RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Transportation invites all accredited colleges, community colleges and universities to apply to serve as a host site for the 2021 National Summer Transportation Institute program.
In an effort to address the need for a diverse workforce in the 21st century and to create an awareness of the career choices and opportunities that exist in the transportation industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration established various educational initiatives, including the NSTI program. While the program is federally funded, it is administered by state departments of transportation.
The NSTI program is focused on science, technology, engineering and math for high school and junior high school students. Program objectives are to improve STEM skills, provide awareness to middle and high school students – particularly minority, female and disadvantaged youth – about transportation careers, and encourage participants to consider transportation-related fields of study in their higher education pursuits.
Academic institutions interested in serving as host sites must complete and send their application package directly to NCDOT, including a statement of work application (10 pages maximum), an application checklist and a budget proposal application. Accredited institutions of higher education must submit competitive proposals for the program, which will run for two to four consecutive weeks with a budget of $60,000 or less.
NCDOT will determine the number of NSTI host sites it wishes to fund under the state’s 2021 funding allocation. Based on availability of funding, schools are not guaranteed funds to serve as a host site. NCDOT will evaluate potential host sites on several factors, including applications and past performance (programmatic and fiscal), where applicable.
Applications can be found here and should be completed and submitted to NCDOT no later than noon on Oct. 2. Proposals can be sent by email or mail. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
For more information, contact JoAna McCoy at 919-707-2776.
