Curriculum Integration in Training EVs (CITE)

Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) in Raleigh, North Carolina will be investigating emerging electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid vehicle workforce challenges in the nation's race to increase energy security. This project will advance knowledge by training technicians to be safely prepared for diverse and emerging automotive systems and workplaces for a greater range of automotive employment opportunities. Wake Tech will collaborate with partners to develop effective, safety-focused training standards and contribute to the national discussion of such standards. Through focused outreach to increase representation of women and underrepresented students in the program, the project will aim to diversify the automotive workforce. Wake Tech's (a) facilities and online instruction resources, (b) the project team's focus on diversifying the automotive program, and (c) collaboration with project partners, will improve curriculum and create effective educational materials for Wake Tech Community College, fellow North Carolina community colleges, and impact national technician training standards. The resulting programmatic educational materials will be available to all 58 North Carolina community colleges. Additional dissemination with occur via the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program partners. This project will be accomplished in collaboration with local and national partners with a focus on developing and implementing an advanced EV and hybrid vehicle technician curriculum with four new courses comprising a new certificate option. The team will (a) survey industry to understand their ongoing need for technicians, (b) work with evaluators to beta test, assess, and continually improve educational materials, (c) develop effective online, classroom, and hands-on instruction, (d) infuse EV safety modules into the entire automotive curricula, and (e) disseminate to interdisciplinary programs nationally. The project will also provide faculty with professional development leading to industry certifications. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.