Close
Student Spotlight: Ricardo Fuentes Borrero recipient of UCL CEGE Excellence Prize
5 March 2025
Ricardo Fuentes Borrero, MSc Transport & Mobility Systems graduate, has been awarded the UCL CEGE Excellence Prize for their outstanding academic achievements and collaborative contributions.
We are proud to highlight Ricardo Fuentes Borrero, one of the recipients of the UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) Excellence Prizes for Postgraduate Students 2023-24. Ricardo was recognised for his Best Overall Performance in MSc (one of five students) for his outstanding achievements in the MSc Transport and Mobility Systems
Reflecting on his time at UCL, Ricardo describes his year in the MSc Transport & Mobility Systems programme as one of the most exciting and fast-paced experiences of his life. "The education I received allowed me to develop a new way of thinking, by understanding in more depth different topics including human rationale, data usage and infrastructure design," he shares. He also highlights the department’s commitment to fostering a multicultural exchange, strengthening industry-academia connections, and creating opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and professional networks.
Ricardo dedicated his time at UCL to acquiring skills that are shaping the future of transport, including programming machine learning models, developing net-zero strategies, and traffic modelling. He acknowledges the support of CEGE professors such as Tim Hillel, whose Data-Driven Decisions module enhanced his analytical approach, and Mikela Chatzimichailidou, whose Design for Mobility, Health, People, and Society module encouraged forward-thinking solutions in transport systems.
His research at UCL exemplified a multidisciplinary approach, allowing him to explore diverse areas in transport forecasting and micromobility. Under the supervision of Professors Liz Varga and Nick Tyler, Ricardo worked on two dissertation projects—one examining the impact of transport forecasting on decision-making in road and rail business cases, and another applying machine learning to model avoidance user behavior in micromobility interactions.
Expressing his gratitude, Ricardo stated, "I am honoured to receive the CEGE prize and I feel thankful to have experienced an evolution in my skills and the way I think, thanks to the dedication of an incredible staff equipped with great infrastructure such as the PEARL lab and the main campus. I would say that all students must try to have an open mind to change themselves during their time at UCL CEGE, the result will be a new self professionally and personally, better than you expected before your time at UCL." He encourages future students to embrace change, as their time at UCL can redefine their professional and personal growth.
Congratulations to Ricardo Fuentes Borrero and all the other prize recipients for their exceptional achievements!