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 FY23 follow.
Project Showcase
Internships give students real-world experience in transportation
Gaining hands-on work experience? Check. Exploring a potential career path? Check. Developing skills? Check. Thanks to transportation-related internships with CTS partners MnDOT and Ramsey County, college students expanded their professional horizons. Interns assisted with bridge inspections and highway construction, sat in on planning meetings, and much more. The benefits? Making connections, hearing different perspectives, and seeing plans come to life.
Civil Engineering Technician Certificate series launched
The Minnesota Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) launched a Civil Engineering Technician Certificate series in fall 2022. The series, part of MnLTAP’s Roads Scholar Program, is designed to help local agencies advance their current employees into hard-to-fill civil engineering technician positions. It’s also a great way to engage and train employees for career advancement. More than 2,400 students are enrolled in the Roads Scholar Program, with roughly 150 of those in the new civil engineering track. MnLTAP is administered by CTS.
Summer campers learn about STEM degrees, CAV Pathways, and public works careers
Building awareness of transportation careers—and getting students in the education pipeline—is an important action to address the workforce shortage. CTS efforts in this area included the seventh annual National Summer Transportation Institute, a free program for students entering grades 7–9 that introduces careers in transportation, engineering, and related fields. CTS also hosted the free CAV Career Pathways Camp, which let high school students explore connected and automated (CAV) vehicles and discuss technical details and policy issues with practitioners and U of M researchers. In addition, representatives of several transportation agencies and companies participated in two University of Minnesota youth summer camps: Eureka! and Discover STEM. CTS helped coordinate their participation.
