Management School academics awarded grants for port sustainability research
Dr Cagatay Iris and Dr Yuanjun Feng from the Management School’s Operations and Supply Chain Management Group (OSCM) and Centre for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) have received new funding for projects aimed at enhancing port sustainability.
The grants are part of the Global Partnerships Fund, a strategic partnership between the University of Liverpool and McMaster University (Canada) to support the development of collaborations in areas of complementary research strength.
Cagatay’s research project, “Transport Decarbonisation for Next-Generation Ports and Port-City Hinterlands”, seeks to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of transport by facilitating a seamless transition to next-generation logistics systems, underpinned by green energy sources and innovative smart logistics solutions.
This collaborative project will be carried out in conjunction with Professor Tolga Bektas and Professor Dongping Song from the University of Liverpool Management School and Professor Moataz Mohamed from McMaster University.
"Our project aims to identify best practices and opportunities for decarbonising and economically revitalising the transport infrastructure and operations in the port areas and port-city hinterlands of Liverpool (the UK) and Hamilton (Canada),” said Cagatay.
“Achieving this will provide a robust foundation for informed decision-making by investors, industry stakeholders, and policymakers.”
Their study will explore opportunities for knowledge exchange, joint research, collaborative funding application and technological innovation tailored to the unique demands of ports and their hinterlands, leveraging the capabilities between both institutions.
Yuanjun, together with McMaster University’s Professor Saiedeh Razavi, will conduct initial collaborative research on enhancing port resilience and environmental sustainability through integrated planning and disruption management as part of their “Enhancing Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency of the Ports” project.
"I am delighted to be awarded the collaboration seed fund,” said Yuanjun.
“The fund provides a foundation for multi-institutional proposal development, establishing long-term research collaboration with McMaster University, and fostering partnerships with ports and other stakeholders.”
The strategic institutional alliance between the two research-intensive universities will support collaboration between leading academics in several areas, including studies across life stages from paediatrics to healthy ageing and resilience, social sciences and humanities and research and development in port related activities.
The seed fund is the latest in a series of collaborative initiatives between McMaster and the University of Liverpool to advance the institutions’ shared mission of excellence and impact in research and education.