Author(s):
Need: The objective of this project is to enhance the power engineering education and learning for meeting the immediate challenges faced by our nation: (i) lack of a highly qualified power and energy engineering workforce urged by the Smart Grid mission, and (ii) lack of a comprehensive education system to support the workforce training. This objective will be achieved via a suite of research and development activities to retool the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) curriculum without compromising existing ECE disciplines, and to pave a pathway for students interested in pursuing a “Smart Grid” career future.
Guiding Question: To address the immediate educational challenges faced by our nation and to achieve the ultimate goals of this project, five research questions (RQ) are comprehensively investigated and addressed:
RQ1: What is the required skill sets that a qualified power and energy engineer needs to be equipped with to meet the industry need in the Smart Grid paradigm?
RQ2: What is the skill gap between industry needs and current ECE graduates possess?
RQ3: How could interdisciplinary technologies (including renewable energy, electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage, advanced metering, IoT, ML and artificial intelligence (AI), cyber-physical security, etc.) be seamlessly integrated into the existing ECE curriculum to eliminate such a skill gap?
RQ4: Which pathways can ECE students in different years of a program follow to acquire the skills and knowledge required to be able to work in different sectors of the Smart Grid industry?
RQ5: What knowledge could be generalized from this effort for use by other institutions with similar interests in educating the next generation of Smart Grid engineers, as well as by other disciplines facing similar education challenges?
Outcomes: One (1) conference paper titled as “Developing Power Engineering Education and Learning for Next-generation Smart Grid Workforce” was published in the ASEE annual conference & exposition, and one (1) journal paper, which conducted a comprehensive analysis of the education and workforce needs as identified via our interview and survey with industry and academia professionals is being developed and expected to submit in Summer 2024. A suit of Smart Grid course modules, and two (2) undergraduate certificates in power system engineering and wind energy are developed and implemented in Rowan university, as well as benefiting another community college, and high school students involved in Rowan summer programs. The curriculum mapping and ECE program advising processes are under development.
Broader Impacts: The project is a response to the nation’s urgent needs for the next-generation Smart Grid workforce, which otherwise could hamper the nation’s Smart Grid mission and obstruct our economy, environment, and future. Thus, the proposed project has profound societal impacts by empowering one of the nation’s most critical infrastructures with Smart Grid-ready engineers. The broader impact of the project has been reflected by peer-reviewed publications, implementation of project outcomes, trained graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 students, as well as faculty involved. The broader impact of the project will be further promoted via the advisory committee and the longstanding sustainability efforts.
Coauthors
Juan M. Cruz, Rowan University, New Jersey
