TuckLAB: Energy Curriculum

How are climate and energy interconnected? How is a changing climate impacting communities and human well-being? What can we do to minimize the worst impacts of climate change? What can local communities do to develop greater resilience? During this casual “fireside chat” we will discuss critical elements of climate science in the context of community- and organization-level energy transition work.

Energy is the engine of society and its production, distribution, and consumption connect the global economy at every level. Transitioning to clean and socially just energy systems requires a highly interdisciplinary perspective that recognizes variation across local to global scales. This module compares energy use in the United States to other regions and nations, explores major challenges and potential solutions pathways in transitioning to low- or zero-carbon energy systems, and introduces the major features of recent federal energy legislation—particularly the IRA—and how it is designed to transform energy systems in the United States.

Design thinking is a multidisciplinary creative problem-solving methodology used to craft innovative, human-centered solutions to complex challenges—a perfect tool in the context of energy, climate, and sustainability. This module introduces students to design thinking, demonstrates how it can be used and adapted to address a varied range of real-world problems, and begins exploring how students can apply design thinking concepts to TuckLAB: Energy’s Integrated Team Project.

The costs and benefits of energy systems are not evenly distributed, and marginalized communities often bear a disproportionate share of the environmental, health, and economic burdens of energy generation, distribution, and use. Thus, the transitions our energy systems are undergoing require social as well as technological transformation. This session equips students with tools to recognize the many forms of injustice embedded in our energy systems and illustrates how to craft more equitable solutions for the future.

Innovation is vital for accelerating transitions to clean and just energy systems. This module explores the entrepreneurial journey from concept to realization and discusses what successful sustainable innovation does and does not look like using real world examples and case studies. Students will also gain insights into the vital and unique role marketing plays in innovation and entrepreneurship and how stakeholder values and engagement are critical in the development of sustainable marketing strategies.

Climate and energy challenges are highly multidisciplinary and multidimensional. How can organizations build, leverage, and manage teams that can tackle these complex challenges and incorporate diverse perspectives? In this module, students will explore how leaders leverage the strengths of team members, optimize team processes to maximize efficiency, avoid coordination pitfalls in groups, and value and access diverse perspectives and uniquely held viewpoints. Students will have the chance to practice applying what they learn in this module to their Integrative Team Project.

This interactive module introduces key concepts related to financing transitions to clean energy systems. Topics include investment flows and financial mechanisms to develop clean energy infrastructure and deploy it at scale. The module also highlights basic financial principles for investment decision making. Students will engage in a role play exercise to review the opportunities and challenges faced in real life deployment of a clean energy project.

As society mobilizes toward clean energy futures, it is becoming clear that some aspects of that transition will be more challenging than others. Heavy industry, air transport, and rural economies are emerging as some hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Students will complete a team project that integrates and applies the TuckLAB: Energy curriculum by taking a deep dive into a difficult decarbonization challenge from an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective. Leveraging design thinking methodology, students will work in small groups to identify and research contributing factors and emerging responses to their challenge and explore how their topic impacts various stakeholders and environments. The projects will be advised by Fellows from the Tuck Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation, as well as faculty and practitioners. At the end of the program, teams will present their findings and receive expert and peer feedback.

Energy and climate careers are diverse and growing. In this panel discussion, students will hear from recent Dartmouth alumni who are working in the climate and energy space. The panel will discuss their experience entering the job market, introduce climate- and energy-related employment sectors, career pathways, job opportunities and internships; and how to develop leadership skills for energy transitions.