FREE ACADEMIES: The University of Rhode Island Transportation Center is offering three weeks of free classes this summer for high school students considering transportation-related careers, in construction, engineering and business.

The sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the URI Kingston campus, except for field trips. Free transportation will be offered daily from a central pick-up location in Providence.

The Construction Academy will be held July 21-25 and is open to students who will be juniors or seniors in the 2008-2009 school year. Each participant will receive a stipend of $125. The curriculum will include OSHA 10-hour certification, flag person certification, work-zone safety, hands-on activities at the Operating Engineers Center, blueprint reading, estimating, construction math, surveying and tips on how to start a construction business.

The Engineering Academy will take place July 28 to Aug. 1 and is available to those who will be freshmen, sophomores or juniors. Instruction and activities will include highway design, bridge design, traffic engineering, water resources, environmental engineering, geographical information systems, geotechnical engineering, reading a scale, blueprint reading, preparing an estimate and surveying and layout.

The Business Academy will also be offered July 28 to Aug. 1 to freshmen, sophomores or juniors. This program will teach participants what managing a company’s supply chain entails. Planning, purchasing, production, transportation, customer service, storage and distribution will be some of the topics covered.

Enrollment in all three academies is limited. For more information or to receive an application, contact Tory Perrotta at (401) 874-7075 or toryp@mail.uri.edu.

harruda@projo.com