Meet the TCA intern: Yongxin Feng
During 2023, Transport Certification Australia (TCA) hosted an intern, Yongxin Feng, who was a final year student of Bachelor of Applied Data Science at Monash University. Yongxin spent six months in our Melbourne office on a part-time basis, analysing vehicle movement datasets and learning from TCA’s data experts.
The internship was part of TCA’s collaboration as a host organisation for Monash University’s Workplace Integrated Learning program, which aims to provide students with opportunities to integrate academic learning with workplace experience.
“This has been my first placement in a real work environment,” said Yongxin. “Everyone at TCA has been so welcoming and friendly. I’ve learned so much through the experience.”
With a focus on understanding the impact of weather events on vehicle movements, Yongxin’s internship project made use of TCA’s Telematics Analytics Platform data, including average journey counts, average speeds and travel times between key intersections for the vehicles currently enrolled in the National Telematics Framework. By combining this data with monthly rainfall data from the Bureau of Meteorology, she was able to analyse traffic behaviour during a flood event on a critical freight route in Victoria.
Yongxin, originally from China, graduated from Monash University in December 2023. She is hoping to continue her education in Australia and to eventually gain a permanent residency pathway.
We asked her if delving into the heavy vehicle movement data has piqued her interest in trucks.
“I still can’t identify truck combinations when I see them on the road, but it’s definitely been an amazing learning experience. I’m thankful for the opportunity provided to me by TCA to learn more about the transport sector.”
Claire Caldwell, TCA’s Service Development Manager and coordinator for the project, said TCA was happy to support students and research organisations, where possible.
“TCA collects movement data from heavy vehicles enrolled in the National Telematics Framework. This data is visualised through TCA’s Telematics Analytics Platform and is predominantly used by road managers to better understand how their road networks are used,” she said.
“However, TCA also considers ad hoc research requests for data and analytics related to the vehicles enrolled in the Framework. Such collaborations are carried out within the bounds of data sharing rules and limitations defined under the Framework, making sure individual vehicle movements are not identifiable,” she explained.
She said TCA welcomes students and researchers who would like to learn more about collaboration opportunities with TCA.
“We have already started working with our second intern on an exciting research program. I encourage any students or research organisations looking to explore collaboration opportunities with TCA to get in touch.”
To learn more about TCA’s data analysis and research capabilities, or to explore internship opportunities with TCA, contact us.