The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is inviting high school students statewide to participate in its ninth annual PennDOT Innovations Challenge; an event that encourages students to use their problem-solving, creative, and strategic-thinking abilities to solve real-world transportation challenges in a competition among their peers.
[Above image by PennDOT]
The 2025 Innovations Challenge is open to all Pennsylvania students in grades nine through 12, regardless of their school’s learning model. The deadline for submissions is January 30, 2026.
For the 2025 competition, students are asked to develop a concept for the use of artificial intelligence or AI in work zones to dramatically improve safety for work crews and road users.
The concept must outline how PennDOT can use smarter systems to prevent crashes and better protect highway workers while considering cost-benefit information, statewide deployment implications, and public outreach needs.
“Each year, I have the honor of meeting some of the brightest young minds in the Commonwealth who present their solutions for the issues we face every day in transportation. It’s rare that we have the opportunity to explore such new technology with a fresh set of eyes,” said Mike Carroll, PennDOT secretary, in a statement. “Safety is the most critical aspect of maintenance and construction, and I know we’re going to see some truly unique solutions put forward by this year’s teams.”
For the 2025 challenge, PennDOT is partnering with several organizations to provide a monetary award to the statewide winning team to be announced on the Innovations Challenge webpage at a later date:
- The Transportation Policy and Education Foundation, an educational arm of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors;
- The American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania;
- The Mid-Atlantic Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers; and
- The Intelligent Transportation Society of Pennsylvania.
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