Preparing Today's Workforce for Tomorrow's Autonomous Transportation: Bridging Electrical and Civil Engineering Disciplines

Details

• Creators:
  Abadi, Masoud Ghodrat ; Moghadam, Rohollah (Roham)
• Corporate Creators:
  San Jose State University. College of Business. Mineta Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  State of California SB1 2017/2018, Trustees of the California State University Sponsored Programs Administration ; United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Autonomous Vehicles Bridges Civil Engineering Education And Training Electrical Engineering Evaluation Intelligent Transportation Systems Interdisciplinary Studies Laboratory Tests Surveys Workforce Development

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  26-17 ; CA-MTI-2550
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; California
• Corporate Publisher:
  San Jose State University. College of Business. Mineta Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to transform transportation systems and reshape workforce needs across engineering and related fields. Although existing AV workforce development efforts often emphasize electrical engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering, transportation engineering remains under represented despite its importance to infrastructure, traffic operations, safety, and mobility integration. This study addresses that gap through the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary certificate program, Workforce for Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (WAVE), at California State University, Sacramento. The program was designed to bridge transportation engineering and electrical engineering through a two-step curriculum model consisting of theoretical educational modules and hands-on laboratory activities. Transportation engineering modules covered traffic control devices, traffic signal timing and phasing, traffic flow theory, roadway geometric design, and supplementary topics such as human factors, level of service, and intelligent transportation systems. Electrical engineering modules addressed signals and systems, sensing technologies, sensor fusion and artificial intelligence, control systems, and communication systems. The program was delivered over seven weeks to 53 civil and electrical engineering students through a customized Canvas platform and laboratory sessions using the QCar AV platform. Program effectiveness was evaluated using a three-layer framework: pre- and post-surveys, student program evaluation, and review by a panel of industry experts. Results showed substantial improvement in both student competence and confidence, strong positive student perceptions of the curriculum and laboratory experience, and strong validation from industry experts regarding he program's interdisciplinary structure and workforce relevance. The findings demonstrate that integrating transportation engineering with electrical engineering through theory-based and experiential learning provides an effective model for preparing students for emerging careers in the AV workforce.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SB1-SJAUX_2023-26
• Collection(s):
  Autonomous Vehicles University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9224771f8ed1cb27371ecb0dce15bc0b41bcf7eea27f36005c91924ed43c25c9df31579d595dbf057b41ebaef381921557710febc6fe173c5c53772e1b07e972
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92922/dot_92922_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.78 MB ]