TEMPUS project (TransITS) Advanced Curriculum on Intelligent Transport System (ITS) by Means of ICT A Success Story Coordinated by Syria and Sweden Ghazwan Al-Haji, PhD Department of Science and Technology LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY, Sweden Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Outline About Linköping University About our TEMPUS and other projects in MEDA region. About the TransITS project, workplan and progress to date Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Linköping University

One University – Two Cities One of the top-ten IT-regions in Europe according to Eurostat. Linköping, a high-tech city in a cultural setting. Norrköping, an old industrial town on its way to a knowledge economy.

Four Faculties Institute of Technology Faculty of Health Sciences Faculty of Arts and Sciences Educational Sciences

Linköping University Students26,000 PhD students1,300 Employees3, full professors, ~150 dissertations/year 35 Master’s programmes in English LiU is quite successful in TEMPUS Program projects

Our projects with MEDA region Curriculum Development in Intelligent Transport System (TransIT) , TEMPUS, LiU is the grant holder, SY partner country Enterprise-University Partnership , TEMPUS, LiU is EU partner, EG partner country Curriculum Development in Road Safety, Supported with ICT (SafeIT) , TEMPUS, LiU is the grant holder, SY partner country Jordan-Sweden Research Links in Child Pedestrian Safety. – , Swedish Research Council Linnaues- Palme Project for exchanging of students and teachers with Aleppo University in Syria. –2007-present, SIDA- The Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

WHAT is ITS? Intelligent transport systems (ITS) are systems that integrate Information Technology and telecommunication with roads infrastructure and vehicles, with the aim to satisfy transportation goals in terms of efficiency, mobility, safety, energy and environmental impact. Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

WHY ITS? ITS proved internationally to provide economic growth and social development in any country There is an increasing demand for traffic engineers and traffic planners with knowledge about applying ITS for designing, analysing and evaluating the performance of the complex transport systems. There is no advanced modern courses in ITS at any Syrian Universities yet. Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

ITS master programmes at EU Partner Universities Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

About the project Type of the project: TEMPUS-programme project Duration of the project: 3 years Eligibility period: 15/01/ /01/2012 Grant amount: € 575, (without co- financing) This project is financed by the European Commission Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Consortium partners Linköping University, Sweden (Grant Holder & coordinator) Gdansk University of Technology, Poland University of Klagenfurt, Austria The Technological Institute of Piraeus (TEI), Greece ITS Arab Scott Wilson, UK Syrian Engineering Association University of Aleppo, Syria (Local Coordinator) The Municipality of Homs, Syria Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria Tishreen University, Syria Damascus University, Syria Ministry for Transport, Syria Mamoun Private University, Syria The Municipality of Aleppo, Syria

Overall Project Objective The project will establish and implement a Curriculum for a pilot Master Programme in ITS at Aleppo University. in addition new single subject course in ITS will be developed, with credits, in the other four targeting Universities in Syria. Notes The development will be based on successful expertise available at EU Universities. The courses will be adapted to SY higher education system and transport/traffic situation. Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

The other project Key outcomes Different information and communication technologies (ICT) will be incorporated in the new curriculum. The course materials (e.g. lectures, demonstrations, student reports, etc) will be made available over the master programme and courses’ websites. New teaching methods, based on understanding rather than memorisation e.g. the problem-based learning (PBL). Training and re-training of teachers’/administrative staff skills from each SY Partner University regarding the new curriculum in ITS, ICT and teaching methods.

The other project Key outcomes The project will establish an advanced ITS Lab in Aleppo University. A centralised web-based application and admission system where students can apply and register electronically to the new ITS master’s programme. To improve the linkage between practice and research in ITS between SY universities and Ministries/Municipalities/Companies/etc. To organise a concluding project scientific conference in ITS in Syria at national and regional levels. To explore the possibility of having joint or double Master’s degree in ITS between the SY and EU participants’ universities.

The agreed outline of the master programme in ITS at Aleppo University Duration: 4 semesters- Two Years Master program Course start: October 2011 (was accepted by the MOHE) Rate of study: Full time Language of Instruction: Arabic/English Requirements: - Degree (Bachelor) in Civil Engineering. - Pass an interview and/or written test - Have good language skills in English - Knowledge of computer programming is preferable Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

The first semester contains the following courses: Course 1: Advanced Academic Studies and Research Methodology (Responsible: Aleppo and Al-Baath Universities) Course 2: Optimization and Advanced Statistics (Responsible: Aleppo University) Course 3: Traffic Simulation and Models (Responsible: Klagenfurt University) Course 4: Fundamentals of Communication Systems I (Responsible: Al-Mamoun University) Course 5: Fundamentals of Intelligent Transport Systems (Responsible: LiU) Course 6: GIS and Positioning Systems in Transportation (Responsible: LiU and TEI) Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

The second semester contains the following courses: Course 7: Graph Theory and Algorithms for ITS (Responsible: Klagenfurt University) Course 8: Transport System Planning and Sustainability (Responsible: GUT and Damascus University) Course 9: Traffic Engineering and Control (Responsible: Tishreen University) Course 10: Telecommunication Systems (Responsible: Klagenfurt University) Course 11: Traffic Safety System (Responsible: LiU) Course 12: Transport Project Management (Responsible: Aleppo University and Individual Expert Dr. Bachar Hakim).) Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

The second year: Two semester Research work. Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

The project is implemented in four phases 1.Current curriculum analysis (from Month 1 to Month 6). 2.Development of a new curriculum (from Month 7 to Month 18). 3.Realisation of the new curriculum (from Month 12 to Month 24). 4.Implementation and evaluation (from Month 25 to Month 36). Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Structure of Project Month 1M6M18M24M36 Current curriculum analysis Development of a new master program/courses in ITS, integrating ICT and new teaching methods Realisation of the new curriculum and announce it Implementation and evaluation of the new curriculum We are here M12M30 Start up of the new master’s programme Oct /01/ /01/2012 Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Structure of Project Month 1M6M18M24M36 Current curriculum analysis Development of a new master program/courses in ITS, integrating ICT and new teaching methods Realisation of the new curriculum and announce it Implementation and evaluation of the new curriculum We are here M12M30 15/01/ /07/2012 Start up of the new master’s programme Oct 2011 M40 15/01/2012 Extension Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

Project main workshops carried out Kick-off workshop: at Al-Baath University, FEB 2009 Consortium workshop: at Tishreen University, SEP 2009 Consortium workshop: at TEI Institute in Athens, FEB 2010 Consortium workshop: at Linköping University in SEP 2010 Training workshop in SY: at Aleppo University in DEC 2010 Consortium workshop: at Klagenfurt University in FEB 2011 … Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010

شكرا للمتابعة Thank You Tempus Contact Seminar in Syria 9th November 2010