As part of this year’s observance of National Engineers Week, Feb. 19-25, middle schools across the country participated in a competition on designing the Future City. The 2012 theme was based on the projected world population of seven billion and ways that engineers can meet the challenges facing the world.

This competition—with an emphasis on engineering, science, and mathematics—allows students in grades six-eight from across the U.S. to learn engineering skills while working to solve real-world problems.

The importance of transportation is one component of the students’ plan to design a city of the future, in addition to criteria including livability, energy use, and the use of advanced technologies.

Martin Schroeder, APTA chief engineer, served as a judge for a DC-area middle school.  He noted that this is just one of many outreach efforts APTA makes to reach young students – to introduce them to the public transportation industry as a possible career.