NERI Slideshow

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Review of Energy Education Courses in NZ
Universities (2007)
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National Energy Research Institute

• Partnership of 14 universities and other research
  organisations

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NERIs goal

• Improve New Zealand's response to the energy
  challenges of the 21st Century by -
• More and better energy research, through
  collaboration
• Relevant, innovative energy education resources
• Strong, accessible linkages with industry,
  government, iwi, consumers

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Energy education projects 07/08

• Projects
• Energy in NZ
• Energy-efficient Schools
• TEO partner projects including
• scholarships, new courses, promotional events
• Masterclasses
• Support for Massey Universitys PG Energy
  Conference
• Review of Energy Education Courses in NZ
  Universities (2007)

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Review of Energy Education Courses

• Context
• Review
• Energy industry demand for university graduate
• Telephone survey, 24 energy stakeholders
• Courses offered by NZ universities (2007)
• Desktop study, 244 courses found 138 energy
  courses

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Review of Energy Education Courses

• Key findings
• Range of qualifications (disciplines) is wide.
• Most common ug degrees engineering, commerce,
  science, geography.
• Strong demand for engineering graduates
• Electricity industries seeks commerce graduates
• Graduates lack functional skills communication,
  business and management skills, interpersonal
  skills relevant work experience.

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Review of Energy Education Courses

• 138 energy courses

Generation / distribution technologies, system
mgmt
Social aspects
Energy use, demand, efficiency
Sources of energy
Climate change, CO2, sustainability
Transport
13
31
42
42
21
29
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Review of Energy Education Courses

• Energy Industry needs graduates!
• Especially engineering, commerce, science and
  geography
• Also geothermal, planning, policy analysis,
  mining, corrosion sciences, surveying, physics,
  geology, ICT, human resources, law, resource
  management, project management
• With skills communication, business, and
  interpersonal skills
• And relevant work experience
• Cross-disciplinary energy education

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Review of Energy Education Courses

• Recommendations
• Attracting and retaining students, fostering
  energy careers
• Broad range of disciplines
• Fit between graduate profiles and
  work-readiness
• Contact between universities and industry
• Relationships between courses and key government
  policy documents and directions
• Central coordinator between industry and TEOs

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Review of Energy Education Courses

• Challenges for Tertiary Energy Education
• Increasing number of students studying/researching
  energy
• Increasing disciplinary breadth and
  inter-disciplinary approaches
• Enhancing connections between TEOs, industry,
  employment pathways
• Balancing technical and functional
  knowledge/skills
• Gearing energy education to national objectives
  without compromising objectivity
• Developing education for energy researchers
  skills for collaborative and inter-disciplinary
  research
• Connecting TEOs with energy information and
  behaviour needs of communities to inform and
  support movement towards sustainability

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NERI Education

• pip_at_neri.org.nz
• www.neri.org.nz