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This paper presents the results of a recent energy education stakeholder survey that was conducted to examine energy industry trends and educational programming needs for the next decade. The survey was sent to over 700 faculty ranging from middle school to university level along with 150 industry representatives. The survey generated a response rate just over 10% for both the educator and industry groups. The top three technologies identified as areas for growth in the next decade were solar photovoltaics, energy storage, and electric vehicles. The biggest obstacle faced by faculty were a lack of tools, materials, and supplies necessary to provide hands-on learning with energy technology. Educators expressed a strong preference for face-to-face instruction that included access to tools and equipment, and also indicated a need for electronic open educational resources that were compliant with website accessibility requirements. The results of the survey are presented along with analysis, conclusions, and recommendations for engineering educational programs that address energy technology. 

Over the past few years, education at all levels has been greatly disrupted by the COVID pandemic. For many schools, face-to-face interactions were reduced or restricted to only those activities that have been determined to be essential for student instruction. The pandemic has also had a great impact on teacher professional development programming, which traditionally has been delivered largely in face-to-face settings. This paper examines the implementation of a series of energy technology teacher professional development workshops that were delivered virtually using online meeting apps. The results of the workshops are presented including participant measures of learning gains, and feedback describing how faculty participants used the information gained to modify their curriculum and instruction. The discussion includes observations and recommended practices to promote the effective incorporation of tools and equipment for remotely delivered workshops. 

The CREATE Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project is an industry driven initiative brought about by three colleges, working with an industry utility partner. The project began in July 2019 with the goal of integrating 21st century SCADA technology into existing energy education programs. The project delivered both in-person and online faculty professional development for 28 faculty representing 17 U.S. states. Products produced and distributed through the project network include a SCADA job task analysis, curriculum modules, control board trainers and lab activities, computer-based labs, and a web based open-source SCADA platform. The SCADA open-source platform allows colleges to connect their renewable energy generating systems and provide analytical training to their students using their own data, along with data from other regions and simulation sets. This resource will foster student engagement and ownership of learning through generation, visualization, and analysis of long term and large data sets. This study demonstrates the value of collaboration between multiple academic institutions, and how educational programs can benefit from collaboration with industry partners. 

Providing robust professional development opportunities for educators can present unique challenges, especially when activities occur abroad. In 2019, the NSF-ATE CREATE Energy Education Center took a group of renewable energy educators to Germany to study innovations in renewable energy and energy storage and to learn how these emerging technologies are incorporated into educational programming and workforce preparation. Learning activities conducted before, during and after travel ensured participant preparedness, academic rigor, constructive reflection and collaborative knowledge-building. This paper presents an analysis of accumulated participant data and presents recommendations for enhancing faculty learning when conducting international educator professional development programs.