The Tren Urbano UPR/MIT Professional Development Program

This paper describes an innovative professional development program conducted jointly by the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focusing on a major infrastructure project— Tren Urbano —which is a heavy rail system under construction in San Juan. This program is unusual in several respects. First it is funded as an integral and essential part of the infrastructure project itself. Second it has been sustained over a six‐year period from the earliest stages of planning through the current state of construction. Furthermore the program is expected to continue through the start of revenue service in 2002. Finally the interdisciplinary, but tightly focused nature of the program provides a valuable opportunity for young professionals to see the important roles that different disciplines play in such major infrastructure projects. After a brief description of the Tren Urbano project itself, the paper explains the key elements of the program, provides an evaluation and discusses the necessary ingredients for replication elsewhere.