{"id":431655,"date":"2026-05-18T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=193515"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:26:00","slug":"university-of-huddersfield-joins-project-to-create-polish-centre-of-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=431655","title":{"rendered":"University of Huddersfield joins project to create Polish Centre of Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The University of Huddersfield\u2019s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) has secured \u00a32 million in funding as part of a \u20ac30 million project to create a Centre of Excellence in Poland.<\/p>\n

The Centre of Excellence in Railway Engineering (CERES) project has been selected for funding as part of a collaborative bid under the European Commission\u2019s research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, and its Teaming for Excellence call.<\/p>\n

The new Centre is to be hosted by Poznan University of Technology in Poland and will be developed with the help of three leading European partners: The University of Huddersfield, Technische Universit\u00e4t Berlin, and Universit\u00e9 Polytechnique Hauts-de-France.<\/p>\n

Teaming for Excellence grants support the creation of new Centres of Excellence across countries that face relatively lower levels of participation and performance in research and innovation, through forming strategic partnerships with leading institutions abroad, such as Huddersfield\u2019s IRR.<\/p>\n

The six-year project is led by Professor Bartosz Firlik, head of the Division of Railway Transport at Poznan University of Technology. At the University of Huddersfield, IRR Director Professor Paul Allen leads the project alongside Professor Jo\u00e3o Pombo, IRR Associate Director \u2013 International.<\/p>\n

CERES has been awarded over \u20ac14.5 million in funding from the European Commission and will receive additional funding from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, bringing the total amount to nearly \u20ac30 million.<\/p>\n

The new Centre of Excellence will significantly strengthen the research and innovation capacity of Poland and the Central and Eastern European region. It will also enhance integration within the European Research Area in the field of railway engineering.<\/p>\n

The IRR\u2019s role in the project is wide-ranging, including assisting in developing governance, strategy, industrial engagement, and facilities for the new centre, combined with knowledge exchange driven through collaborative research projects, seminars, and exchange programmes.<\/p>\n

Professor Allen commented: \u201cCERES offers a unique opportunity to work alongside leading academic institutions to help establish new railway research capabilities in Eastern Europe. At the same time, the centre will provide the IRR with a platform to carry out collaborative research across the centre\u2019s developing academic and industrial partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very much looking forward to building new links across Europe and developing our understanding of the rail industry and research landscape across Poland and the surrounding region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), with which the IRR has a long-standing strategic partnership, has agreed to be part of a new CERES Consultative Innovation Council.<\/p>\n

Luisa Moisio, RSSB\u2019s director of research stated: \u201cWe are pleased to support this initiative and welcome the opportunity to broaden international engagement through the establishment of this new Centre of Excellence. Collaboration across borders is vital in advancing railway research and innovation, and CERES will provide an important platform for sharing knowledge and learning across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image credit: University of Huddersfield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The University of Huddersfield\u2019s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) has secured \u00a32 million in funding as part of a \u20ac30 million project to create a Centre of Excellence in Poland. The Centre of Excellence in Railway Engineering (CERES) project has been selected for funding as part of a collaborative bid under the European Commission\u2019s research [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16017,1711,332,47,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","category-innovation","category-international","category-rail-news","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=431655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":431656,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431655\/revisions\/431656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=431655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=431655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=431655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}