Program Overview

The Department of Transportation System Engineering was established in 1995, which is an important development direction in the construction of a high-level university of Shanghai University of Science and Technology. The Transportation System Engineering major is oriented toward theoretical innovation and engineering practice. Based on systems engineering theory, information technology, artificial intelligence, and other new productive forces, and in line with the philosophy of emerging engineering education, the program carries out teaching and research in disciplinary areas such as transportation planning and management, transportation information and control engineering, and transportation infrastructure engineering. Aiming to meet the demand for interdisciplinary talents in the governance of transportation systems in megacities, and guided by industry development needs, the program is committed to cultivating high-quality, interdisciplinary, and application-oriented leading professionals.

This Transportation System Engineering offers both academic and professional master’s degrees in the first-level discipline of Transportation System Engineering and is currently a key development direction of the USST’s high-level university construction efforts. In 1983, the transportation discipline research was first launched at our university, and a full-English faculty training program with North American instructors was provided, resulting in a batch of academic papers. In 1985, a memorandum of cooperation was signed with the Transportation Research Center of the University of Montreal, Canada. In 1990, construction began on the China-Canada Cooperative Transportation Planning Simulation Laboratory. In 1996, the undergraduate major in transportation (systems) engineering was established. In 1998, the doctoral track in transportation systems engineering was created, under the first-level doctoral program in Management Science and Engineering, starting the cultivation of high-level talents in transportation disciplines. In 1999, the simulation lab was expanded into the China-Canada Cooperative Transportation Simulation Laboratory, which in 2002 was recognized as “the most successful intergovernmental cooperation project between China and Canada.”
 In 2007, 2010, and 2011, the program successively gained the authority to grant degrees for the second-level discipline Transportation Planning and Management and the first-level academic and professional master's programs in Transportation System Engineering. In 2017, the discipline was included in the SciVal Spotlight list as an internationally advanced featured research direction. In 2018 and 2021, the program was twice approved as an innovation team in Mega-city Transportation System Engineering under the Shanghai High-Level Local Universities Initiative.

After nearly four decades of development, the Transportation System Engineering has cultivated a faculty team distinguished by profound academic expertise, advanced academic credentials, and a well-balanced age structure. At present, there are 29 full-time faculty members, including 8 professors and 12 associate professors, most of whom graduated from prestigious universities such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, Southeast University, Tianjin University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Jilin University, the University of North Carolina (USA), and Kyoto University (Japan).The faculty members have collectively received more than ten instances of national and provincial-level talent titles, including the National Science Fund for Excellent Youth Scholar, Shanghai Oriental Scholars, Shanghai Leading Talents, Dawn Program of Shanghai Education Commission, Shanghai Youth Science and Technology Rising Star Program, Shanghai Young Eastern Scholars, Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program, and Shanghai Morning Light Program. The team has a strong academic foundation and has received support from programs such as the Shanghai Key Discipline Construction Program Innovation Team, the Shanghai Peak Plateau Discipline Construction Program, and the Shanghai High-Level Local Universities Innovation Team Program.

The Transportation System Engineering program is based in Shanghai and serves the whole of China. It conducts scientific research targeting national strategic needs, theoretical frontiers and practical engineering challenges. Over the past five years, the faculty has published more than 100 SCI/SSCI academic papers, obtained more than 50 national and provincial research grants, and won more than 10 provincial-level scientific and technological awards. It has also undertaken over 100 social service projects with total funding exceeding 20 million RMB. It has actively participated in major national projects and events, enhancing travel services through the use of professional technologies. 

The Department of Transportation System Engineering includes the following research directions:Transportation Planning and Management, Transportation Information and Control Engineering, and Transportation Infrastructure Engineering.

The Highlights

-Distinctive Interdisciplinary Characteristics

The Department of Transportation System Engineering continuously brings in talents with different knowledge backgrounds and structures, continuously optimizing the structure and quality of faculty team. It integrates deeply with other disciplines such as systems science and artificial intelligence in the Business School, forming distinctive research areas and yielding significant results.

-Outstanding Social Service Contributions

The department participates in major national and Shanghai projects and events, contributing to social development through the application and transformation of scientific research results. In recent years, the academic team has undertaken over 100 social service projects, using advanced technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and computer simulation to empower transportation systems engineering. It has provided transportation support for major international events such as the China International Import Expo in Shanghai and the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, contributed to the construction of the China-Europe Railway Express operating system under the Belt and Road Initiative, and supported the implementation of intelligent connected vehicle test scenarios in downtown Shanghai.

-Fruitful International Cooperation
Currently, the department hosts the China-Canada Collaborative Transportation  Laboratory and runs international collaboration platforms including the joint graduate dual-degree programs between the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (USA), the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern (Germany), and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Kenya).The department has trained a number of students with international academic vision and solid theoretical and technical expertise.