đ My research visit to MIT - an unofficial diary
Summary
From November 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026, I had the opportunity to visit the MIT – JTL Transit Lab to work on our current project, “Public Transit Crowding under Planned Special Events, Across Contexts” funded by the MIT Global Seed Funds.
During my visit, I collaborated with colleagues from MIT and practitioners from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), primarily on transit crowding related to planned special events (PSEs), focusing on sports games. In our project, however, we assess the impact of PSEs on the transportation system holistically, so, beyond transit, we consider shared micromobility and ride-hailing services.
Regarding the selection of PSEs, we worked on Nationals baseball âŸ, Capitals hockey đ, and Wizards basketball đ games in Washington, DC.
November 1, 2025 – It has been a long journey…
My day started quite early to travel to Boston. During my flight, I enjoyed beautiful views of Greenland, and a few hours later, sunny and cold Boston welcomed me đâïž
November 2025 – First days at MIT
My first days were busy and socially very active. My immediate colleague, Riccardo Fiorista, Doctoral Researcher at MIT, introduced me to the MIT Campus and charming Boston. I also had the chance to meet another visiting Doctoral Researcher, Jan Lordieck from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. As the days passed, I met more colleagues from the transit lab, as well as a couple of alumni, at the ‘Transit Lab Panel Talk’. It was so interesting to hear colleagues' experiences from transit agencies, companies, and organizations!
On November 14th, it was my turn to present some of my work at KTH, "Youths on the move: from contributions to on-board crowding to social disparities in public transportation use"âââââ, to my MIT colleagues during the breakfast seminar. I particularly enjoyed the discussions with the audience, which included people from diverse sectors and backgrounds.
January 5-9, 2026 – My supervisor, Prof. Erik Jenelius, visits MIT
Erik spent a few days with us at MIT, presenting and discussing further our work at KTH with MIT colleagues, and setting the seeds for future collaboration!
January 12-16, 2026 – Participation in the WMATA’s Winter Research Forum
Towards the end of my visit, along with additional MIT colleagues, I participated in the research forum organized by the WMATA. It was a wonderful experience learning more about the Washington Metro system and discussing with WMATA transit planners how we can make transit operations more efficient during PSEs.
January 31, 2026 - Time to go back to Stockholm
And here we are, my visit is over (even now it is hard to believe how time flew!). I came back to Stockholm happy and complete with many new experiences and new friendships. I want to thank everyone for making this research visit unique to me. It has been a long journey… and it was definitely worth it!
