ITE has a proud tradition of providing tools and resources to students that will help them learn more about our industry—and ultimately advance their future careers. This is evident in some of the many webinars and publications available for free to ITE student members that focus on topics essential to professional development, as well as the emphasis on career path planning across our more than 150 Student Chapters globally.
The many competitions for students that ITE helps support are also in line with that goal—giving students an opportunity to learn while hopefully having some fun doing it. I’m really excited every time I get to watch a Traffic Bowl match, transportation technology tournament presentations, or review videos or photos taken by students in pursuit of a competition victory.
ITE is also a place where students can make important contacts with transportation professionals that can be future mentors, employers, colleagues, and friends. During my travels to the various Districts and Sections, I’ve met so many members that got their start in ITE as a student, and to this day remain in contact with people they met while still in school. Relationship-building is vital to everything we do in life; finding jobs, winning work, building new skills, identifying champions for change—all of these tasks rely heavily on relationships.
This June edition of ITE Journal features several articles that describe the many programs and benefits for students and young professionals within ITE. For a majority of our organization’s 90+ year existence, providing resources for the next generation of transportation leaders has been an important component of our offerings.
Of course, the students get a vast majority of their learning from their educational institution. That’s why engagement with faculty advisors and professors is an important cause within ITE. I can’t wait to participate in the upcoming Transportation Educators Workshop planned for the front end of our ITE Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, USA this July. This is a chance to spend time with 75+ educators talking about curriculum evolution, hot topics like AI, new hybrid learning approaches, and more. If you’re a professor or faculty advisor and haven’t registered for this workshop, I encourage you to get on board and don’t miss this incredible opportunity!
And finally, one thing is so often overlooked when we talk about students: how valuable we find your input and feedback. For several years now, we have made it a priority to listen and learn from students and young professionals. Not just about what you want from ITE, but what your opinions are on major topics and issues within our profession.
You bring fresh perspectives from an angle where you’ve grown up with technology instead of having to adapt to it. You bring a different foundation on mobility and personal communications than what many of our professionals built from. Getting involved in our Councils and Committees, Districts and Sections, you—the student and young professional—have extremely valuable insight that we want to hear!
Eventually, the student becomes the teacher (to borrow a Big Sean quote). To every ITE member reading this, make an extra effort next time you’re with a younger member and solicit their opinions on a particular topic. And to every student and younger member, don’t hesitate to raise your hand and insert your voice into the conversation!