The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation invites high school students throughout the state to participate in this year’s PennDOT Innovations Challenge, which encourages students to use their problem-solving, creative and strategic-thinking abilities to solve real-world transportation challenges in a competition among their peers. The Innovations Challenge is open to all students in grades 9-12, regardless of their school’s learning model.
For this year’s challenge, students are asked to develop a concept for the use of artificial intelligence 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 accidents and protect those who are working to build a better Pennsylvania. The concept should also take into consideration cost-benefit information, statewide deployment implications, as well as public outreach.
“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 PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “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.”
Regional Innovations Challenge winners will be selected and invited to present their solutions to the PennDOT Secretary and a panel of judges, who will determine the statewide winner. For this year’s 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. These organizations include:
- Transportation Policy and Education Foundation, an educational arm of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC);
- American Council of Engineering Companies of PA (ACEC/PA);
- Mid-Atlantic Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (MASITE); and
- Intelligent Transportation Society of Pennsylvania (ITSPA).
For complete Innovations Challenge details, readers may visit www.penndot.gov/innovation and click on the PennDOT Innovations Challenge link. The submission deadline is Jan. 30, 2026.
