Current Project—

Partnerships in Educational Resources for Renewable Energy Technologies
National Science Foundation/Department of Undergraduate Education (NSF/DUE 0501764)

This National Science Foundation grant was awarded to Madison Area Technical College in July 2005. The project is increasing the expertise of qualified renewable energy technicians in existing 2-year college and high school programs through a collaborative infrastructure that delivers a certificate model of online and face-to-face renewable energy courses. The courses are developed and taught by top experts in the field. To complement the online courses, the project is developing a series of web-based learning objects that give learners virtual access to renewable energy technologies and inquiry-based pedagogy.

This project is addressing a major challenge in undergraduate education, namely, how do two-year college programs change to reflect new and emerging technologies? Thus, the project is providing the infrastructure and the vision to make emerging renewable energy technologies available to two-year colleges. The model is also bringing seasoned renewable energy teachers into the 2-year college classroom immediately.