ITS alumnus presents research to The World Bank
An ITS alumnus was invited to present his Masters dissertation research to the World Bank and the Namibian government.
Naville Geiriseb, who graduated from MSc Transport Economics in 2019, was invited to present his research to colleagues at the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Roads Authority and the Road Fund Administration in Namibia. The presentation was also joined by colleagues from several World Bank Offices around the world.
His research is on the "Evaluation of Alternative Financing Models For Road Transport Infrastructure In Namibia" and was awarded the 2019 Frank Lai Award for most impactful, innovating Masters dissertation in the Institute for Transport Studies.
“It was real pleasure to supervise Naville on this dissertation. Naville undertook his dissertation with great intellectual rigour and skill. He was able to learn key analytical skills that will be useful for his professional development as well as for his employer. The research topic he developed was directly relevant to his work with the Ministry and to the wider transport policy dialogue not only in Namibia, but to countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, he was able to be well-supported by his employer, in terms of data and their engagement with the research outcomes.” said Jeff Turner, a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Leeds and Supervisor for Naville’s Masters Dissertation.
Naville’s presentation and subsequent discussion focused on challenges in the current road-funding model in Namibia with emphasis on recurrent maintenance and explored alternative funding models including toll road concessions, performance-based maintenance contracts and a distance-based road user charging as ways to meet the funding requirements of road network.
The presentation was well received by both the World Bank and the Namibian Government institutions as a timely and rigorous piece of analytical work to support policy dialogue. There was commitment from the World Bank and the Namibian transport sector institutions to use the catalyst of Naville’s work to maintain discussions about sustainable financing for road infrastructure in Namibia. Naville also hopes that following the presentation there will be opportunity to build on the models he developed for use by the Ministry for policy analysis.
During his time at Leeds, Naville was also awarded the prestigious Chevening scholarship and took part in the ITS mentor scheme where he was mentored by Martin Humphreys, Global Lead - Transport Connectivity and Regional Integration at The World Bank, who is also an ITS alumnus and attended Naville’s recent presentation.
