Transportation Education

Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology is revolutionizing transportation by improving safety, transforming mobility, and reducing environmental impacts. As CAVs reshape the industry, they create new career paths requiring skills beyond those taught in traditional transportation engineering programs. Current curricula, however, often fall short of preparing students for these emerging demands. To stay relevant, academic programs must evolve beyond research-focused approaches and incorporate interdisciplinary, market-oriented training that reflects the system-level perspective of transportation engineering.

In April 2022, the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT), the Region 5 University Transportation Center (UTC), hosted the Autonomy in Transportation Education workshop. Applying the backward design model, the workshop identified key educational gaps in CAV-related instruction across four core themes: (1) next-generation infrastructure, (2) human factors, (3) modeling, simulation, and testing, and (4) travel behavior in CAV contexts. The workshop also outlined the instructional materials needed to address these gaps. 

I contributed to the workshop by helping organize the event, supporting breakout discussions, and co-authoring both the technical report and a subsequent journal article (currently under review). Building on this effort, CCAT launched the Connected and Automated Transportation (CAT) certificate program in November 2024 to address the educational gaps identified during the workshop. Through my involvement in these initiatives, I have gained valuable experience with various pedagogical approaches and firsthand insight into the practical aspects of course and curriculum development oriented to diverse student populations and workforce needs.