Scholarship enables student's return to Cardiff

Rongqiu Song (MSc Transport and Planning, 2017) has returned to the School of Geography and Planning to pursue her PhD studies having secured a 2019 Cardiff University China Scholarships Council Research Excellence Scholarship.

This highly prestigious and competitive scholarship is jointly awarded by the University and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) with the University providing a tuition fee waiver while CSC funds living costs for up to four years.

In addition to her MSc in Transport and Planning, Rongqiu holds a BSc in Management Engineering from Tianjin Chengjian University in China, and MSc in Technology and Management from Chongqing Jiatong University, China.

“Returning to Cardiff University to pursue my PhD studies felt like a natural decision given that it was my time here as a master’s student which triggered my interest, and developed my understanding, of basic travel behaviour analysis. For my PhD thesis my aim is to further explore travel behaviours. I will be studying the nature and impacts of new and emerging transport technologies and modes such as electric vehicles. The aim is to better understand how these technologies could be part of an efficient transport sector solution to address climate change and global warming.”

Rongqiu will be supervised by Dr Dimitris Potoglou, Senior Lecturer in Transport and Applied Choice Analysis, during her PhD studies. Dr Potoglou is also the Programme Director for the School’s MSc in Transport and Planning.

The School of Geography and Planning offers a collegiate, supportive and rigorous environment in which to pursue PhD study. It is highly regarded for its research quality and impact, helping to transform people and places around the world. In the most recent government research exercise (Research Excellence Framework 2014), the School placed in the UK top ten for research quality.