2025 National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI)
OU Hosts Transformative Summer Program to Inspire Future Transportation Leaders
This summer, the University of Oklahoma’s Gallogly College of Engineering welcomed 14 high school students from across central Oklahoma for the 2025 National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI), a free, two-week immersive program designed to spark interest in transportation careers and STEM education.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration and coordinated with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Southern Plains Transportation Center (SPTC), the program offered hands-on learning, field visits, and workshops led by university faculty and industry professionals.
NSTI students load-testing popsicle stick bridges
The program provided local high school students with early exposure to STEM and transportation pathways. Students explored a wide range of transportation topics—from asphalt and concrete mix design to bridge engineering, radar technology, and autonomous vehicles. Field trips included visits to asphalt and concrete plants, ODOT labs, engineering firms, and even the Port of Catoosa.
NSTI Students at the OKC Streetcar Maintenance Facility
Feedback from students and parents was overwhelmingly positive. One student shared, “I believe that my career choices and even college decisions have been changed by this program for the better.” Another student, a rising senior, even wrote about his experience at NSTI in an article for the Journal Record. Post-program survey results showed that all respondents learned new things about transportation careers, with many expressing renewed or newfound interest in the field.
Anthony Delce, ODOT’s Engineer Workforce Development Division, spoke to the students on their final day about the unique benefits of the ODOT Design Squad program, housed at OU and OSU. Mr. Delce says on the future of transportation and the importance of tomorrow’s workforce:
“In a world that’s fascinated by A.I., electric and autonomous vehicles, robust urban infrastructure, and safer rural routes, today’s transportation professionals are more likely to be the users and beneficiaries of such advancements, rather than be the ones to put these things in place. All of these innovations are here now, but we’ve only scratched the surface. It’s going to take young minds with fresh ideas and a passion for the advancement of civilization to maintain the credibility of our industry, and to instill confidence into a society that is timid about where the future of transportation is headed. Now, more than ever, it is important that we as transportation professionals plant the seeds of civil technology and engineering into the minds of today’s youth. Programs such as the National Summer Transportation Institute encourage and allow for academia, government, and private industry to partner together in order to sow these seeds. And since no one plants a seed without expecting a harvest, the NSTI gives me hope that we’ll one day soon reap what we’ve sown.”
The National Summer Transportation Institute program helped students build technical skills and envisioned their future in a field that’s vital to our communities. The success of NSTI 2025 highlights The University of Oklahoma’s commitment to workforce development and its role in shaping the next generation of transportation professionals.