16 October 1995 Transport Studies Degree Unique To Lincoln

It is one of the newest degrees in New Zealand and the only one of its kind in Australasia - the Bachelor of Commerce in Transport Studies offered by Lincoln University.

Furthermore it's a degree which comes with a royal endorsement having been "launched" by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands when she visited Lincoln on a State Visit to New Zealand in 1992 and commented on with interest by Princess Anne when in Christchurch this month for the International Conference of the Chartered Institute of Transport of which she is Patron.

The first students began their Transport Studies degree at Lincoln in 1993 and in 1994 a Chair in Transport Studies was established at the University with the support of the New Zealand Transport industry.

Dr Chris Kissling, whose foresight and energy had done much to make the specialist degree a reality, is the foundation Professor and later this year he will have the pleasure of seeing the first batch of students complete their course.

Six graduates in Transport Studies will come on to the employment market initially with a further 27 graduating within the next two years.

The degree, established in response to transport industry needs for tertiary qualified personnel specifically trained for the transport sector, is one of a number of specialised Bachelor of Commerce degrees offered by Lincoln. Others include Forestry, Hotel Management, Tourism and Valuation and Property Management.

These degrees are normally completed in three years and in the first year all students study a compulsory "core" of subjects common to all of the University's B.Com. degrees. To obtain the "transport" major, students gradually build in increasingly specialised subjects over their second and third years of study such as transport logistics and distribution management, transport law, transport systems planning and analysis.

Lincoln prides itself on the flexibility of its degree structures and with the B.Com (Transport) it is possible to construct a course programme that meets the academic requirements for ACA accounting accreditation and Membership of the Chartered Institute of Transport (MCIT).

Professor Kissling is well qualified in the transport area, with a particularly strong background in aviation related fields.

In his career he has been involved with a South Pacific Forum Transport Survey of the South Pacific which covered aviation and shipping, has worked for the International Civil Aviation Organisation and has been associated with a study by the United Nation's Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific which covered aviation as well as other forms of transport.

"The transport, storage and communications sector represents 7.2 percent of GDP and employs 4.4 percent of the workforce," Professor Kissling points out. "The transport industry is thus strategically important to the New Zealand economy both domestically and internationally, and has increasing needs for a highly skilled and technologically advanced workforce.

"Through Lincoln University's transport studies degree we believe we are making a positive contribution to this important economic sector."

Transport industry support for the Lincoln programme extends to the provision of a number of scholarships tenable at the University for Transport Studies. A total of five are available annually, three at undergraduate level and two for postgraduate study.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.