SWUTC Research Project Description
Title of Project: A Comparative Assessment of Emerging Transportation Techniques: A Seminar for Professional and Student Exchange
Project Number: 167900
Principal Investigator:
Khosro Godazi
(713)313-7925
P.I. Affiliation: Texas Southern University
Project Monitor:
John Howard
(713) 652-3980
Project Status: Active
Date Started: 9/1/99
Estimation Completion Date: 8/31/00
Estimated Cost - Current Fiscal: $31,000
Estimated Cost - Total Planned: $31,000
Project Summary:
Project Abstract:
There is a vast need for the transportation professional and transportation student to be closely interactive. A significant number of professional agencies in the public and private sector are requiring experience and working knowledge from their employees. Further, the range of diverse operating parameters across organizations concerned with trucking, air, or surface transportation create a need for broad exposure. Considering the extensive scope of emerging issues relative to the transportation industry, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Intelligent Information Systems (ITS), as well as the expanded and revised procedures of the TEA-21 (New ISTEA Act), it is crucial that the competitive student access the advantages of close and convenient contact with successful transportation experts. A forum to foster meaningful exchange between industry experts and student base would be ideal.
Project Objectives:
There are several objectives that are expected from this project, wholistically, they should encompass the following goals toward diversifying the students knowledge base. Ideally, the Center for Transportation Training and Research hopes to provide a positive and realistic influence on students by creating a liaison between student and transportation leaders. To accomplish this would be yet another supplementary stride toward augmenting the possibly abstract premises introduced inside the classroom environment. By providing a link between students and industry professionals, the aim is to provide a neutral and open environment for candid, cogent, and practical dialogue and guidance. Ideally, the project will directly assist in preparing a highly qualified source of transportation professionals that possess a diverse disciplinary perspective in addition to a practical experience based perspective enabling them to undertake the emerging, and often complex, problems related to the vast transportation field. The following goals are imperative to the success of the project:
· To forge partnerships between industry and education
· To function as a possible recruitment vehicle for the future
· To strengthen workforce allies
· To cultivate alumni relations
· To promote network building and cultivate employment opportunities
· Create an atmosphere for successful student--professional exchange
Task Descriptions:
The work plan will be geared toward the bridging component of the project as well as researching successful mentoring initiatives across the nation. Active communication between various transportation professionals will be crucial to the success of this project. In addition to the unique blend of research and networking necessary. the work plan will also consist of the following tasks:
Task 1: Literature Review:
The Literature Review focuses on successful and unsuccessful mentorship programs in other organizations. The aim is to customize a program that will be tailored to the needs of CTTR and it’s students.
Task 2: Identify compatible mentors:
There has been twenty different transportation professionals identified for this project. These individuals, presently, are engaged in different areas of the public sectors of the transportion industry. From these twenty, we will select five mentors for the first year of the program.
Task 3: Coordinate exchange sessions:
Sessions are in the process of being composed. The first session is scheduled for October 14th and 15th of 1999
Task 4: Monitor alliances:
We plan to communicate periodically with both mentor and student to monitor alliances.
Task 5: Document participants, findings, and results
Index Terms:
Graduate Study, Graduate Students