ELEVATE Program
Overview
The rapid transition to an energy system based on renewable electricity sources instead of fossil fuels is one of the great challenges facing humanity. It also offers a unique opportunity to reshape our society to be more equitable and more sustainable. To address this challenge, ELEVATE draws upon expertise in a wide range of research fields to train graduate students to address resilience and equity in the energy transition.
Current Participating Departments
Note: We welcome inquiries from all departments at UMass Amherst.
Program Timeline
Year 1
ELEVATE core course (Spring), “Energy Markets and Equitable Energy Systems”
This course teaches the foundations of energy markets, with a focus on the transition to clean, just and equitable access to energy. The class covers basic economics, foundations of electricity markets, and discussion of other energy, climate, and equity issues. The class is designed to be highly discussion driven and uses simulation and games for interactive learning.
Public Engagement course (Spring), "Public Engagement & Communication"
This course provides students with a deeper understanding of various ways in which scientists can effectively engage and communicate with the public. Topics covered include models of public engagement, science-society interaction, and practical communication skills building.
Individual Development Plan
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a set of professional and career development strategies to help graduate students achieve success at UMass Amherst and beyond. The IDP: Empowers graduate students to take ownership of their path through a process of self-reflection, assessment and goal setting; Facilitates conversations with mentors, allowing mentees to verify expectations and seek feedback and guidance for research and career progression; Creates realistic road maps for long-term goals, short term deliverables, progress milestones, and career development; Provides a path to resources, strategies, and mentors for targeted research and career goals.
Year 2
Leaders Toolkit
The Leader’s Toolkit Series taught by the Office of Professional Development is a four-part series with modules on: Emotional Intelligence, Persuasion and the Art of Decision Making, Developing a Negotiation Strategy, and Navigating Difficult Conversations. Each session is designed to teach foundational skills and then use interactive case studies to help trainees apply the lessons in real-life scenarios.
Year 3
Mentoring and Outreach
Students will engage in mentoring/outreach activities that provides an opportunity to utilize leadership and communication skills. These activities can include mentoring an undergraduate capstone project/honors thesis, participating in K-12 outreach, or working with local communities on energy projects.
Throughout the Program
Convergence Thesis Research
ELEVATE Fellows are part of a community of researchers who collaborate across disciplines and create innovative, resilient, and equitable solutions to tackle key challenges in the energy transition. Faculty advisors guide student research projects, with a thesis committee from at least two disciplines. All faculty advisors are required to participate in mentoring training.
Monthly Convergence Meetings
All ELEVATE students and faculty attend a monthly convergence meeting. The meeting goals include broadening perspective through seminars and discussions with experts in diverse fields, developing novel interdisciplinary research questions, deepening the understanding of convergence, research training, and team building. We use collaborative and competitive games to produce fun and engaging meetings that also enable our team to understand different disciplinary perspectives.