The National ITS Speakers Bureau offers college and university faculty access to professional subject matter experts (SMEs) to speak on specific ITS topics to their class. This service is provided as a supplement to teaching units in ITS and related fields and to introduce ITS as a field and career path opportunity, increasing the quality and quantity of opportunities for students to have access to both introductory and higher-level technical information and skills in ITS. The National ITS Speakers Bureau is administered through the National Network for the Transportation Workforce in collaboration with the USDOT ITS Professional Capacity Building Program.
Operation
There is no cost for an institution to host a speaker. SMEs are drawn from U.S. DOT agencies, state DOTs, regional transit and local public agencies, university research centers, and private firms working in the ITS field, all bringing the most up-to-date expertise in their fields to the classroom.
| PRESENTATION TOPICS | SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS |
| An introduction to ITS: scope of the field (the various technologies, applications, and systems) and career path opportunities. | Each speaker will link to a page that will include a brief bio, short CV/resume, their topic interest, and the level of presentation they can make. |
| Travel time-based performance measures | |
| Safety applications of ITS | |
| Planning related to ITS | |
| Emerging and evolutionary trends and technologies focused on transportation, including electric vehicles | |
| Automated vehicles and vehicle connectivity | |
| ITS communication and cybersecurity |
Requesting a Speaker
In 2022, faculty, program managers, and heads of student professional chapters from post-secondary institutions of higher education may request a speaker to present at a classroom session or special group meeting. In its initial pilot stage, this request process will also help gauge interest and demand to build-out a more complete program for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please email any speaker requests or questions to Glenn McRae at the National Network for the Transportation Workforce.
For clarity, each speaker request should include:
- Name and title of requestor, institution, address, phone, and contact email.
- Course, program, or group name.
- Topic of interest (from list above) and brief statement of how presentation will fit into course/program.
- Note if there is a particular SME of interest.
- Type and length of presentation (e.g., 30-minute overview w/ 15-minute Q&A).
- Specific dates and times (provide more than one option to better ensure a match).
Making a Match, Hosting a Speaker
- A pre-event meeting will be scheduled between the speaker and requesting faculty or program leader to exchange information on the class, the student audience, and any suggestions for presentation delivery.
- The hosting institution will provide a link using whatever platform best suits the class and host a pre-event test to be scheduled with the speaker to make sure that the platform works well.
- The host and student audience will provide feedback on the experience after the event via brief survey.