2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Education and Training Program to Improve Preparedness and Increased Access to Energy Workforce for Engineering Technology Graduates

Presented at Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 9

Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) implemented a comprehensive education and training program to strengthen the renewable energy curriculum and increase the pipeline of qualified workers, especially underrepresented minorities for the growing energy industry. The overarching goal is to meet the current and future energy industry workforce needs, especially in the renewable energy sector. The project activities were designed based on three tenets, which include mentoring, research, and education/training. The project components included, enhancing renewable energy courses, establishing a wind and solar energy systems training laboratory, a year-round hands-on project-based training, a residential summer bridge program, undergraduate research experience, and summer internships. The activities afforded through the project will help ensure that the energy sector has a sustained pipeline of a qualified workforce. The project implementation and challenges, project delivery components, and results from pretests and posttests and participant surveys are presented in the paper.

Authors

Dr. Kuldeep S. Rawat Elizabeth City State University [biography]

KULDEEP S. RAWAT is currently the Thorpe Endowed Professor and Dean for the School of Science, Aviation, Health, and Technology at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). He has earned an M.S. in Computer Science, 2001, an M.S. in Computer Engineering, 2003; and, a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, 2005, from the Center for Advanced Computer Studies (CACS) at University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He also serves as the Chief Research Officer for the campus. His areas of interests include embedded systems design, broadening participation, remote computing applications, UAS applications research, applied machine learning, mobile robotics, and innovative uses of educational technologies and simulation methods. Dr. Rawat may be reached at ksrawat@ecsu.edu.
Dr. Mehran Elahi Elizabeth City State University [biography]

Dr. Mehran Elahi is a professor of Engineering Technology in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering Technology at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech and MS and BS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University. His academic interests are in solid mechanics, experimental characterization and theoretical modeling and failure analysis of engineering materials, material science, and design and development of projects related to renewable energy technologies.
Prof. Bijandra Kumar

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