This chapter highlights the importance of regional and local settings and knowledge in the energy transition, and how to integrate this into teaching for graduate and undergraduate learners using Design Thinking (DT) as a pedagogical framework. Supplying clean, low-carbon energy to a growing global population presents one of the most complex challenges related to our societal needs. As awareness of the climate crisis increases, and as regional factors influencing the impacts of climate change become more apparent, there is a growing demand for localized approaches to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. These approaches are essential for equitable mitigation and adaptation strategies, and they are informed by local resources, customs, and geographical contexts that shape the availability of energy carriers.

Building operations require about a third of global energy demand and about a quarter of global carbon emissions, not counting the embedded carbon emissions associated with building materials. Cost-effective solutions are available today to reduce those emissions by 75% or more by 2050. But buildings also represent a massive long-term investment, both for individual families and for society at large, and the current pace of renovation needs massive acceleration if those goals are to be met. Accelerating building energy solutions will require changes in policy and regulation, new financial models, and a vast retraining effort for hundreds of millions of construction workers and building professionals as well as billions of building residents all across the globe. This chapter focuses on that education effort, which must be local as well as global, place-based and people-centered, and leverage international agreements as well as use-inspired research. We provide case studies and a roadmap to illustrate the range and scope of the educational efforts required to address the complexity and critical nature of this challenge.

Energy access, sustainability, and innovation introduce complex scenarios for all dealmakers, regardless of their level of power and leverage. This chapter examines negotiation planning, strategies, tactics, and ethics to provide a roadmap for educators who will develop strategic courses for future energy dealmakers, whether they are business leaders, politicians, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, or educators.

What is a successful projects-based course? What is a failure? We walk through the process with recommendations to build a successful energy focused project-based pedagogy. Of course, the first step is to “acquire” the project and this is one of the most complicated and important steps in the process. We offer several tips and ideas on project acquisition. Additional details are provided on suggestions to structure the project, assign teams, guide and coach, but don’t mandate, grade; including external validation suitable for Assurance of Learning for particular programs, and finally how to assess the process. Along the way are reconciliations to concerns and hurdles to effective implementation and success.

This chapter will attempt to set the stage with facts and trends in the energy workforce, and link those with cultural and policy shifts that are affecting capital and investments which will drive the future of the energy workforce to look and act differently. Background with statistics on energy resource portfolio and graduates (new workforce) starting in 1980. Graphically depicting where jobs are within the energy sectors and the demographics of those employees and leaders, 1880s to current. Discussion about percentage of retirements, innovation, policy intervention, social responsibility, and individual values changing company cultures and hiring practices. The future of the energy workforce is unpredictable, but positive as we use energy more efficiently and create a more nimble workforce.

Over the course of seven years, the Tata center recruited and trained more than 200 graduate students from 18 different MIT departments to design and implement energy solutions that are practical and reliable in the developing world. Their work produced 45 patents, 12 commercial licenses, and over a dozen startups. This chapter demonstrates the method for implementing similar programs, with a focus on energy-related research projects. The program leaders describe their project as “CPR for Engineers,” with a three-axis model focusing on developing Compassion, Practice, and Research.

Within higher education, there is a general trend that students in science-related fields (e.g. engineering, energy, biological sciences, chemistry, etc.) focus on the necessary skills of their field but do not engage in training in business strategies and processes. As a result, scientists may struggle entering into, and progressing through, management positions. This chapter focuses on the business aspects of entrepreneurship that energy engineers should develop. Technical concepts of product management, marketing, financial models, and business structures are included with interpersonal skills of leadership, teamwork, creativity, and of introspection. Inclusion of these concepts will enhance scientists’ training and provide a supporting structure to help them lead in industry settings.

The value of an international energy internship is multifaceted. It serves as a critical growth opportunity for the student, who experiences the professional applications of his or her classroom learnings and develops an understanding of the challenges and solutions evident in different countries’ political, socioeconomic and cultural frameworks. It also provides a potential post-graduation career entry point, through access to an international network of professionals and by showcasing career paths within the sector. Beyond the impact for the student, these internships also pay dividends for host companies in the energy sector, by injecting cutting-edge knowledge from the students’ academic studies and cultural perspective they bring. As students return to campus from their international experiences, their new perspectives frame their understanding of the dynamic energy ecosystem and the different types of energy solutions needed in different contexts. These experiences position students to shape meaningful and successful careers in this new and evolving energy future.

Educators interested in teaching energy justice, either as a stand alone course or as part of another topic, have few resources to help them get started. This chapter seeks to expand and accelerate the inclusion of energy justice in higher education by offering educators new to this space a jumping-off point based on a project examining a set of university-level syllabi that focus on or include energy justice. Snowball methodology was used to identify courses and instructors in energy justice, and an adapted course mapping strategy was used to compare course rationales, learning objectives, schedules, and reading lists. Examples are drawn from numerous disciplinary and topical perspectives and highlight pedagogical choices made by instructors, including primary learning objectives, approaches to experiential learning, relationships to adjacent concepts such as environmental and climate justice, emotional and motivational elements, and essential texts. The chapter closes with a suggested list of questions for educators to wrestle with as they architect their own energy justice curricula.

Summary of the current energy project environment

Origination of energy projects in a carbon constrained world

Basic analysis of an energy project from a cash flow perspective

Project return metrics

Dealing with carbon externalities

Case Study: Natural Gas Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Electric Power Plant (CCGT)

Case Study: Solar Energy Photovoltaic Plant (PV) with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

This chapter will outline a collaborative approach to develop an interdisciplinary undergraduate energy program that embraces the strengths of and connections between STEM disciplines, social sciences, policy, communications, business, and the arts at your institution. The strategies presented will be based on the Collaborative Leadership Action Model developed by the author (Gosselin 2015) as well as his work as a facilitator with the Traveling Workshop Program of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Each curriculum developed is different. There is no "one size fits all" for the curriculum outcome. The focus will be on a continuum of processes that can facilitate the development process.

Energy education can no longer be merely a subtheme of engineering or economics. Educators must develop a holistic and integrated approach that develops and delivers new ways to deliver and analyze information. Fortunately, educational and industry groups responded by building mathematical and computational models and software tools to do just that. These models and tools have proved efficient in combining information from fields including engineering, economics, and social sciences to find solutions to both simple and complex problems. This chapter aims to support the interested educator, junior researcher, or young engineer along their trip to select the appropriate set of tools and models for their course, curriculum, or project.

The global urgency for a clean energy transition is driven by the twin challenges of climate change and resource limitations, both of which demand a fundamental shift from traditional fossil-fuel dependence to sustainable energy solutions. However, this transition requires more than just technological advancements; it calls for a knowledgeable, skilled, and innovative workforce capable of driving and sustaining these changes. Graduate education in energy plays a pivotal role in this shift by preparing leaders, engineers, and policymakers to manage increasingly complex energy systems and respond to rapidly evolving global demands. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA 2023), achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will necessitate a skilled workforce with technical expertise and a comprehensive understanding of policy, economics, and environmental sustainability. Recent studies also emphasize that a well-educated workforce is essential to bridging the gap between technological potential and actual implementation of sustainable energy solutions (Muniz et al. 2023).

Energy democracy is a growing conceptual framing that recognizes opportunities for redistributing power, literally and figuratively, through transformative social change as society moves away from fossil-fuel reliance toward a renewable-based future. For educators, energy democracy provides a powerful, accessible, and inclusive framework to engage with the complexities of energy-system change and to empower students to contribute to collective action to shape and accelerate energy-system transformation. Energy democracy acknowledges that the societal benefits of renewable-energy transformation go well beyond decarbonization; a renewable society could also be a healthier, more economically just society. This chapter provides specific guidance and suggestions on how educators can structure energy education through the frame of energy democracy. Integrating systemic change processes and sociopolitical innovation as well as technological innovation into teaching and learning about energy expands the reach and impact of climate and energy education. An energy democracy framework will be useful to educators who are interested in engaging with the climate crisis by building transformative capacity in the context of local and regional energy systems.