Resources for Students and Instructors
ITS PCB All Levels Workshop #1
March 27-28, 2019 | Florida Department of Transportation District 7 in Tampa, Florida
Day 1 Presentation | March 27, 2019
State of the ITS (TSMO) Workforce: Perspectives from Professional Societies and Associations
Presenter: Thomas E. Kern
Presenter’s Org: National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE)
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The slides in this presentation contain the NOCoE logo.
Slide 1: State of the ITS (TSMO) Workforce: Perspectives from Professional Societies and Associations
NOCoE, National Operations Center of Excellence
Thomas E. Kern
[This slide contains a background nighttime aerial photo of a highway interchange.]
Slide 2: The Context of our Discussion
“…it is increasingly important that educational institutions produce students with the competencies to perform entry-level ITS tasks. With the current shortages in the ITS workforce and the emergence of increasingly complex systems and technologies (such as connected vehicles), alignment between ITS workforce needs and education curriculum is essential.” [Background from the Workshop one-pager.]
Slide 3: The Creation and Role of NOCoE
- The Center is a partnership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA) with support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
- Its mission is to empower the TSMO community to succeed by enhancing its knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Slide 4: Foundational Partnership
[This slide contains a photo of five men cutting a ribbon tied around a large computer screen. This slide also contains four logos: (1) AASHTO | The Voice of Transportation; (2) U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration; (3) ITE | A Community of Transportation Professionals; and (4) ITS America.]
Slide 5: (No title)
[This slide contains an infographic. The Y axis is labeled “TSMO Knowledge,” and the x axis is labeled “Time.” The x axis, below the graphic, contains three labels: “Research (ongoing),” “Adoption (started),” and “Institutionalization (next step).” The Research section contains an icon of a magnifying glass over a document. The Adoption section contains an icon of three generic male figures with lines drawn from one to the next. The Institutionalization section contains an icon of three interlocked gears. There is a line through the Research section to and through the Adoption section and into and across the Institutionalization section.]
Slide 6: The NOCoE Theory of Change
- The visual depicts how TSMO knowledge increases over time through the phases of research, adoption, and institutionalization.
- The rate of adoption is influenced by the extent to which TSMO knowledge is shared around foundational strategies and practices and the lessons learned of utilizing new technology.
- NOCoE has focused on facilitating the sharing and transfer of TSMO knowledge amongst all the stakeholders in the industry to meet the adoption curve and to keep up with future technological advances.
Slide 7: ITS/TSMO Workforce Development: A NOCoE Priority
Identifying transportation workforce needs around ITS and TSMO has been an essential aspect of the Center’s work to enable TSMO practitioners to save lives, reduce congestion, and enhance economic vitality.
- NOCoE WFD Summit and Implementation Plan
- Student engagement: the ePortfolio and Transportation Technology Tournament
Slide 8: 1st NOCoE Summit Workforce Development
June 22-23, 2016
| Context |
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Topics |
|
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| The Emerging Role and Importance of TSMO |
→ |
- Pre-employment education (generalists and specialists)
- Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
- Employment Training programs
- Emerging Trends
- Recruitment
- Career Development
- Retaining top performers
- Professional Capacity Building
|
→ |
1st NOCoE Summit Workforce Development
June 22-23, 2016
- State: 11
- Academic: 6
- USDOT: 4
- Private: 4
- Nonprofit: 4
- Local: 2
|
[This slide contains an image. The information contained in the image is reproduced in the table above.]
Slide 9: From the Summit: 6 Implementation Items
- Association & Agency Debrief (and ongoing collaboration)
- Pre-employment Education Generalists and Specialists
- Repository of Position Descriptions and KSAs
- Post-Hiring Education producing TSMO professionals
- Recruitment, Retention and Career Development
- Develop a Strategy to elevate TSMO as a core Function
Slide 10: 2: Pre-employment Education - Generalists and Specialists
- Identify DOT/University TSMO Collaboration models, best practices
- Create Comm. College technical programs with industry certification
- Encourage role for outside classroom learning, web-based hub
- Outreach to non-civil engineering academic disciplines, guest TSMO experts
- Student fellowship opportunity to gain industry knowledge
- Contribute to TSMO curriculum development from practitioner/employer POV
- Analyze issues regarding lack of TSMO in course content
Slide 11: 3 & 5: TSMO Workforce Guidebook
- Sign up for the NOCoE Newsletter at https://transportationops.org/ to learn on the availability and use of the Guidebook on the website!
- More Info Tomorrow!! - Stay Tuned
Slide 12: 4: Post-Hiring Education producing TSMO professionals
- Industry Training Database
- Initiative to Support DOT Staff Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to meet personal, organizational, and career goals
- US DOT/University Collaboration Case Studies
- Regional Operations Leadership Forum (to equip managers and leaders with tools and knowledge necessary to become TSMO champions) (FHWA/AASHTO)
Slide 13: 4: Industry Training Database
https://transportationops.org/workforce/training
[This slide also contains a screenshot of the Industry Training Database web page linked above. The screenshot is displaying information for three Data Management courses. The left sidebar is displaying a menu: “Events, Contests and Success Stories;” “Upcoming Events,” “Center News,” “Contact Us,” and the most recent Twitter tweet.]
Slide 14: 6: Develop a Strategy to elevate TSMO as a Core DOT Function
2018 NOCoE Summit-Institutionalizing TSMO: Actions
- Find and transfer up-to-date content on TSMO strategies and practices
- Develop TSMO Champions outside of DOT
- Engage non-operations practitioners within DOT
- Explore multimodal connection with TSMO
- Regional collaboration models
- Workforce Development
- CEO Mainstreaming Handbook
Slide 15: To support the Knowledge Transfer of academic and training opportunities, We need your Help
Slide 16: Reaching out Directly to Students! The TRB E-Portfolio Contest
- This yearly competition is open to any student looking to start a career in transportation systems management & operations (TSMO). Students are asked to submit their ePortfolio to demonstrate their desire to work in the TSMO industry and to demonstrate their communications and creativity skills to prospective employers. Entrants should develop or update their current ePortfolios to ensure they clearly demonstrate an interest in TSMO and showcase their academic or professional experience relevant to a potential TSMO position.
- Winners receive free travel to TRB, participate in discussions and one-on-one meetings with TSMO industry leaders, and participate in select NOCoE and TSMO activities.
Slide 17: E-Portfolio Contest
- 2018
- 17 Universities
- 21 Submissions
- 2019
- 24 Universities
- 32 Submissions
- Notable Increases in Applications
- Florida Int’l U: 1 to 4
- Louisiana State: 2 to 2
- Texas A&M: 2 to 3
[This slide contains an infographic. The information contained in the infographic is reproduced above.]
Slide 18: E-Portfolio Contest: 2018 Winners
[This slide contains a photo of six people in front of the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) booth at a conference/expo.]
Slide 19: E-Portfolio Contest and TSMO Awards: 2019 Winners
[This slide contains a photo of sixteen people in the NOCoE booth at a conference/expo.]
Slide 20: Reaching out Directly to Students: The Transportation Technology Tournament
- NOCoE and the U.S. DOT ITS JPO PCB program are hosting a competition for students to work directly with public agencies to solve real-world transportation problems utilizing ITS and TSMO solutions.
- Student teams will assemble to work with a State or local DOT, MPO, or transit agency to define a transportation problem. After submitting an initial contest application identifying the team and the problem, students will work with academic advisors to learn about potential ITS and TSMO solutions via online training opportunities.
Slide 21: Reaching out Directly to Students: The Transportation Technology Tournament
- Teams will then utilize their experience, education, and new coursework to develop a solution or suite of solutions to directly address the originally defined problem. Students will submit their solutions via a proposal.
- Finalist teams will develop a presentation and then participate in a live event at ITE 2019 in Austin, TX. Travel, lodging, and registration fees will be funded by the tournament organizers. At ITE, teams will give a presentation in front of a panel of judges made up of leaders in the ITS and TSMO community. One team will then be selected as the 2019 Transportation Technology Tournament Winner.
Slide 22: 2018 Transportation Technology Tournament
- 2018 Submissions
- 10 Teams
- 15 Different Majors
- 28 PHD
- 18 in transportation
- 5 in civil
- 9 Masters
- 12 Bachelors
[This slide contains an infographic. The information contained in the infographic is reproduced above.]
Slide 23: Transportation Technology Tournament: 2018 Winners
[This slide contains a photo of the five team members who won the 2018 Transportation Technology Tournament: a joint team from the University of Texas, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Kansas who worked with District DOT to address non-recurrent congestion by developing traveler information systems around work zones and in identifying potential data and modeling needs required to manage special events.]
Slide 24: Thank You
[This slide contains a background image of a busy city roadway at night.]
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