The IRF Young Professionals programme is a prestigious global network of young leaders and specialists in the road and mobility sector to propose initiatives, share ideas and engage with the overall activities of IRF.
What we do
Inspiration
Create videos, articles and other contents to share fresh and innovative perspectives from our network of young and talented members.
Networking
Connect with other young talent programmes from third-party institutions to build bridges between future leaders across industries. From those collaborations emerge new initiatives to accelerate the development and implementation of sustainable mobility options.
Advocacy
Deliver a yearly summit (September) to bring together young mobility experts from around the world to highlight local expertise, successes and challenges for a global impact.
Why should you join us?
IRF YP members are young people who are not only interested in the road and mobility sectors, but are also keen to become part of IRF and contribute to the development and implementation of a new vision for the organisation. Benefits of joining the IRF Young Professionals Programme:
Become part of the prestigious network of like-minded young individuals and IRF associates.
Gain an opportunity to participate in IRF activities and events.
Publish articles in the World Highways magazine as well as in other specialised publications.
Get a unique chance to be part of IRF’s “ideas lab” and help shape the future of the road and mobility sectors.
I want to join!
- Age Requirement: Must be between 22 to 35 years old at the time of the membership application.
- Experience: A graduate student or a young professional in the road or mobility sector. Emphasizing the sectors’ multidisciplinary characteristics, all professional contributory to the goals of the programme are welcome.
- Other Skills: Demonstrated leadership skills and proactivity is desired. Members are expected to contribute to the development and implementation of IRF YP activities.
The Leadership Team
Ray Macalalag
Lead for Communications
Ray is a senior economic development specialist in the National Economic and Development Authority in the Philippines. He works on policy formulation and planning specializing in land use and road transport. A civil engineer by profession, he has been a staunch road safety advocate. He is currently an Australia Awards postgraduate scholar majoring in transport.
Tendekayi Marapara
Lead for Membership
Tendekayi has a background in civil engineering. He currently works as an Engineer- Transport Safety with WSP New Zealand. He is also part of the regional leadership team for Africa under the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety. He previously worked in various projects in Zimbabwe as a highway maintenance consultant and road safety specialist. He is an accredited practitioner with iRAP.
Cecilia Merighi
Lead for Partnerships
Civil engineer and constantly curious about innovation, diversity and sustainability, Cecilia is an Innovation Coordinator at Grupo EcoRodovias, the biggest road operator in Brazil and has experience in highway infrastructure maintenance and restoration in Africa and Brazil. She is a PhD student of construction and infrastructure engineering.
Shashank Misra
Lead for Projects
Shashank is a serial entrepreneur. He is an engineer by profession, a changemaker by passion and a problem solver at heart. He has transforming access to energy, livelihood and mobility for the better part of a decade. Shashank has a Masters’ degree in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London. He founded Ekak Innovations in India, a social enterprise working with farmers, fishermen in India and East Africa.