In 2019, WSP’s Jonathan Chan took centre stage at AusRAIL and presented his pitch to attract more people to the rail industry.
His ‘Make a Rail Difference’ campaign concept – delivered complete with campaign t-shirts and video materials – made an impact on the audience, leading him to take out the coveted first place for the Young Rail Professionals pitching competition.
This year, Jonathan is returning to AusRAIL with a new role as a judge of the pitching competition he won.
In our latest ARA podcast, he tells us about what it was like to take part – and win – in 2019, and what he hopes to see this year as competitors present their big idea to shape the future of rail. Listen to the podcast here.
Jonathan’s concept aimed to connect people to different opportunities that exist in rail and inspire people to pursue careers in the industry.
“The premise of it was to inspire people to join the rail industry for the real difference that they could make,” he says.
He says compiling the entry was a long process that involved a great deal of consultation with colleagues to make sure he used his time well to make an impact with the judges.
The experience was not only positive at the time, but has led to new opportunities since Jonathan’s win last year.
“I don’t really remember being on the stage but it was a really good experience,” he says.
“There was a lot of interest with the Future Leaders program to take on the Make a Rail Difference hashtag.
“[WSP] did look at using the Make a Rail Difference hashtag to go alongside our recruitment campaigns as well.”
He says he is now looking forward to judging this year’s pitching competitions as finalists present their big ideas at AusRAIL 2020.
