ITI Completes 9th Intermodal Travel Seminar

DENVER, CO, May 2, 2012 – The Intermodal Transportation Institute (ITI) at the University of Denver recently concluded its ninth, annual Intermodal Travel Seminar, the final course taken by students completing the Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation Management degree program.

This April twenty-two ITI students visited Europe, where they had the opportunity to tour the Maasvlakte container terminal in Rotterdam; hear a presentation by Port of Rotterdam executives; and engage in discussion with senior-level officers and staff at NATO. They also met with senior executives at APM Terminals in The Hague; visited the Port of Brussels where they heard presentations by the Harbour Master and Inland Navigation Europe (INE); and had the opportunity to hear a presentation relating to the EU-funded container security projects INTEGRITY and CASSANDRA. Transit activities included a trip to London by Eurostar and a day-long visit to Transport for London (TfL), where students heard presentations, visited the control room, and learned about how TfL is preparing for events such as the 2012 Olympics, the Queen’s Jubilee, etc. The group also visited UITP in Brussels, an international public transportation organization.

Students were accompanied by ITI faculty member Michael Meyer, PhD, and Carol Nappholz, PhD, ITI Educational Programs Director. “This year’s travel seminar offered students several experiences not included in previous seminars, such as the visit hosted by Transport for London and a visit to the Port of Brussels, which included a discussion about the importance of barge transportation in this region of the world,” said Dr. Nappholz.

Upon completion of the travel seminar, students, all of whom hold senior-level positions in the transportation industry, were asked to comment on whether they felt this international learning experience would enhance their value to their company. Almost unanimously, students responded in the affirmative, saying that this exposure to different cultures and different ways of addressing and thinking about issues had given them a broader perspective on a variety of transportation-related issues and made them think more critically about similar issues in the U.S.

About ITI

The Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver offers an Executive Masters Program that awards a Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation Management from the University of Denver. This graduate degree program prepares transportation industry managers for the increasingly complex, global business environment where knowledge of finance, quantitative processes, supply chain, transportation law, and public policy issues as well as freight, passenger, and intermodal transportation operational strategies are critical management tools for success. For more information on the ITI Executive Masters Program call: 303-871-4702 or visit: www.du.edu/transportation.