Application of Clean Energy Technology to Sustainable Agricultural Practice

霍利奥克社区学院（HCC）、马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校（UMass）和汉普郡学院正在实施一个名为“清洁能源技术在可持续农业实践中的应用”的项目，该项目的重点是在三所高等教育机构中开发和改进清洁能源和可持续农业项目。农业部门是马萨诸塞州西部最大的清洁能源使用者之一，通过训练有素的劳动力，自然适合清洁能源知识的应用。HCC、汉普郡学院和马萨诸塞大学的目标是改变农业文化，使其向更可持续的粮食生产转变。该项目的目标是：(1)确保项目方法、课程活动和成果与区域清洁能源产业和农业产业的相关性；(2)改善和提高所有三个合作校区清洁能源和可持续农业项目的学术严谨性；(3)扩大清洁能源和农业领域学生的实习机会，并为三个校区项目的学生提供指导机会；(4)为职业/传统高中的学生以及重返清洁能源/农业行业劳动力的成年人扩大现有的学术/职业途径；(5)扩大能源/农业技术领域的招聘工作，重点招聘代表性不足的群体，包括妇女、不同种族/民族的人口和退伍军人，以及参加成人学习项目的成年人；(6)扩大营销力度，以提高所有三个学术项目作为清洁能源技术在农业部门应用的典范的知名度；(7)在各级——地方、区域和国家——传播努力。该项目的评估结果将向更广泛的社区通报加强课程和扩大实习机会、学术和职业途径以及招聘工作对清洁能源/农业招生和劳动力发展的影响。

Holyoke Community College (HCC), the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and Hampshire College are implementing a project entitled "Application of Clean Energy Technology to Sustainable Agriculture Practice," the focus of which is development and improvement of the clean energy and sustainable agricultural programs across the three higher education institutions. The agricultural sector is one of the largest utilizers of clean energy in western Massachusetts and is a natural fit for the application of knowledge of clean energy through a trained workforce. HCC, Hampshire College, and UMass are positioned to change the culture of farming - to make the conversion to more sustainable food production.The project goals are to: (1) ensure the relevance of the program approach and course activities and outcomes to both the regional clean energy industry and the agricultural industry; (2) improve and enhance the academic rigor of the clean energy and sustainable agriculture programs on all three collaborating campuses; (3) expand internship opportunities for students in clean energy and agriculture and provide mentoring opportunities to students in the programs on all three campuses; (4) expand existing academic/career pathways for students from vocational/traditional high schools, as well as adults returning to the workforce in the clean energy/agricultural industries; (5) expand recruitment efforts in energy/agriculture technology with emphasis on underrepresented groups, including women, racially/ethnically diverse populations and veterans, as well as adults enrolled in adult learning programs; (6) expand marketing efforts to increase the visibility of all three academic programs as models of the application of clean energy technologies to the agricultural sector; and (7) disseminate efforts on all levels - local, regional, and national. Outcomes of the project's evaluation will inform the broader community on the impacts of enhanced curricula and the expansion of internship opportunities, academic and career pathways and recruitment efforts on enrollment and workforce development in clean energy/agriculture.