The Transport Automatics Laboratory of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) has received software which precisely replicates the traffic control sys-tem currently being used by Lithuanian railways. It is now the only university in Lithuania with this kind of laboratory.

Connected by a single local area network (LAN), each of the lab’s computers now runs the software that is used on a railway station’s or a traffic control centre’s workstations. It is able to simulate the work of a duty operator or the operation of a traffic controller’s workstation.

The software was a gift from Czech company AŽD Praha. KTU’s Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engi-neering signed a tripartite agreement with AŽD Praha and FIMA, which acted as an intermediary part-ner, to equip the laboratory and train the faculty’s community on its use. It will also be responsible for providing support for the software in the future.

“Private business investments provide students with access to state-of-the-art software and hard-ware used by the industry, keep them abreast of developments in advanced control technology and helps them to both prepare for the first steps in their professional careers and to put their knowledge into practice. It will help businesses attract professionals who are better trained and mean that new staff join them and are able to work on their equipment with the minimal amount of training,” the head of the Automation Department of KTU’s Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Assoc Prof Dr Gintaras Dervinis, said.

He added that innovations that emerge from labs often excite students, making them more enthusias-tic about their studies and motivating them to strive for higher achievements in the future. These modern laboratories focus on industry and the work that awaits students when they enter employ-ment and are a demonstration of the huge value the university places on the world of business.

“We promote technology and innovation and think that it is vital to contribute when it comes to train-ing qualified engineering and technology students, so we have a very responsible approach to sup-porting education and we always try to maximise our contribution. We have been closely cooperating with KTU for years with a large number of our staff having graduated from there,” the director of FI-MA’s department for railway traffic control solutions, Vaidas Venskus, said.

According to Assoc Prof Dr Dervinis, the co-operation agreement is proof that universities and busi-nesses have both the will and the means to co-operate more closely.

“In Lithuania, as in other countries, there are entrepreneurs who can spot potential prospects, are willing to invest in the future by devoting financial resources and involve their business partners in these activities. I am pleased that we have such a good example of this with FIMA which also invited its partner, AŽD Praha, to make such an investment in Lithuania’s future – the Kaunas University of Tech-nology,” Mr Dervinis pointed out.

The parties to the tripartite agreement say that the new laboratory is only the first step. In the future, the lab is expected to be stocked with railway equipment including signalling and electric point motors and that more joint projects are underway.