College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2024 56 In 2024, 1 MCom Transport Economics student graduated and 1 PhD in Logistics Management student graduated. In addition, Four coursework masters student graduated in 2024. POLICY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Transport forum: ITLS (Africa) hosted several TransportSIG events during the course of 2023/2024 in order to provide appropriate forums for transport, logistics and supply chain information exchange and debate. These events have been very well attended with an average attendance of between 120 and 180 delegates per session. In addition, the sessions being streamed on the Zoom platform, delegates can watch proceedings on YouTube. Transport month celebrations – October 2024: The Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management (TSCM) hosted a special Transport Forum as part of its ongoing commitment to fostering dialogue between academia, industry, and public sector stakeholders. The event, titled “What a Meaningful Partnership Means for Public Transport,” was held on the 16th of October 2024 presented by Prof David Hensher, Dalene Campbell. It formed part of South Africa’s broader celebration of October Transport Month, as well as the nation’s commemoration of thirty years of democracy—a momentous milestone in the country’s sociopolitical journey. This Special Transport Forum was both timely and thought-provoking, offering a platform for critical comparative reflection on two decades of public transport reform in South Africa and Australia. It focused particularly on the evolution of contracting in the public transport bus sector. The session explored the practical and institutional learning that has occurred over the past twenty years, especially in relation to different types of contracts, the evolving relationship between regulators and operators, the importance of building trust among stakeholders, and the potential of new procurement models—particularly in light of the transition to Zero-Emission Buses (ZEBs). The forum brought together distinguished voices from both academia and the transport profession, offering attendees a unique opportunity to engage with high-level insights grounded in theory and practice. Professor David Hensher, the Founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney, delivered a keynote address that underscored Australian
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