Seminars/Lectures
Lecturers include successful clean energy CEOs, high-level government representatives, respected industry analysts, funders of successful clean energy ventures, and researchers on the front lines of developing clean energy technology.
The content of classroom activity focuses on:
• Technology: Exposure to the state of the art across a range of energy technology categories with insights into major trends in emerging research and commercial solutions
• Markets: Sessions on market forces across fuels, power, transportation, and various industrial, commercial and residential energy sectors, including business models, value chains, adoption barriers, and international / global issues
• Policy: Sessions on the structure, impact and status of key policy, tax and regulatory factors, and how these factors might evolve in coming years
Site Visits
The Fellows visit labs at several area universities, including MIT, the University of Massachusetts, and others. In addition, a collaborative relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been put in place to enable the Fellows to spend several days at NREL in Colorado. This exposes Fellows to various research initiatives and national market perspectives. Fellows also attend conferences and frequent networking events.
Capstone Projects
In addition to class work and lab visits, a major component of the Fellowship Program is intensive time in the 2nd and 3rd months spent working on business planning projects related to one or more research initiatives or early stage ventures in conjunction with area venture capital firms. Each Fellow leads one capstone project and participate in several others.