The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the winners of the inaugural Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Awards Inspire Track.
The winning HBCU teams will each receive $40,000 to help develop or enhance summer programs focused on clean energy for K-12 and community college students.
This award will benefit 40% of the overall return from specific federal investments by building a diverse STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) pipeline to support America’s clean energy future. It supports President Biden’s Justice 40 initiative, which aims to direct funds to underserved communities.
Ten HBCU teams were selected, including Florida A&M University, Southern University and A&M College, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University, Maryland Eastern Shore University, and Louisiana Xavier University.
The HBCU Clean Energy Education Award, part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges, consists of an Inspire Track and a Partnerships Track, both designed to support HBCUs in developing clean energy-focused programs for students. It is designed to.
The Partnership Track challenges HBCUs to build partnerships with other universities, organizations, and industry leaders to expand curriculum and resources for students.
The track will consist of three phases with a total prize pool of $6.75 million, with a Phase 1 submission deadline of December 19, 2023. The Inspire Track is the first of his two phases of winners, and the Partnership Track is currently accepting submissions for Phase 1. .
Inspire Track winners have demonstrated a commitment to inspiring students to engage and pursue careers in clean energy.
These partnerships provide advanced clean energy programming and professional opportunities to better equip HBCU students with the skills they need to succeed in clean energy careers.
Terrence Mosley, Senior Advisor for Diversity and STEM in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, expressed excitement about the winning teams and how their projects will progress in the next stages of this track. He added that he was looking forward to seeing the program. ” Influencing the next generation of clean energy leaders.
Resources are available to support HBCUs interested in competing for this award. This includes informational webinar recordings, a list of organizations interested in partnering with HBCUs, and webinars that provide an opportunity to introduce interested partners and learn more about the opportunities HBCUs offer.
The Resource Partner Webinar is scheduled for this afternoon at noon ET and a recording will be available on the official prize page for those unable to attend.
