22 senior leaders of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) -Kazakhstan Railways- came to Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) for an executive education program in Supply Chain Management and Logistics

The Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC), a member of the MIT Global SCALE Network, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the railway company in Kazakhstan, to provide education and research to help enhance the logistics and transport sectors in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The agreement has been signed by Mr. Arturo Aliaga, Minister of Industry and Innovation of the Government of Aragon and President of the ZLC, Dr. David Gonsalvez, Director of ZLC, and Mr. Askhat Akchurin, Vice President of Staff Management and Social Issues, KTZ on Friday, November 23, 2012.

The collaboration will develop and expand the science and technology, information and business cooperation in the transport and logistics sectors in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Under this agreement, ZLC expertise will contribute to the preparation of qualified skilled personnel in railway transport through the development of postgraduate and executive programs involving the educational organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan; to the creation of a technology-based platform to promote modern internet technology and other information tools; and in the dissemination of knowledge from joint actions through projects, publications, manuals, scientific and technical papers, exhibitions, conferences and symposia.

During the event, Dr. Gonsalvez said “ZLC is recognized as one of the world’s leading centers in Supply Chain Management and Logistics. KTZ recognizes this and would like to establish a strong relationship with ZLC to support KTZ in building its own capability in this arena.”

The success of the two-week executive education program taught -by professors of Zaragoza Logistics Center, the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and industry experts- to a group of 22 senior executives of the Kazakhstan railway company, is the first step in this collaboration. The intensive course has included case studies and sessions in Railway Growth Strategies, Freight Transport Systems Optimization, Transportation Modeling and Operations and Revenue Management. The executives have also participated in technical visits to Adif, Barcelona Port, BSH, CAF, GM, Maritim Terminal of Zaragoza, Renfe, Saica and Talgo. KTZ already has a strong commercial relationship with the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo.

Mr. Akchurin said “Our collaboration is deepening. The fact that Talgo trains are running along Kazakhstan and we are jointly manufacturing trains in Spain and Kazakhstan speaks for itself. KTZ wants to become an intermodal transportation company that is why we started this collaboration with ZLC. We need new knowledge and ZLC experts can provide this". The Vice-president of the company has also congratulated the team that has made possible this two week program and has announced that ZLC professors will be visiting KTZ facilities in their country in the near future.

Mr. Arturo Aliaga, Minister of Industry and Innovation of the Government of Aragon, where ZLC is based, spoke about the relevance of other countries looking at Aragon as a reference and model of innovation in logistics and supply chain management, and coming to Zaragoza Logistics Center to prepare and advise their executives.

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