[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The history of Altoona and Blair County, PA is rooted in innovation and the rail industry, so it is only natural that the country’s only baccalaureate degree in Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) is offered exclusively at Penn State Altoona. Launched in 2011 and graduating its first class in 2015 the RTE Program is already a success and garnering accolades and support from throughout the industry and country. The program boasts a 100% placement rate for internships and jobs.
The RTE Program continues to grow in its enrollment year to year and has added new equipment, advisors and instructors to continue to be at the forefront of the rail industries needs. As a testament to this success the program was recently awarded a grant from the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association that will support the creation of the first-ever university-based Virtual Education Lab in the railway industry (complete story below).
For more information on the PSU-Altoona RTE program visit: http://altoona.psu.edu/academics/rail-transportation-engineering
As published by Penn State News on August 2, 2017
http://news.psu.edu/story/476496/2017/08/02/academics/penn-state-altoona-receives-15k-grant-rail-transportation
The Penn State Altoona Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program was awarded a $15,000 education grant from the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRCMA).
The purpose of this competitive grant is to positively impact the future of the railroad and railroad construction and maintenance industry by supporting an institution’s students, education and research efforts.
The grant money will allow Penn State Altoona to advance its state-of-the-art RTE program through the use of 360 degree virtual experiences from actual railroad environments. The purchase of this virtual reality equipment, along with the recent acquisition of a virtual welder will lay the groundwork for the launch of the first-ever university-based Virtual Education Lab in the railway industry.
“We are extremely grateful to the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association for awarding this grant to the Penn State Altoona RTE program,” stated Bryan Schlake, lecturer in rail transportation engineering. “The core of our program will always be hands-on education where students actually put on their steel-toed boots and get out on the track. But this equipment will provide exciting new opportunities to expand the breadth of railway education by taking our students all over the world to see track projects and railway operations that would otherwise be impossible to experience.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
