The ECR Transport Research Forum is a research capacity building, mentoring, and networking. It provides early career researchers, PhD students, and graduate-level students with intentional opportunities to share research ideas, reflect on their lived experiences as transport users, and exchange practical advice on navigating careers in transport. By fostering meaningful connections, the Forum aims to build a network of researchers dedicated to sustainable and inclusive mobility while creating pathways for world-leading research towards HEALing Communities. HEAL-ing stands for Healthier, Equitable, Accessible, Liveable Communities.

Urban areas face significant transportation challenges, particularly in car-centric societies where private vehicle dependence remains high. Despite a growing interest in active and micro-mobility, the built environment often fails to support these modes, and first-mile/last-mile connectivity issues further discourage public transport use. To advance sustainable urban mobility, it is essential to integrate universal design for pedestrian equity, enhance walking infrastructure, and leverage emerging transportation technologies such as e-mobility, ride-hailing, and electric vehicles. This Forum will explore alternative mobility solutions that foster HEALing communities through innovative urban design, policy interventions, and innovative transport strategies.

HEALing (Healthier, Equitable, Accessible, Liveable) Communities prioritize well-being, sustainability, and inclusivity in urban mobility. As cities face post-pandemic challenges, there is a critical need to reduce car dependency, enhance public transport access, and promote active and micro-mobility solutions. HEALing Communities advocate for pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, universal design for transport equity, and emerging mobility technologies to create safer, more accessible, and environmentally responsible urban spaces. By fostering alternative mobilities, HEALing Communities aim to improve the quality of life and ensure that transport systems serve all individuals equitably 

WITL in collaboration with EASTS and multiple stakeholders/organisations offers the Fourth ECR Forum.

• EASTS - The Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) boasts of a 29-year history in fostering and supporting excellence in transportation research and practice. Students and early career researchers (ECRs) in Asian higher education institutions are attracted to attend the EASTS biennial because of networking opportunities, the sharing of excellent research work and participation in international research groups. However, it is important to recognise challenges that ECRs experience and deal with in their day-to-day doctoral life, and particularly when they transition to diverse employment pathways, and find strategies to address these challenges.
  
  

• WITL- Women in Transport Leadership Knowledge Network (WiTL) is the first knowledge network created in the Australasian region solely dedicated to empowering women and developing a critical mass of female transport leaders. It serves as a platform for creating knowledge, fostering innovation and empowering person to person collaborative linkages amongst female transport leaders in Australia and ASEAN. The Women in Transportation Leadership Network WiTL is a platform to produce knowledge, foster innovation and increase female to female collaborative linkages in Australasia. The knowledge network aims to strengthen female capabilities and increase leadership opportunities to address the diverse transport challenges, particularly issues related to gender and transport, which is key to achieving a more holistic and inclusive global community. The platform encourages a more healthy gender-free and friendly academic exchanges among all gender and thus endeavor a more open and welcoming platform.  It promotes a positive contemporary image of Asian- Australian female leadership concerned with developing more collaborative, inclusive and supportive culture in research, education and practice.
  
  

• MTI (Indonesian Transport Society) - Established in 1995, the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to advocate sustainable transport in Indonesia. MTI is a prominent partner for the Indonesian Government and stakeholders in the policy making process, to implement sustainable transport policies based on research, policy dialogues, and public awareness campaigns. With 21 chapters and 400 members nationwide, MTI engages transportation professionals to address Indonesia's transportation challenges sustainably through research, policy dialogues, and public awareness campaigns, both domestic and international. 

• Indonesia Infrastructure Research Center (Infraindo) - Infraindo is a non-government organisation established in 2012 that promotes the SDGs 2030 Agenda through collaborative research on several key sectors, including urban and spatial planning, transportation, water and sanitation, energy and environment, stakeholder engagement, as well as knowledge sharing to increase awareness of sustainable infrastructure development.
  
  

• Early Career Researchers (ECRs)

This term refers to researchers and professionals in their first four years of research activity,      including the research training period. ECR is usually determined based on the length of time since the individual completed their PhD or research work.

The academic world is considered a very competitive one and early career researchers face    a lot of challenges in carving out a good career path. Many young researchers struggle in         defining the focus or direction of their research and this could sometimes be overwhelming      and can sometimes result in being demotivated. This platform serves as one of the venues to address that by sharing experiences and being with senior mentors who have experienced the same issues before.