Education
CTS supports U of M students with internships and other opportunities to launch their professional journeys. We offer continuing education and training for current workers to unlock potential for themselves and their employers. And we conduct camps and other programs to attract K-12 students to degrees and careers in transportation. Highlights from FY24 follow.
Project Showcase
Summer campers get diverse, hands-on experience with transportation, CAVs
In July 2023, 30 campers entering seventh through ninth grade received an immersive introduction to aviation, bridges, vehicle technology, public works, and more through the free two-week National Summer Transportation Institute program. Then in August, 19 high schoolers spent a week exploring all aspects of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) during the CAV Career Pathways Camp. Both camps provide immersive introductions to careers in transportation and are administered by CTS.
LRRB/LTAP project provides tools to recruit, retain maintenance workers
Recruiting and retaining transportation maintenance workers is an ongoing and increasing challenge. A project sponsored by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board seeks to address this by providing easily accessible tools for city, county, township, and tribal transportation agencies. A new website—MNTransportationCareers.com—is a portal for job seekers, public works managers, human resources departments, employment counselors, and others. It includes easy-to-share videos, brochures, a training guide, a job board, and other resources in multiple languages.
Student teams assess potential for electric car sharing in Edina
As part of a 2022–2023 Resilient Communities Project partnership, a series of student-led projects researched the best way to design a public electric car-sharing system in the City of Edina. Three teams of students in a joint planning and civil engineering class analyzed various factors—including business models, connectivity, and equity—and applied what they learned to the populous suburban city. They also reviewed car-sharing systems in the Twin Cities metro and other cities similar to Edina to shape their recommendations.
