Education & Workforce Development Program
Program Summary
Alaska’s unique landscape and wide-ranging communities present complex energy challenges that require innovation, collaboration, and creativity. ACEP’s Education and Workforce Development program fosters collaborative ecosystems to grow the next generation of energy workforce. By equipping Alaskans with the skills, knowledge, and networks to lead their community’s energy solutions, ACEP is investing in a dynamic energy workforce for the future.
The Education & Workforce Development program partners across ACEP research groups and external organizations to reach the following goals:
- Connect Alaska’s Energy Workforce
- Elevate Community Energy Leaders
- Develop Applied Energy Education
ACEP Courses
EdX Courses
Short Courses
ACEP short courses are 4-6 day immersive learning opportunities on a certain energy topic. Short courses are offered to undergraduate and graduate students, and many short courses offer the option of industry and/or community members participating alongside the students. Short courses are opportunities for students, working professionals, and community members to immerse in energy innovation topics, build a collaborative professional network, and expand workforce pathways.
Townhall
Town hall events are hosted throughout Alaska as an educational opportunity to learn more about new energy technologies, to identify and discuss energy issues in the state, and to facilitate the free expression of opinions around energy topics. To learn about ACEP’s upcoming town hall events, subscribe to the ACEP newsletter or follow the ACEP Facebook page.
Jan 22
Join ACEP and partners for a town hall discussion on CCUS and learn how Alaska's geology and new regulatory framework has the potential to support diverse carbon storage projects aligned with low carbon development.
Jan 23
Join ACEP and partners for a town hall discussion on CCUS and learn how Alaska's geology and new regulatory framework has the potential to support diverse carbon storage projects aligned with low carbon development.
Energy Champions Network
The Energy Leadership Accelerator (ELA) is a cross-regional energy practitioner network for energy leaders in remote and islanded communities at the forefront of climate change impacts in Alaska, Hawai’i, and Puerto Rico. Participants engage in virtual learning and networking, executive coaching, and a two-week Alaska Leadership Lab.
Feb 03
The inaugural Energy Leadership Accelerator launched with 20 fellows in January. The program is an innovative cross-regional leadership network designed to connect and elevate energy leaders from remote, islanded communities.
The Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy (ARENA) is an international knowledge-sharing program connecting energy champions from remote northern communities with the skills, knowledge, mentorship, and networks to inform locally driven energy development in their own communities and regions.
Jul 01
The latest ACEP-produced video features the 2022-2023 Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy (ARENA)'s alumni's experience in the program.
Feb 06
ARENA is now accepting applications for the 2024 program. ARENA participants will share knowledge and tour successful high-penetration renewable systems deployed in remote northern communities.
Jun 14
The Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy has selected 17 energy champions for its 2024-2025 cohort for their dedication to advancing sustainable community energy solutions in the North.
Technical Training
The People in Power Program (PIPP) in collaboration with REAP, works with Alaskan independent electric utilities to develop sustainable and responsive training frameworks that build local capacity and support individual needs. The program focuses on assessing and improving performance in four key utility occupational areas that are critical for ensuring a community’s energy resilience: governance, management, operations, and clerical. After researching, collecting data, and meeting with local community stakeholders, PIP sets up custom training schedules and facilitates training delivery for partner utilities. Training sessions are remote and in-person, collaborating with state-wide and regional training partners.
Workshops
ACEP research projects can include community workshops, trainings, or intensives. These learning opportunities are often developed in collaboration with local organizations and research partners, creating conversations between researchers and community members and developing knowledge and skills to support local energy solutions.
Sep 18
The Follow the Sun tour Alaska, organized by the Alaska Agrivoltaics group and the National Center for Appropriate Technology, took place in August at the Houston solar array in rural southcentral Alaska.
Fellowships
ACEP hosts young professionals for year-long fellowships. This has included partnerships with the following organizations:
Spotlight articles
Nov 15
Dannia Andrade, an energy innovation learning designer fellow at ACEP, works on energy literacy and place-based and culturally responsive learning design, particularly for rural learners.
Interdisciplinary PhD
The interdisciplinary PhD cohort is a three year program that equips participants with the skills necessary for interdisciplinary research at UAF. Candidates are empowered to contribute to Alaska's economic development and innovation while promoting sustainable solutions to challenges faced by communities in Alaska. The curriculum includes core methodology courses and Arctic Policy and Leadership seminars.
Thesis Research Projects
Some ACEP research projects support graduate students working towards their MS and PhD degrees. If you are a University of Alaska student interested in pursuing relevant ACEP thesis research, reach out to ACEP faculty whose interests align with yours to inquire about specific projects and funding.
Spotlight articles
Sep 21
Henry Toal has recently assumed the role of research engineer with the Solar Technologies program at ACEP. A home-grown Alaskan, Toal is dedicated to improving and making Alaska a more sustainable place.
Summer Internship Program
The ACEP Summer Internship Program engages undergraduate students in challenging and exciting energy research in the Arctic through a 10-week summer program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The cohort is composed of students from diverse geographies and disciplines from universities across the US states and territories. Each intern is matched with an ACEP researcher on a specific project, including microgrid power systems integration, electric vehicles in the North, or hydrokinetics. The program offers a competitive stipend, on-campus housing, field trips, and travel to and from Fairbanks.
The REU strand is an exploratory research opportunity for students ready to embark on their first undergraduate summer research experience. REU program activities include a broad educational and professional experience to support the interns in their research activities including ACEP Flash Talks, Energy Round Tables, Fairbanks community events, high school engagement, and a multi-day field trip. The NSF REU strand is generously supported by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
AUSI interns will devote the majority of their summer to work on a research project with an ACEP mentor. Interns will meet with their mentors weekly, and the majority of projects provide the opportunity for interns to work self-directed on their deliverables with low-to-medium support. The AUSI strand is generously supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research.
CyberPod
The Cyberpod offers opportunities for UAF second and third-year students, as well as recent graduates, to work on research projects designed to connect early interest experiences to careers in technology infrastructure. The Cyberpod strives to support real world challenges that ACEP researchers and community partners face. Students within the ACEP education workforce development ecosystem are encouraged to participate, with opportunities available during both the academic year and summer.
Spotlight articles
Mar 11
A team of ACEP undergraduate assistants working on cyber technology projects recently introduced North Pole High School students to weather station technologies and the concepts behind them.
Student Employees
ACEP employs UAF student employees in a variety of capacities ranging front desk administrative work to lab techs. If you are a UAF student enrolled in six credits or more and have at least a 2.0 GPA, you are eligible for an on-campus student job.
For more information and to apply, go to careers.alaska.edu and search for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power to see our student job pool.
The Lesson Library is a collaborative resource for educators to discover lesson plans, activities, and curricula for a variety of different learning levels and experiences. Lessons in the library include those made by ACEP’s REU interns.
Spotlight articles
Jul 26
ACEP summer interns Arana Rodriguez and Kemi Adediran, along with their mentor Emilia Sakai Hernandez, the program manager of ACEP's Power Systems Integration program, led the first T3 workshop of the summer in Anchorage July 10.
T3 (Teaching Through Technology)
ACEP partners with T3 Alaska and Upward Bound to develop collaborations of high school students from T3 clubs, energy educators, community partners, and researchers working together to understand and solve the energy challenges facing communities across Alaska. Students develop energy literacy, understanding, and skills through STEAM Fests, conferences, and community based projects.
Spotlight articles
May 01
Twenty high-school students from around the state of Alaska learned how to harness the energy from the sun to power loads in their homes, camps and communities at a two-day Solar Energy Basics workshop in Anchorage.
Sep 18
T3 summer program students helped the community of Minto with their unmanned aerial systems flying skills, which led to an invitation for the students to present their work at the Global Autonomous Systems Conference in Anchorage.
Alumni Highlights
ACEP Education & Workforce Development Program activities provide buildable experiences that support students who discover a passion for a career in energy. Meet alumni who have engaged in multiple programs, from hands-on research to community engagement, shaping their careers in the energy field.
Adrian Burke began as a T3 high school student before completing an undergraduate summer internship program, where he contributed learning library materials for his REU project as a Data Librarian. Currently, he is at UAF completing his undergraduate degree and is a part of the Cyberpod team.
Lydia Andriesson began as an ACEP student worker maintaining the solar research site. She completed an undergraduate summer internship program where she contributed Learning Library materials for her REU project in hydrokinetics and community engagement. She has continued work with her mentor, El Brown, as she completes her masters degree at UAF.
Henry Toal began as an undergraduate student intern. He completed his master's thesis in partnership with ACEP, which involved using a network of solar irradiance sensors to predict cloud movements and forecast solar power production. Toal is now a research engineer at ACEP.
Funding
ACEP Education & Workforce Development Program activities are made possible through the generous support of our funding partners. We are grateful for their commitment to building a skilled and knowledgeable energy workforce in Alaska. More detailed funding information can be found on each of the program activity websites.
Office of Naval Research
National Science Foundation
US Department of State
US Department of Energy
US Department of Defense
Denali Commission
State of Alaska
