Planning Grant for a Midwest Center of Excellence in Wind Energy & Biofuel Technician Education

该项目将开始计划建立一个中西部技师教育英才中心，专门培训风能和生物燃料工厂的技术人员。该中心从一所大学和两个合作的社区学院开始，可能会承担与风力涡轮机和生物燃料工厂相关的广泛的技术人员教育活动，包括：1.改善教育工作者的计划和专业发展；2.发展社区学院和大学联盟，以评估技术人员的认证需求和职业道路；3.招募行业合作伙伴，帮助中心建立可持续发展模型、认证标准，并为技术人员开发实习机会和就业机会；4.收集、调整和实施现有经过验证的课程材料，并根据需要协助合作伙伴开发新材料；5.与地区经济发展机构合作，促进训练有素的技术员队伍的经济价值；6.领导中西部许多两年制专上院校可持续能源技术员项目的实施和升级，并与选定的4年制院校制定衔接协议；7.扩大现有的外联努力，帮助招收代表性不足的学生从事绿色能源职业。在规划阶段，合作伙伴1)与学术和行业合作伙伴达成协议，2)开发可持续发展模型，3)确定现有的资源差距，4)阐明中心在缩小差距方面可以发挥的作用，5)对其他ATE中心的最佳实践进行标杆，6)确定国家访问委员会的潜在成员。

The project is to begin planning to develop a Midwest Center of Excellence for Technician Education that will specialize in the training of wind energy and biofuel plant technicians. The center, beginning with a university and two partner community colleges, is likely to undertake a wide range of technician education activities associated with wind turbines and biofuel plants, including: 1. Improving programs and professional development for educators; 2. Developing a consortium of community colleges and universities to assess technician certification needs and career pathways; 3. Recruiting industry partners who will assist the center in sustainability models, certification standards, and develop internships and job opportunities for technicians; 4. Collecting, adapting, and implementing existing proven curricula materials, and assisting partners in the development of new materials as required; 5. Partnering with regional economic development agencies to promote the economic value of a trained technician pool; 6. Leading the implementation and upgrading of sustainable energy technician programs at many of the 2-year post-secondary institutions in the Midwest, and developing articulation agreements with select 4-year institutions; and 7. Expanding existing outreach efforts to help recruit underrepresented students to green energy careers. During the planning phase the partners are 1) establishing agreements with academic and industry partners, 2) developing a sustainability model, 3) defining the existing resource gap, 4) articulating the role that the center can play in closing the gap, 5) benchmarking best practices of other ATE Centers, and 6) identifying potential members of a National Visiting Committee.