LUCKNOW, June 16 -- The Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management (IRITM) and the Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow (IIM-L) on Monday signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to strengthen capacity building, academic collaboration and research. The agreement was signed by IRITM director-general Ranjan Prakash Thakur and IIM Lucknow director Prof MP Gupta at IRITM's abhivyakti auditorium. Faculty members from both institutions and probationary officers of the Indian Railway Management Service (traffic) attended the event. Under the partnership, serving railway officers will get access to customised management programmes, doctoral study opportunities, research consultancy and management development courses. The two institutions will also collaborate on research projects, knowledge-sharing initiatives and the proposed centre of excellence. Thakur said the partnership would help enhance managerial and leadership capabilities of railway officers and create future-ready leaders for the transport and logistics sector. Gupta stressed the importance of collaboration between premier academic institutions and public organisations to promote leadership, innovation and continuous learning....