The Gator ITE Student Chapter hosted this year’s Student Leadership Summit (SLS) at the University of Florida on February 9-11, 2018. Fifty-three students registered to attend this event. Also, held in conjunction with the summit was the Florida Section ITE Winter Workshop on “Workforce and Mobility in the Connected World: A Discussion of the Future Transportation Technology with our Future Leaders.” Sixty professionals registered to attend.

“As president of Gator ITE, and in the name of the chapter, I am proud to announce that the SLS was a total success; everything worked to our favor,” said Pedro Adorno, president of the Gator ITE Student Chapter. “The SLS was a perfect example of what people can achieve when they work in synergy.”

Student participants were treated to a variety of sessions and events during the SLS, such as presentations on leadership and new transportation technologies, demonstrations on connected vehicle technology, and an unconference – a loosely structured conference focused on the exchange of information and ideas between participants.

Leadership Summit presentations included topics related to authenticity, time management, and conflict management, among other themes. At the end of each session, students had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A dialogue with the panel of experts. Other sessions included presentations on new transportation technologies and future developments. Both professionals and students were able to participate in three demonstrations related to new trends in connected vehicle technology. The demonstrations, sponsored by Tesla, Audi, and the City of Gainesville, focused on three sophisticated technologies designed to allow vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, such as with traffic lights, toll lanes, etc.

Weekend activities associated with the SLS included an unconference and a scavenger hunt. The unconference was led by the Gator ITE officers, and resulted in deep discussions about hot topics in transportation. Students explored the UF campus by participating in a scavenger hunt – two teams tied for first place, winning a free, one-year membership to ITE International. The SLS concluded with a social event at a bowling alley on campus.

“Gator ITE worked together as a team to achieve something bigger than any of us could have done by ourselves to create a remarkable event that everyone could remember,” Adorno said. “We made it! Students and professionals enjoyed our event, and that is the greatest reward we can get as a student chapter.”

Follow this link to view photos from both the Winter Workshop and the Gator ITE Student Leadership Summit: https://www.floridasectionite.org/2018-winter-workshop–student-leadership-summit.html.