Future of Transportation 
Honors Seminar

In the Fall of 2024, I enrolled and completed the UHP Seminar: Future of Transporation taught by Alejandro Robledo of DAAP and Brian Kowlacyzk of CEAS. The class was hosted at the Digital Futures campus. 

 

The course spanned every facet of transportation. From FAA regulations and major investments in micro-mobility to the redesign of cities to accommodate expanding urban hubs.

One of the best experiences I had while in the course was the experiential learning aspect of learning how to fly drones. Professor Kowlacyzk shared his expertise on how to safely and effectively fly drones. I was in awe at how many use cases there are of drones. 

In addition to the course, our class participated in a hackathon that the Future Mobility Design Lab at Digital Futures led in collaboration with MIT City Science Lab and Hyundai. I recruited some of my NIS peers to build a team and ended up taking first place. It was great to be able to apply some of the theories and tools we discussed in class into practice. 

 

I loved the balance of engineering and design that this course presented. Professor Robledo led conversations on systems thinking when it comes to designing the future of mobility, whereas Professor Kowlacyzk focused more on the fine details of drone operation. 

​

One of my largest takeaways from the class was my love for studying the future. After taking this course, I'm interested in learning about anything that is "The Future of (fill in the blank)". The study of the future is exciting. The ambiguity that comes with it and the systems level thinking that is required to make an impact energizes me. 

​

​