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Published: 2007

Total Pages: 60

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The sixth version of the Advanced Transportation Institute was conducted in 2007 to encourage high school students to pursue careers in the field of transportation engineering. The University Transportation Center for Alabama partnered with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to teach a one-week institute at ALDOT's central office headquarters in Montgomery, AL. The headquarters location provided access to practicing transportation professionals who served as lecturers, and it provided a real-life, transportation working environment. The Advanced Transportation Institute 2007 (ATI-07) was open to rising high school juniors and seniors with preference given to African Americans and females. Participants came from high schools in west central Alabama from which ALDOT typically recruits. Students were nominated to attend the Institute by their teachers and guidance counselors, using criteria provided by ALDOT. Institute presentations, lab experiences, and field trips were designed to give participants a general overview of ALDOT, an introduction to transportation engineering as a career, and hands-on examples and challenges. The comprehensive evaluation conducted at the end of the Institute indicated the students enjoyed their experiences, and that they were influenced to consider transportation careers. The 23 student participants indicated that they enjoyed the experience, that they learned about transportation careers and ALDOT, and that (as a group) they were favorably influenced to consider transportation careers.