Blogs

ITE Education Council Connects Students to the Profession

By Dr. Beverly Kuhn P.E., PTOE, PMP posted 04-05-2017 10:44 AM

  
The transportation students in our colleges and uniiversites are the lifeblood of our profession.  They are the future engineers, planners, advocates, and transportation professionals that will shape the world of the future.  It is essential that ITE members are engaged in the education of these students so that they are fully prepared to enter our workforce and take on the challenges of ensuring our transportation system is the best it can be.  

The ITE Education Council is an employer-type Council open to all ITE members, regardless of whether they are directly connected with academic institutions.   Its mission is to provide a focal point for identifying and addressing emerging and evolving needs of educational institutions, and its members are comprised of administrators, faculty, researchers, professional trainers, practitioners, students, and others interested in actively pursuing initiatives that will lead to greater involvement in ITE and the profession.

Back when I was in undergraduate school, I was the beneficiary of an outstanding transportation education.  Our department offered a series of upper level classes that introduced students to the various areas of transportation engineering and gave us hands-on experience with projects to solve problems our professional colleagues faced every day.  At the graduate level, we were able to gain more indepth insight into complex issues and worked on local projects to find real-world solutions.  Most of our faculty were active ITE members who shared with us the importance of serving society throughout one's professional career and through involvement in ITE.  Our ITE Student Chapter was very active and reinforced the need for continuous improvement and professional development.  We were encouraged to stay on top of the latest topics and enhance our skills to become better transportation professionals.  The ITE Education Council plays a role in this endeavor and is a critical link to institutions responsible for educating the next transportation professional.

So what are examples of how the ITE Education Council serves the academic community?  Two recently complete on-line products include an assembly of syllabi for the first/introductory course in transportation engineering at 20 universities and a repository of practical problems in transportation engineering that faculty can use as class exercises.  There are just two resources that educational institutions can use to enhance their offerings and work to ensure their students are equipped with the knowledge our practioners expect them to have when they start work.  

If you are passionate about ensuring the pipeline of transportation professionals remains full, the ITE Education Council is a great opportunity to became part of the solution.  The Council Chair is Grant Schultz with Brigham Young University.  Give him a call if you are interested in joining this Council.

Respectfully,

Beverly Kuhn
Chair, ITE Coordinating Council
0 comments
160 views

Permalink