Research and Support (CEDARS)”. 14

ATLANTIS

Prof. RNDr. Miroslav Vlček, DrSc., Vice-rector CTU signing Amendment No. 2

After the signature of Amendment No. 2.

From the left: Prof. RNDr. Miroslav Vlček, DrSc., Dr. Frank Hoy, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

15

ATLANTIS

From the left: Dr. Alberto Correa, BNSL, Dr. M. Pivoda, Bernelli University, Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc., Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Dr. Frank Hoy, Director, UTEP The Centers for Entrepreneurial Development, Advancement, Research and Support (CEDARS)

International Scientific Conference "Universities and Economical Development" The International scientific conference "Universities and Economical Development" took place on Friday, November 30, 2007 in the premises of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences. The conference patrons were Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček, CSc., rector of CTU, Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc., Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences and Mgr. Oldřich Vojíř, Ph.D., chairman of the Economic Committee, Parliament of the Czech Republic, the Chamber of Deputies. The moderator of the conference was Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc. An important guest of the conference was Dr. Frank Hoy, a representative of UTEP and director of CEDARS, who presented a paper entitled Partnerships of Universities in Economic Development via Technology-oriented Business. Among other invited colleagues from abroad was Dr. Alberto Correa, who currently works in BNSL. This organization works closely with UTEP. The BNSL is a non-profit organization that aims to develop technologies on the US-Mexico border. Dr. Alberto Correa presented the paper entitled Entrepreneurship Courses and Commercialization of Technology. CTU participants included Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Votruba, CSc. from the Faculty of Transportation Sciences and Prof. Ing. Vladimir Mařík, DrSc. from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. 16

ATLANTIS

The conference also included presentations of representatives of innovation centers and technology parks. Ing. Helena Nováková presented a paper entitled Center for Technology Transfer of Central Bohemia Research + Industrial Park and Transportation Research. The paper by Jiří Pruša on the topic of Education in Aviation introduced a form of education, but also its weaknesses. An important paper with contribution to logistics was the paper presented by Doc. Ing. Václav Cempírek, Ph.D. entitled Universities and Logistics Centers.

Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

Dr. Alberto Correa, BNSL

Prof. Frank Hoy, Director of CEDARS

Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Votruba, CSc., Faculty of Transportation Sciences

17

ATLANTIS 4.3 The year 2008 Throughout 2008 there was an intensive e-mail correspondence between members of CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences and UTEP´s College of Engineering. In addition several video conferences were hosted to discuss possible cooperative projects. The team of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences led by Dean, Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., and Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc. visited UTEP from November 15 to 22, 2008. The topics that were sent, in advance, to UTEP for further discussion included: − Specification of student exchanges and cooperation of Ph.D. students. − Dual degree studies (CTU and UTEP). − Invitation of professors for specified educational and research programs at both universities. − Themes and funding of joint research activities. − Joint organizing of conferences "University and Economical Development" - alternately in Prague and in El Paso. In 2009 UTEP was proposed. − Visiting professors teaching at both institutions. November 17, 2008 was a day of seminar and lectures for professors, doctoral students and undergraduate students. A Bi-National Transportation Engineering / Science Colloquium" was organized by UTEP. The seminar was held in the meeting room of College of Engineering, subsequent lectures were in classrooms. The following lectures were presented: Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc.: Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU. Information and Knowledge Management. Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.: Some research projects at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU. EU - Transport Corridors and Logistics Centers Solution. Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc.: Bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU and their defense. Carlos M. Chang Albitres, Ph.D.: Management Approach for Managing Pavement Assets. A Summary of Knowledge Management Information gathered from Literature, Web Sites, and State. Kelvin Cheu, Ph.D.: Transportation Research at UTEP.

18

ATLANTIS

Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc. speaks at the seminar Bi-National Transportation Engineering/Science Colloquium

Discussion of further cooperative activities between UTEP and CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences included: 1. Cooperation will be with the College of Engineering at UTEP. 2. UTEP and CTU will prepare a joint project for the 2009 call for proposals from the EU-U.S. Atlantis Program. The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications at the University of Žilina, Slovak Republic will be invited to participate in this project. UTEP will check the possibility of participation from the University of Arizona in the project and 3. Coordinators: UTEP – Dr. Carlos Ferregut (Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, the College of Engineering), Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc. Based on the proposed ATLANTIS program it is possible to think about exchange of students and professors.

4.4 The year 2009 On March 23, 2009, a proposal was submitted to the EU-U.S. Atlantis Program entitled "TATL: Trans Atlantic Education System in Transportation Sciences and Logistics Systems". The proposal was prepared by a consortium of universities - Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Czech Republic, University of Žilina, The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, Slovak Republic and from U.S. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and University of Arizona. This proposal was not successful. However, the project team received valuable feedback from the funding agencies, which was used in the development of the second proposal. Further discussions of Atlantis project took place on October 13, 2009 with Dr. Carlos Ferregut in Budapest. The consortium team members agreed to use the feedback from the EACEA, to prepare another proposal for 2010 call for proposals. The final preparation took place at joint meeting in the UTEP campus on February 2010.

19

ATLANTIS 4.5 The year 2010 From February 6-17, 2010 representatives of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU and University of Žilina visited UTEP to participate in the Conference Building Partnerships and Pathways to Address Engineering Grand Challenges Workshop and to discuss the principles of the second proposal to the EU-U.S. Atlantis Program. The conference was attended by about 200 participants from universities in USA and from USA funding agencies. A special program for 28 deans of engineering was prepared.

Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP, opening the conference

Dr. Richard T. Schoephoerster .

From the left: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek

At the conference CTU presented two posters entitled: - Variable Road Pricing and Experiences in the Czech Republic. - Communication Module for Transport Telematics. The conference was followed by several days of meetings to finalize the proposal to the EUU.S. Atlantis Program.

20

ATLANTIS

Discussions of a joint team

From the left: Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., CTU, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek (Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU), Dr. Richard T. Schoephoerster (Dean of the College of Engineering at UTEP), Prof. Ing. Taťána Čorejová, Ph.D. (Dean of The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications at UNIZA), Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU, Doc. Ing. Andrej Novák, Ph.D., UNIZA

During the final coordination meeting of the proposal the following was agreed: 1.

2. 3. 4.

College of Engineering from UTEP will be the U.S. partner in the project. Participation of University of Arizona will be checked again by UTEP. This university withdrew later from the project. Faculty of Transportation Sciences is the partner from CTU. The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications will be the partner from University of Žilina. Basic parameters of cooperation that later constituted the basis for program MOU among the participating universities were agreed. 21

ATLANTIS 5.

The proposal will be submitted on April 8, 2010 both in the EU - Agency of the European Commission EACEA (The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency) and in the U.S. at the U.S. Department of Education - Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE ).

After the meeting at UTEP processing for submitting the proposal to the Atlantis Program started by the executive team composed of: Dr. Ruey Cheu, Dr. Carlos Ferregut (College of Engineering at UTEP), Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Ing. Tomáš Horák (Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU) and Doc. Ing. Andrej Novák, CSc. (The Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications at University of Žilina). On April 8, 2010, the proposal to the EU-U.S. Atlantis Programme was submitted to the EACAE in Brussels and in parallel to FIPSE in Washington D.C. The proposal was 108 pages long including the project description and the letters of support from Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček CSc., Rector of CTU, Prof. Ing. Ján Bujňák, Ph.D., Rector of University of Žilina and from Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of The University of Texas at El Paso. The EU project leader / coordinator – Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., and U.S. Project leader / coordinator - Dr. Ruey Cheu were also identified in the proposal. On August 10, 2010, The Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences – Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek received a letter from the Director of EACEA Brussels - Mr. Klaus Haupt, who announced that within the educational and research program of the European Union - Atlantis (EU-U.S.), a project submitted by CTU in cooperation with The University of Texas at El Paso (U.S.) and the University of Žilina called ATL - Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems had been approved and adopted by the European Union. The ATL program was the first of its kind in the Czech Republic and in the EU that focused on transatlantic movement of persons and goods between the EU and the USA. The ATL program was one of 75 proposals submitted to the 2010 Atlantis Program request for proposals. The EU Grant only funded 26 of them. Of those funded, only 2 of the proposals submitted proposed the development of a dual Transatlantic Masters degree program. The proposals were from universities in the new EU member countries (Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Poland). All projects approved in 2010 were officially launched at the conference of project’s directors that took place in Brussels on October 1315, 2010. At the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU the new double degree transatlantic study program was first of such program (transportation and logistics) accredited in the Czech Republic. At UTEP this was also the first dual degree masters program in the College of Engineering. Student selection for these new programs was conducted at all partner universities during the summer of 2010. In the Fall 2010, the first cohort of eight students (four from CTU, three from UNIZA and one from UTEP) started the first year of the new Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistic Systems.

22

ATLANTIS

4.6 The year 2011 On January 2011, an information leaflet about the project "ATLANTIS" was created and distributed.

From February 26 to March 3, 2011, members of the team of ATLANTIS program from CTU and from University of Žilina visited UTEP. The purpose of this visit was the project coordination meeting and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at a meeting with the president of UTEP. All aspects and principles of the joint project were stated in that document. The MOU was later sent to the EACEA in Brussels as a compulsory part of the project’s documentation. A working seminar (meeting with students and professors of UTEP) was also part of the visit. Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek presented lectures on Faculty of Transportation Sciences (FTS) and Selected ITS projects in the Czech Republic. Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc. presented a lecture on The Czech toll system and its future. Similar lectures were presented by professors from UNIZA and UTEP.

23

ATLANTIS

Participants of the meeting during the working seminar

From the left: Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, JUDr. Ing. Alena Novák Sedláčková, Ph.D., UNIZA, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek (Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences), Prof. Ing. Tatiana Čorejová, Ph.D. (Rector of UNIZA), Dr. Richard T. Schoephoerster (Dean of the College of Engineering), Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., CTU, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Doc. Ing. Andrej Novák, Ph.D., UNIZA

Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Prof. Ing. Tatiana Čorejová, Ph.D.,

24

ATLANTIS

On March 1, 2011, a ceremonial meeting with UTEP´s President, Dr. Diana Natalicio took place. The meeting was attended by most members of the ATLANTIS program team. In this meeting the memorandum signed by Prof. Ing. Václav Havlíček, CSc., Rector of CTU and by Prof. Ing. Tatiana Čorejová, Ph.D., Rector of University of Žilina, and by Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP was signed and an original copy was distributed to each university´s representative.

Picture of delegations before meeting with Dr. Natalicio

Picture at the MOU Signing Ceremony

From the left: Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP

Prof. Dr. Ing. M. Svítek, Dr. Diana Natalicio, Prof. Ing. T. Čorejová, Ph.D.

25

ATLANTIS The Official Picture of the MOU Signing Ceremony

Sitting from the left: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Prof. Ing. Tatiana Čorejová, Ph.D., UNIZA, Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP, Standing from the left: JUDr. Ing. Alena Novák Sedláčková, Ph.D., UNIZA, Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU, Doc. Ing. Andrej Novák, Ph.D., UNIZA, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, CTU, Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., CTU, Dr. Cesar Carrasco, UTEP and Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP

From May 28 to June 15, 2011, representatives from UTEP - Dr. Carlos Ferregut and Dr. Ruey L. Cheu visited CTU in Prague and UNIZA in Žilina. On the June 6 a project meeting was held at CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences.

26

ATLANTIS Picture from Meeting on June 6, 2011

From the left: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Mrs. Marichelo Ferregut, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, CTU, Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Ing. Tomáš Horák, CTU, Prof. RNDr. Miroslav Vlček, DrSc., CTU, Doc. Ing. Jiří Čarský, Ph.D., CTU, Prof. Ing. Tomáš Zelinka, CSc., CTU

The same day, UTEP´s representatives visited the laboratory of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences including the laboratory of Prof. Ing. Mirko Novák, DrSc. In the evening, both delegations attended a concert in the Bethlehem Chapel. On June 7, 2011, the team met with students of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences, who were enrolled in the first year of study to prepare them to depart to UTEP to complete the second year of their program. At this meeting, students presented an outline of their future diploma theses and had discussions with UTEP professors. A coordination meeting was also scheduled to discuss topics between the diploma theses supervisors from CTU and UTEP. Other issues associated with the departure of CTU students to the USA and the arrival of a student from UTEP (Alejandra Gallegos) at CTU to complete the second year of master studies were also discussed.

27

ATLANTIS Picture from the Meeting with Students

From the left: Bc. Jiří Tylich, Bc. Nela Blejchařová, Bc. Petr Malina, Bc. Markéta Vavrová, CTU students, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU, Dr. Ruey Cheu, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP

In the afternoon, both teams visited the Faculty of Civil Engineering and discussed the possibilities of cooperation of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at CTU with UTEP. The meeting was attended by Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Dr. Ruey Cheu from UTEP and by Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Ing. Tomáš Horák, all from the Faculty of Transportation Sciences. From the Faculty of Civil Engineering at CTU the meeting was attended by the Dean, Prof. Ing. Jiří Máca, PhD., and by Ing. Roman Šafář, Ph.D. Dr. Ferregut opened the meeting by introducing the Department of Civil Engineering, its activities in education, research and the vision for future development. Prof. Máca presented the Faculty of Civil Engineering in a similar way. Doc. Bína subsequently introduced the Atlantis Program and explained how the collaboration between UTEP and CTU within the framework of the Atlantis Programme works. He recalled how the partnership between the two universities evolved through from initial ideas to the present form with a functional dual-degree program. Representatives from UTEP expressed interest in establishing cooperation with the Faculty of Civil Engineering at CTU. On June 8, 2011, a meeting with UTEP and CTU representatives along with the vicerector for development - Prof. Ing. Petr Moos, CSc., and the vice-rector for public relations Prof. Ing. Jiří Bíla, DrSc., was held. The UTEP delegation was accompanied by CTU´s ATLANTIS program team. Dr. Ferregut discussed an interest from UTEP to expand 28

ATLANTIS cooperation in ATLANTIS program (dual degree program) to other faculties at CTU, namely to the Faculty of Civil Engineering. In the framework of a bilateral agreement of CTU with The University of Texas at El Paso students are exchanged and scholarships for students are from the funds of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport given for institutional development projects of CTU. Picture from the meeting at CTU

Sitting from the left: Dr. Ruey Cheu, Dr. Carlos Ferregut

On June 2011, a selection procedure for the second group of students from CTU for the ATLANTIS program was done. Names of chosen students: Bc. Kateřina Střelcová and Bc. Tomáš Rendl. 29

ATLANTIS

During August 14-24, 2011, Ing. Tomáš Horák visited UTEP to: • Introduce the first group of students of CTU involved in the dual-degree ATLANTIS program. • Discuss the technical principles of the transfer of courses and academic credits. • Introduce the students of CTU to Dean of the College of Engineering - Dr. Schoephoerster and their supervisors of diploma thesis at UTEP. Pictures from UTEP

From the left: Dr. Ruey Cheu, Ph. D., UTEP, Bc. Štefánia Semanová, Bc. Petr Malina, Bc. Nela Blejchařová, Bc. Jiří Tylich, Bc. Markéta Vavrová, ATL program students 2nd row: student from UTEP (one of the organizers of orientation), Bc. Ivana Šimková, Bc. Jana Červinská, ATL program students

30

ATLANTIS

From the left: last row: Dr. Salvador Hernández, Dr. Cesar Carrasco, (chair of Civil Engineering Department), Dr. Soheil Nazarian , UTEP, Ing. Tomáš Horák, CTU, Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Dr. Rudolfo Rincones, UTEP middle row: Bc. Štefánia Semanová, UNIZA student, third: Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Dr. Richard Schoephoerster, (Dean, College of Engineering), Bc. Petr Malina, CTU student, Dr. Carlos Martin Chang-Albitres, UTEP 1st row (sitting): Bc. Ivana Šimková, Bc. Jana Červinská, UNIZA students, Bc. Nela Blejchařová, Bc. Jiří Tylich, Bc. Markéta Vavrová, CTU students

From the left: Ing. Tomáš Horák, CTU, Dr. Salvador Hernández, UTEP, Bc. Jana Červinská, Bc. Štefánia Semanová, UNIZA students, Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Bc. Ivana Šimková, UNIZA student, Bc. Petr Malina, Bc. Markéta Vavrová, Bc. Jiří Tylich, Bc. Nela Blejchařová, CTU students

31

ATLANTIS On September 16, 2011, CTU team welcomed the first student from UTEP – Alejandra Gallegos, who started her second year of master studies at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU within the framework of ATLANTIS program.

From the left: Ing. Tomáš Horák, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Alejandra Gallegos, UTEP Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU

On November 2011, an article about the ATLANTIS program was published in the American magazine ITE Journal.

32

ATLANTIS October 26, 2011 - ATLANTIS program and International Food Fair at UTEP in the USA. With great enthusiasm, the Czech and Slovak students of dual-degree program participated in one of the many events that partner UTEP organizes. An International Food Fair took place in sunny day of October 26, 2011. Students from CTU and from UNIZA prepared typical national dishes such as beef sirloin with cream sauce, cabbage soup, goulash and potato dumplings with bryndza (halušky). For dessert a kiwi pie was served. It was the first time in this event that next to Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Peruvian and Turkish dishes, Czech and Slovak food was served. Students from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and also from El Paso prepared this event under the auspices of UTEP´s "Center for Transportation Infrastructure systems (CTIS)" Student Chapter. The students participated in several seminars on hygiene, preparation of budget and accounting. A support team decorated the sales stand with colorful photographs and symbols representing the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Students also prepared a video presentation about the two countries to educate customers about where the food came from. And since students are the future traffic engineers, of course, the decoration could not miss some traffic signs. After the successful event some recognition was given to students as a reward for their time and effort in participating in this event. Dr. Ruey Cheu, the main organizer of the ATLANTIS program and Dr. Salvador Hernandez, senior advisor awarded students Nela Blejchařová for project management, Petr Malina for promotion, Jana Červinská for cultural supervision, Štefánia Semanová for cooking, Jiří Tylich for financial issues, Markéta Vavrová for sale and Ivana Šimková for advertising.

Pictures from the International Food Fair at UTEP (October 26, 2011)

33

ATLANTIS

4.7 The year 2012 From March 15-19, 2012, Dr. Carlos Ferregut from UTEP visited CTU. During this visit a working meeting was held with students of the 2nd cycle of the ATLANTIS program. The working lunch near Bethlehem Chapel with the participation of important representatives of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences and with some members of the ATLANTIS program team was held as well.

From the left: Bc. Tomáš Rendl, Bc. Kateřina Střelcová, CTU, Alejandra Gallegos, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU

34

ATLANTIS

From the left: Prof. Ing. T. Zelinka, CSc., Ing. H. Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Prof. Dr. Ing. M. Svítek, Prof. RNDr. M. Vlček, DrSc., CTU

On March 22, 2012, there was an annual conference of ATLANTIS Projects in Brussels. UTEP, CTU and UNIZA ATLANTIS program team presented the history and experience with this project.

35

ATLANTIS From April 25-26, 2012, the first cohort of European students at UTEP had their theses defences and final examination scheduled at UTEP campus. The defense of students from CTU was held by teleconference. In the joint examination committee UTEP - CTU the Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences - Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek was on site. Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., and Ing. Tomáš Horák joined the examination committee through teleconference from CTU in Prague. The teleconferencing form of defense of diploma work and final state examinations were agreed in previous negotiations. From University of Žilina - Ing. Anton Hudák, Ph.D., and Ing. Juraj Jagelčák, Ph.D. were present at UTEP. It was necessary to ensure absolute reliability in the connection. Thus, before the date of the final state examinations, the videoconferencing system was tested multiple times. The defense and the final examination follow the established procedures even over a great distance and time difference. On April 25, 2012, students from CTU defended their theses and passed the final examination: • Bc. Nela Blejchařová – Methodologies for the Analysis of Checked Baggage Inspection Systems (supervisor at CTU: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Ruey Cheu) • Bc. Petr Malina – Analysis of Isolated Traffic Signal Control Systems (supervisor at CTU: Prof. Ing. Pavel Přibyl, CSc., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Ruey Cheu) • Bc. Jiří Tylich – A Multimodal Freight Collaborative Hub Location and Network Design Problem (supervisor at CTU: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., supervisor st UTEP: Dr. Salvador Hernándes) • Bc. Markéta Vavrová – Development of an Electronic Vehicle Miles Travelled Toll Model (supervisor at CTU: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Carlos Chang-Albitres) All CTU students successfully defended their theses and passed their final examinations with a grade of A, excellent. In addition, Bc. Nela Blejchařová received "Dean's Praise for Outstanding Diploma Thesis". On April 26, 2012, students from UNIZA defended their theses: • Ms. Jana Červinská - Comparing Transport of the Piece Shipments from Texas to Slovakia (supervisor at UNIZA: Ing. Juraj Jagelčák, PhD.) • Ms. Štefánia Semanová - Condition Monitoring of Truck-Drivers in the EU and the USA (supervisor at UNIZA: Ing. Anton Hudák, Ph.D., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan) • Ms. Ivana Šimková- Responsibility of the Transport Manager (supervisor at UNIZA: Doc. Ing. Miloš Poliak, PhD., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Carlos Ferregut) All UNIZA students also defended their theses successfully with a grade A, excellent.

36

ATLANTIS

After the Graduation Ceremony at UTEP

From the left: Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Ing. Nela Blejchařová, MSCE, Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE, Ing. Jiří Tylich, MSCE, CTU, Ing. Ivana Šimková, MSCE, UNIZA, Dr. Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan, UTEP, Ing. Štefánia Semanová, MSCE,, UNIZA, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, UTEP, Ing. Jana Červinská, MSCE, UNIZA

Graduation celebration at the Home of Dr. and Mrs. Carlos Ferregut

From the left: Ing. Jiří Tylich, MSCE, CTU, Ing. Jana Červinská, MSCE, UNIZA, Ing. Petr Malina, MSCE, CTU, Ing. Štefánia Semanová, MSCE, UNIZA, Dr. Ruey Cheu, UTEP, Ing. Ivana Šimková, MSCE, UNIZA, Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE, Ing. Nela Blejchařová, MSCE, CTU

37

ATLANTIS On May 28, 2012, Alejandra Gallegos from UTEP defended her diploma thesis at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU. Dr. Carlos M. Chan-Albitres also from UTEP came to Prague to be present at her defense. The State Examination Board consisted of: Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Ing. Zuzana Bělinová, Ph.D., Ing. Bc. Petr Kumpošt, Ph.D., Dr. Carlos Martin Chan-Albitres (supervisor of the thesis at UTEP). Also present were: Doc. Ing. Otakar Vacín, Ph.D. (supervisor of the thesis at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences) and Doc. JUDr. Miloš Čihák CSc. (the opponent of the thesis). Thanks to tele-conference, Dr. Carlos Ferregut from the UTEP was a member of the committee as well. Alejandra Gallegos defended her thesis on the Calibration of Concrete Pavement Performance Models also for a grade of A, excellent. She also received "Dean's Praise for Outstanding Diploma Thesis ". Pictures from defense of Alejandra Gallegos

From the left: Ing. Petr Kumpošt, Ph.D., CTU, Dr. Carlos Ferregut (on the screen), UTEP, Ing. Tomáš Horák, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU

Third on the left: Alejandra Gallegos

38

ATLANTIS Picture of State Examination Commission - Alejandra Gallegos

From the left: Doc. Ing.Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Doc. JUDr. Milos Čihák, CSc., opponent, Doc. Ing. Otakar Vacín, Ph.D., Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, CSc., CTU, Alejandra Gallegos, UTEP, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Ing. Zuzana Bělinová, Ph.D., Ing. Bc. Petr Kumpošt, Ph.D., CTU, Dr. Carlos Martin Chang-Albitres, UTEP, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, (on the screen – from UTEP).

On June 1, 2012, students from UNIZA passed the final examination at UNIZA. Picture of State Examination Commission – UNIZA students

From the left: Ing. Anton Hudák, Ph.D., Ing. Ivana Šimková, MSCE, Dr. Salvator Hernández, Dr. Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan, Prof. Ing. Jozef Gnap, Ph.D., Ing. Štefánia Semanová, MSCE, Prof. Ing. Marián Šulgan, Ph.D., Ing. Jana Červinská, MSCE, Doc. Ing. Vladimír Rievaj, Ph.D., Ing. Juraj Jagelčák, Ph.D., Ing. Marián Gogola, Ph.D.

39

ATLANTIS UTEP colleagues at visit in Žilina during the City Festival

From the left: Dr. Salvator Hernández, Ing. Anton Hudák, Ph.D., Dr. Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan

On June 4, 2012, interviews for the CTU students of the 3rd cycle were held. Students had already passed the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination in advance. The selected students were: Bc. Petr Toman, Bc. Radim Večeřa and Bc. Tadeáš Umlauf. Selected students departed to the U.S. in August 2013 after completing the first year of masters course at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences.

From the left: Ing. Mgr. Jan Feit, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., CTU, Bc. Tadeáš Umlauf, Bc. Petr Toman, Bc. Radim Večeřa, CTU students, Prof. Ing. Václav Skurovec, Csc., Ing. Petr Kumpošt, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., CTU

40

ATLANTIS

On June 23, 2012, at the end of the academic year, an informal meeting of members of the european team of ATLANTIS program was held. The team was really pleased that all students (from all three partner universities) from the first cohort were successful, two from the second cycle were already preparing to leave for USA (Kateřina Střelcová and Tomáš Rendl), and three other students will start in September the third study cycle.

From the left: Ing. Adéla Andresová, Ing. Tomáš Horák, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

On June 28, 2012, the Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences - Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek and some of members of the team of ATLANTIS program welcome the Czech students after their return from the USA (Markéta Vavrová stayed at UTEP, where she is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering).

41

ATLANTIS

From the left: Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D. Ing. Jiří Tylich, MSCE, Ing. Nela Blejchařová, MSCE, Ing. Petr Malina, MSCE,

From August 20-28, 2012, Ing. Tomáš Horák visited UTEP to accompany and to introduce the second cohort of students from CTU. Another purpose of the trip was the official conferring of diplomas of CTU to graduates of dual-degree ATLANTIS program namely to Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE who continues with her studies in a doctoral program at UTEP and to Ing. Alejandra Gallegos, MSCE who returned to El Paso in June after a year of study stay at CTU within ATLANTIS program. The ceremony was also attended by other representatives of the College of Engineering.

42

ATLANTIS

From the left: Dr. Cesar Carrasco (chair of the Civil Engineering Department), Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Ing. Markéta Vavrová, M.Sc. Ing. Alejandra Gallegos, M.Sc. Dr. Benjamin Flores, (professor and Dean of the Graduate School), Dr. Ruey Cheu, Ing. Tomáš Horák, Dr. David Novick, (Associate Dean)

Trip to the Mountains with a Second Cohort of Students from CTU

From the left: Dr. Wang Hao (guest professor from China at UTEP), Dr. Ruey Cheu, Bc. Kateřina Střelcová, Bc. Tomáš Rendl, Ing. Tomáš Horák

On July 2012, the application of diploma thesis of Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE was submitted to the competition EUROPEAN FRIDRICH-LIST-PRIZE - theme "Development of an Electronic Vehicle Miles Traveled Toll Model" (supervisor at CTU: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Carlos Chang-Albitres).

43

ATLANTIS

On August 24, 2012, Mr. Thomas Jerger of DVWG (Deutsche Verkehrswissenschaftliche Gesellschaft e.V.) sent to Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU a letter stating that the price of European-Friedrich-List Awards 2012 and the European Platform of Transport Sciences EPTS for the best diploma thesis was awarded to Ing. Markéta Vavrová, M.Sc. Subsequently, on September 2012, Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek sent to UTEP’s president, Dr. Diana Natalicio a letter stating that Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE was awarded the European Friedrich List Award 2012.

The following announcement was posted on UTEP Website (Accessed October 25, 2012): “Transportation Researcher Offers Alternative to Fuel Tax NADIA MACIAS | OCT. 25, 2012 | UTEP UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS.

Marketa Vavrova

As the world slowly moves toward less gas consumption and more fuel-efficient, eco-friendly vehicles, the fuel tax may no longer be a viable source of revenue for the road infrastructure system. But that's OK because there are other alternatives, according to Marketa Vavrova, a student enrolled in The University of Texas at El Paso's civil engineering doctoral program – and she can tell you whether or not they will be successful in your city, state, or country. "The thing is that engines are becoming more efficient – there are electric vehicles now, so fuel will no longer be the only reliable source of funding for transportation projects soon," Vavrova said. In her recent award-winning master's thesis, Vavrova suggests a distance-based toll model, or a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee. She also discusses a gas emissions policy revenue based on the type of vehicle running. The thesis then provides guidelines and a model for interested 44

ATLANTIS decision makers to evaluate if their country would benefit from a distance-based toll implementation. "Countries are trying to find new ways of funding transportation projects, and this would charge road users for every mile they drive, not for fuel," she said. Vavrova will receive the European Friedrich List Award for her thesis at a ceremony Nov. 8 in Budapest. "It's a very important award over there," said Carlos Chang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of civil engineering at UTEP and Vavrova's academic adviser. "She competed against a lot of people because it's not just for one country – it's for all of Europe." The official award ceremony will occur on Thursday, Nov. 8 in Budapest as part of the 10th European Transport Congress. Vavrova conducted her research while enrolled in the Atlantis program, or the Transatlantic Dual Master's Degree Program in Transportation and Logistic Systems. Atlantis is a collaboration between Czech Technical University (CTU), the University of Zilina in Slovakia, and UTEP that allows students to attend and earn master's degrees from both CTU and UTEP in two years. Thanks to the program, Vavrova who is originally from the Czech Republic, was able to spend her first year studying transportation at CTU, and her second year at UTEP. That gave her the opportunity to compare and contrast road use charges in the United States and Europe. "Here in Texas, road user charging is not wholly developed, so there is huge potential," she said. For example, in Europe, trucks are tolled for the number of axles they have because more axles cause more damage to the road. They also are charged based on their emissions rate and potential damage to the environment. Chang believes that Vavrova's thesis was so exemplary because of the comparisons she was able to make while enrolled in the cross-Atlantic program. Ladislav Bina, Vavrova's academic co-adviser at CTU, also recognized the added value of conducting joint international research. "Other students enrolled at just one university would not have been able to do this," Chang said. He added that the Atlantis program not only helps students gain important cultural experiences abroad, but improves the faculty's own knowledge in the transportation field. Alejandra Gallegos' experience in the program is also a good example of its success. Gallegos was the first UTEP student to enroll and go to CTU. She called her nine months there academically and personally enriching. The experience has broadened her knowledge and abilities in the transportation and logistics field to include emerging technologies. At the same time, her interactions with an international cadre of peers and mentors have allowed her to re-examine her own strengths and weakness and reassess her capabilities. "I am more than satisfied with the experience in the Czech Republic," Gallegos said. "I know it will definitely impact my life in a positive way and open the door to many opportunities." Her research proposed a hybrid technique for calibrating network-level performance models for concrete. Chang, her adviser at UTEP, said "the hybrid technique represents an improvement when compared to the current models since they merge expert opinion with statistical techniques." Gallegos graduated in June. As for Vavrova, after graduating with master's from both universities in May, she decided to stay in El Paso and at UTEP to earn her Ph.D.” On November 8, 2012, at the 10th European Transport Congress "New Ways in City and Intercity Transport" Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek received the prize on behalf of Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE.

45

ATLANTIS On September 25, 2012, the graduation ceremony of master studies graduates who received an engineering degree in 2012 was held at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. In this graduation graduates of the dual-degree ATLANTIS program, who completed their studies at UTEP in El Paso received an engineering degree of CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences.

From the left: Ing. Tomáš Horák, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Ing. Nela Blejchařová, MSCE, Ing. Petr Malina, MSCE, Ing. Jiří Tylich, MSCE

From October 26 to November 4, 2012, the delegation of CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences visited UTEP to have a regular annual coordination meeting. The following agenda was discussed: 1. Presentation of existing results of the second group of CTU students (Bc. K. Střelcová, Bc. T. Rendl) and consultation of results of diploma thesis in progress. Agreement of topics and supervisors of theses of third group of students (Bc. T. Umlauf, Bc. R. Večeřa, Bc. P. Toman). 2. Discussion on initiation of exchange of Ph.D. students (Ing. T. Horák) and researchers (Ing. P. Večeřa, Ph.D.). Agreement of topics of research work. Invitation letters of UTEP were sent on November 5, 2012 - part of the application for support of Fulbright Masaryk's Scholarship. 3. Coordination of the presentations to the ATLANTIS program at the EACEA conference in Brussels in days of 3rd – 4th of December 2012. 4. Three lectures were presented within the seminars by the team of CTU (Prof. Dr. Ing. M. Svítek, Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc., Ing. H. Nováková, Ph.D.).

46

ATLANTIS Working Meeting with Colleagues at UTEP

From the left: Dr. Ruey L. Cheu, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Dr. Ricardo Pineda, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

Consultation of Diploma Theses

From the left: Bc. Tomáš Rendl, Bc. Kateřina Střelcová, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

47

ATLANTIS

Presentation of diploma theses

From the left: Bc. Kateřina Střelcová, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Bc.Tomáš Rendl (presenter), Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Dr. Ruey L. Cheu, Bc. K. Střelcová (presenter)

Themes and supervisors of diploma theses for the third group of students were agreed: - Tadeáš Umlauf (supervisor Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc., Ing. T. Horák) - Smart Cities Public Transport. - Radim Večeřa (supervisor Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc.) - Smart Cities Freight Transport. - Petr Toman (supervisor Ing. H. Nováková, Ph.D.) - Maritime Transportation and Czech Republic. Working Meeting at UTEP

From the left: Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Dr. Carlos Ferregut, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

48

ATLANTIS

With students

Three lectures were presented within the seminars by the team of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences (Prof. Dr. Ing. M. Svítek, Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc., Ing. H. Nováková, Ph.D.). Lectures at UTEP

IT and Logistics in Air Transportation

Dr. Ladislav Bína, Dr. Helena Nováková Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Transportation Sciences

Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

49

ATLANTIS

INVESTMENT PROJECT – HUB LOGISTIC TERMINAL IN PARDUBICE LINKED TO EUROPEAN TRANSPORT CORRIDORS – CASE STUDY

Dr. Helena Nováková, Dr. Ladislav Bína Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Transportation Sciences

Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D.

On November 2, 2012, CTU team received a friendly e-mail from UTEP´s Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Benjamin Flores. Dear Colleagues and Friends, It was a pleasure meeting and hosting you in my office on 10/31/2012. I hope that your visit to the University of Texas at El Paso was very productive and pleasant and look forward to many more years of collaboration with the Czech Technical University to develop dual graduate programs that will prepare many generations of global engineering leaders and experts on both sides of the Atlantic. Respectfully Yours, Benjamin C. Flores, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School UT System LSAMP Director The University of Texas at El Paso "Higher education can't be a luxury, it is an economic imperative that every family should be able to afford." - President Barack Obama (2012)

From December 2-4, 2012, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc. together with Dr. Ruey Cheu attended a conference/meeting in Brussels entitled "Role of Double and Joint Degrees in Global Education." The conference was organized by the EACEA. We also discussed our experiences from ATLANTIS program. Pictures from the Conference

From the left: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Dr. Ruey Cheu

50

ATLANTIS

Following the conference in Brussels, Dr. Ruey L. Cheu visited the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU on December 4-8, 2012, a meeting with students was held: The propositions of diploma thesis were presented: Bc. Petr Toman – Maritime Transportation and the Czech Republic Bc. Tadeáš Umlauf – Smart Cities - Public Transport Bc. Radim Večeřa – Smart Cities – Freight Transport

From the left: Bc. Tadeáš Umlauf, Ing. Tomáš Horák, Dr. Ruey Cheu, Bc. Petr Toman, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Bc. Radim Večeřa

From the left: Ing. Pavel Vařacha, Ph.D., Dr. Ruey Cheu, Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

51

ATLANTIS On December 6, 2012, Dr. Ruey Cheu attended the conference "The 1st Multidisciplinary Academic Conference", which was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences - Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, and where Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D. gave a lecture on "Transatlantic Dual-Degree Master Program in Transportation and Logistic Systems (ATL)".

Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek

Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D.

On December 19, 2012, a ceremony award of "European Friedrich List Award 2012", was held at the Faculty of Transportation Sciences - Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek gave the prize to Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE.

Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE is being awarded a prize "European Friedrich List Award 2012" from the hands of Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Sciences, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek

52

ATLANTIS Group Picture of Markéta Receiving “European Fridrich List Award 2012”

From the left: Ing. Tomáš Horák, Ing. Jiří Šnajdar, Doc. Ing. Josef Kocourek, Ph.D., Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE, Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, Ph.D., Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D.

Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE demonstrated that results of her thesis entitled "Development of an Electronic Vehicle Miles Traveled Toll Model" (supervisor at CTU: Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc., supervisor at UTEP: Dr. Ruey Cheu) are valuable not only for the U.S. and the Czech Republic, but also for other countries. The prize "European Fridrich List Award 2012" is a recognition for her and her supervisors, and also for CTU´s Faculty of Transportation Sciences and UTEP´s Department of Civil Engineering. Marketa currently continues at UTEP pursuing doctoral studies. The prize “European Friedrich List Award 2012“ for Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE

53

ATLANTIS

…. and with her mother

4.8 The year 2013 On January 13-17, 2013, the TRB (Transportation Research Board), 92nd Annual Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. Dr. Ruey L. Cheu presented an overview and the results of the ATLANTIS Program.

1

TRANSATLANTIC DUAL MASTERS DEGREE PROGRAM IN TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS SYSTEMS Kelvin Cheu, Carlos Farregut, Ladislav Bina, Helena Novakova, Tomas Horak, Anton Hudak, Andrej Novak & Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias

92nd TRB Annual Meeting, Jan 14 2013

A poster by Ing. Markéta Vavrová, MSCE was also admitted for this conference: Markéta Vavrová, Carlos Martin Chang-Albitres, Ladislav Bína "Framework to Analyze Vehicle Miles Travelled Fee Implementation", the poster was based on her thesis. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) 92nd Annual Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, and Washington Hilton hotels. The information-packed program attracted nearly 12,000 transportation professionals from around the world to Washington, D.C., January 13-17, 2013.

54

ATLANTIS

The TRB Annual Meeting program covered all transportation modes, with more than 4,000 presentations in nearly 750 sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to all attendees—policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. More than 40 sessions and workshops addressed the spotlight theme for 2013: Deploying Transportation Research - Doing Things Smarter, Better, Faster. From March 4-6, 2013, CTU team participated in an international conference in Melbourne, Australia within ATLANTIS program. In addition to the Faculty of Transportation Sciences delegation, Doc. PhDr. Jana Marie Šafránková CSc. from Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies at CTU also attended the conference.

Bilateral Cooperation Projects with Industrialised Countries EU: US / Canada/ Australia / Japan / New Zealand / Republic of Korea Subject: Project Directors’ Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 4-6 March 2013.

The conference opened on March 5, 2013, in one of the buildings of RMIT University, which was the host university. According to www.rmit.edu.au (Accessed July 14, 2013) RMIT is a global university of technology and design and Australia's largest tertiary institution. The university enjoys an international reputation for excellence in practical education and outcome-oriented research. RMIT is a leader in technology, design, global business, communication, global communities, health solutions and urban sustainable futures. RMIT has three campuses in Melbourne, Australia, and two in Vietnam. The university also offers programs through partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, India and Europe. The university enjoys research and industry partnerships on every continent. The university's student population of 74,000 includes 30,000 international students, of whom more than 17,000 are taught offshore (almost 6,000 at RMIT Vietnam).

55

ATLANTIS

Opening of the Conference on March 5, 2013

Welcoming was held in traditional indigenous customs

One of the RMIT buildings RMIT – A symbiosis by of two types of architectures

style

RMIT University and its European Union Centre were entrusted by EU EACEA to organize a three day Conference of project directors in the field of education and mobility. Another objective was to present the results of ATLANTIS program projects for participants from Asia and Australia. In the workshops the CTU team had the opportunity to present its experience with the dual degree project with UTEP and UNIZA. Interesting findings were presented by participants from the U.S. Individual participants talked about their experience in preparation and implementation of projects not only in plenary sessions, but also in breakout sessions. From Discussions in Breakout Sessions

56

ATLANTIS CTU team at Project Director´s Conference on March 6, 2013

From the left: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc.

From the left: doc. PhDr. Jana Marie Šafránková CSc. Plenary Session Ing. H. Nováková, Ph.D., Doc. Ing. L. Bína, CSc.

57

ATLANTIS

Conclusion of the conference was again in the native spirit – with the traditional Aboriginal dances

At the conference, the CTU team met with representatives of other institutions in Melbourne in order to build on previous contacts and to continue with efforts to implement joint research laboratory for the development of mobility especially with the use of ITS. While at the conference, the CTU team also learned that a network of petrol stations for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being built at the highway from Melbourne to Sydney with the participation of Czech companies. On March 7, 2013, CTU team met Mr. Brian Negus, a general manager of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Limited and with Mrs. Susan Harris, Chief Executive Officer of ITS Australia (Intelligent Transport Systems).

58

ATLANTIS

From the left: Ing. Helena Nováková, Ph.D., Mrs. Susan Harris, Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Brian Negus (president of ITS Australia), Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek

The CTU team also attended meetings at RMIT University, namely with the Dean of Engineering and Head of School Prof. Aleksandar Subic, Ph.D. Here the team discussed the possibility of cooperation and the establishment of a joint laboratory between the Faculty of Transportation Sciences at CTU and RMIT University. Prof. Subic manages joint projects with universities in Germany. The team also talked briefly with Prof. Bruce Wilson, director of the European Union Centre.

From the left: Doc. Ing. Ladislav Bína, CSc., Prof. Aleksandar Subic, Ph.D. MEng, BEng(Hons), MIE Aust., Prof. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Svítek

59

ATLANTIS

5. Challenges and sustainability of the ATL program Although the program team has overcome many obstacles, there are still additional challenges to overcome. The most challenging task for the project directors is student recruitment. The project team has found that it is relatively more difficult to recruit U.S. students to study in EU. This imbalance in student number appears to be a common issue in most of the dual degree programs between EU and U.S. This is despite the effort put in by the project team members and students to promote the ATL program to undergraduate and graduate students on UTEP campus. The difficulty is compounded by the limited number of engineering graduate students who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (who are eligible to receive ATL program student stipends). On the other hand, two negative factors frequently cited by EU students are the high cost of living in U.S. and language (English) barrier. To the students and thesis supervisors, the most challenging aspect of the program is thesis research. It is not easy for the student and his/her EU and U.S. supervisors to identify research topics of common interest. As evident in the results of the student and professor surveys, one student’s research interest did not align closely with the UTEP supervisor’s expertise. The topic of research was initially decided by the student in consultation with the supervisor at the home institution, once the student had been selected to participate in the ATL program. For this particular student, there was no professor at UTEP with immediate expertise in the same field. The UTEP professor with closest research interest volunteered to supervise this student. The project team learned that, for the subsequent cohorts, student’s research interest and availability of supervisor at the host institution with immediate expertise must be a factor in the student selection process. Another major difficulty students faced in thesis research is data collection in EU. The transportation industry and information systems in U.S. are relatively more transparent. The close ties UTEP has with the Texas Department of Transportation, El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization, City of El Paso and many government agencies helped in facilitating the data gathering in U.S. However, it is relatively more difficult and time consuming to obtain data from similar authorities in EU countries. This issue will remain a continuous challenge for future students and supervisors. The availability of data must also be a factor in deciding the scope of the thesis. Project support from the government agencies FIPSE (USA) and EACEA (EU) will end in September 2015. The project team members and partner universities are interested in continuation of the project and are ready to present their suggestions on how it should be achieved. In 2013 Ph.D. students and young researchers exchanges were started by CTU. It is expected that these exchanges between all partner universities will continue. The project would like to see regular professors exchange to start in 2014. The professors will participate in teaching and research activities. These suggestions as well as the project sustainability questions will be the topics of the project directors meeting to be held in January 2014 at El Paso, Texas.

60

ATLANTIS 6. Conclusion It can be concluded that the project of transatlantic cooperation in transport and logistics is very beneficial for both students and academic staff of participating universities. The success of the project is evident from the fact that many of the processed theses have been awarded and published in prestigious forums. Overview of awarded and published theses: •

•

•

•

•

Markéta Vavrová received the highly appraised European Friedrich List Award for her thesis “Development of an Electronic Vehicle Miles Travelled Toll Model“ at the official award ceremony on November 8, 2012 in Budapest as part of the 10th European Transport Congress. Poster based on Markéta Vavrová’s thesis entitled “Framework to Analyze Vehicle Miles Travelled Fee Implementation“, authors Markéta Vavrová, Carlos Martin Chang-Albitres, Ladislav Bína, was presented at the Transportation Research Board, 92nd Annual Meeting (January 13-17, 2013) in Washington, D.C. Poster based on Nela Blejchařová’s thesis entitled “Analysis Framework for Designing Two-Device Checked Baggage Inspection Systems at Airports“, authors Ruey (Kelvin) Cheu, Ladislav Bína, Nela Blejchařová, was presented at the Transportation Research Board, 92nd Annual Meeting (January 13-17, 2013) in Washington, D.C. Paper based on Nela Blejchařová’s thesis entitled “Framework for selecting screening technologies for checked baggage inspection systems at airports“, authors Ruey (Kelvin) Cheu, Ladislav Bína, Nela Blejchařová, was published in the Journal of Transportation Security, Vol. 5, Issue 3 (2012). Paper based on Tomas Rendl’s thesis entitled “Assessing Regional Impacts of Transportation Policies and Traffic Management Solutions in Large Urban Areas“ will be presented at the 13th European Transport Congress held in September 2013 in Prague.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer The authors acknowledge financial support from the EU-US Atlantis Programme. Project Title: Transatlantic Dual Master´s Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems (ATL). This project and research is also co-funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) under Agreement 2010-2843/001– 001–CPT EU-US TD. The contents of this book were also developed under an EU-U.S. Atlantis Grant (P116J100057) from the International and Foreign Language Education Programs (IFLE), U.S. Department of Education. However, the content does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed.

61

ATLANTIS References [1] U.S. Department of Education. European Union-United States Atlantis Program. Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. Available at http:// http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fipseec/index.html. Accessed June 29, 2013. [2] Cheu, R., L., Ferregut, C., Bina, L., Novakova, H., Horak, T., Novak, A., Hudak, A., Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias: Transatlantic Dual Masters Degree Program in Transportation and Logistics Systems: the First Two Years of Implementation. In: Proceedings of TRB (Transportation Research Board), 92nd Annual Meeting (January 13-17, 2013). Washington, D.C. [3] EC. Bilateral Relationships, United States, Trade. European Union. 2011. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/bilateral-relations/countries/unitedstates/. Accessed May 11, 2012.

62