LRMC, Ateneo link up to train railway experts

MANILA, Philippines — The Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) has developed an educational program with the Ateneo de Manila University that seeks to create a pool of experts that can manage the country’s rail lines.

The LRMC yesterday announced that it signed with Ateneo School of Science and Engineering a partnership that will guide students into becoming railway experts.

Under the memorandum of agreement (MOA), LRMC and Ateneo will work together on capacity building, knowledge sharing and technological innovation in the field of railway transport.

As part of the MOA, LRMC and Ateneo will come up with an internship program that students of the Katipunan-based school can avail of. With this, Ateneo can deploy its undergraduates to the LRMC for learning and training with access to its equipment, facilities and technology.

On the other hand, LRMC may assign its officers, employees and consultants as subject matter experts in courses offered by Ateneo. Ateneo may also ask for resource speakers from LRMC to cover particular topics, especially in engineering.

LRMC president and CEO Juan Alfonso said the partnership seeks to provide students with the opportunity to come up with solutions on public transport issues.

“We consider this as a great partnership in designing railway engineering courses and programs to support the ever-growing need for a highly-skilled and competent rail labor force on the back of continuous developments in the railway industry here,” Alfonso said.

“This agreement aims to showcase the importance of private sector and academe collaboration in promoting real world learning among students, where they can engage in projects that allow them to address public transportation issues and see their academic work’s impact beyond the walls of the classroom,” he said.

Further, Alfonso said the rail sector is set to benefit from the new wave of innovations changing industries worldwide. As such, LRMC wants to teach these advances to the students who would soon take over the management of public services, including rail.

“The latest advances in technology through digitalization, big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and material sciences present great opportunities for the rail sector to deliver tailored approaches and efficient services. With this, we are excited to make things happen and create a better environment to live in through this partnership with Ateneo,” Alfonso said.

Ateneo School of Science and Engineering dean Raphael Guerrero, for his part, hopes that the MOA with LRMC sparks interest among students to work on railway engineering.

LRMC operates the Light Rail Transit Line 1 that runs for 20 stations in four cities at present, but is set to be extended to Parañaque City, Las Piñas City and eventually Cavite.