Building an Ecosystem for a Bachelor of Science General Engineering with Alternative Energy and Power Generation Option

Published in: Engineering for a Smarter Planet: Innovation, ITC, and Computational Tools for Sustainable Development: Proceedings of the 9th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology
Date of Conference: August 3-5, 2011
Location of Conference: Medellin, Colombia
Authors: Wieslaw Grebski
Shaobiao Cai
Refereed Paper: #26

Abstract

In the 2010 Fall Semester Penn State Hazleton implemented a new Bachelor of Science in General Engineering with Alternative Energy and Power Generation Track program. This new program will prepare graduates to enter the job market in the alternative and renewable energy sector as well as the power generation industry. Graduates of this program will have the critical knowledge and skills needed to begin their careers in this growing field. The program’s goals are to provide graduates with the background, knowledge, and skills necessary to be successful in the contemporary power generation sector while being able to lead the industry toward becoming more environmentally-friendly by using alternative and renewable energy technologies. During the first year of this program’s implementation, it has undertaken a number of initiatives to prepare a program friendly environment (ecosystem) for the new degree. These initiatives are being done to shorten the implementation cycle of the new program. Partners in the ecosystem that can influence or impact the program were identified. Initiatives were undertaken to establish partnerships with the entire ecosystem. The paper describes the activities and initiatives undertaken to build a mutually beneficial partnership. In addition the expected contributions of each ecosystem partner and the subsequent benefits to them are presented.