This summer, 50 students entering grades 7 – 12 developed their interests in transportation careers in two summer camps administered by MnDOT Office of Civil Rights. The National Summer Transportation Institute exposes students to a wide range of career areas including robotics, road work and bridge design and construction. The Connected Automated Vehicle Camp focuses on CAV technology such as self-driving cars and automated shuttles.

Both camps offered a session in robotics, which allowed participants to experiment with a palm-sized, ball-shaped bot. While Elliot and his partner drew tracks for their bot (named Tom Cruise), he explained that he attended NSTI because he likes maps – road maps, bus and train maps, and now these color-coded floor maps.

The bot uses sensors to detect lines and color patterns within the line. Solid black or combinations of red, blue, green and black direct the bot to stop or go; change speed; turn right, left or make a U turn; or spin in place like a tornado (a popular choice). “It’s fun,” ninth-grader Jojo said, “It takes a long time but once you set it up, it’s cool.”

Students in both camps spoke of their desire to be useful, to help people. In CAV Camp, students invented and designed computer-assisted vehicles such as the “EMS Buddy” and “Person-following Shopping Cart.” Students designed the EMS Buddy for assessing disaster situations and improving medical assistance over wide or remote areas. The Person-following Shopping Cart design features a robotic arm with touch sensors to select items from store shelves.

Now that they have a little experience and a lot of enthusiasm, students also learned about options for what’s next. Instructors and guest presenters spoke about college education pathways, certificate programs, internships, apprenticeships, and MnDOT’s Phoenix and Seeds student work programs.

As the Seeds program explains, by providing these opportunities for young people, MnDOT grows its own workforce talent. MnDOT especially strives to build an equitable workforce that better reflects the communities that MnDOT serves.

Applications for next year’s summer camps are expected to be available in Spring 2024. Get updates by signing up for MnDOT Civil Rights news. If you would like to be involved in developing MnDOT’s future workforce, consider joining the Youth Outreach and Education Committee of the DBE and Workforce Collaborative.