ACEC of RI worked with the University of Rhode Island’s College of Engineering and Transportation Center, as well as with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to develop Engineering Career Day (ECD) in 2007.
ECD is hosted during National Transportation Week in May of each year. ACEC of RI sends member volunteers to participate in this one-day program as part of a broader outreach effort to engage young people. Students rotate through four learning labs, each of which is led by two volunteers representing ACEC OF RI, giving the participants a unique opportunity to interact with professionals from eight local engineering firms in a single day.
ECD participants are high school-aged students who are invited to learn more about transportation engineering as a profession, as well as to generate interest in careers in the engineering field in general. ACEC of RI also helps to defray the cost of the program by providing funding for student supplies.