River Parishes Community College (RPCC) received an award to participate in American Association of Community Colleges (AACC’s) 2024-2026 MentorLinks: Advancing Technological Education program, part of a national initiative supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The MentorLinks grant project is an AACC member benefit.
“The MentorLinks: Advancing Technological Education program is designed to help colleges develop or strengthen technician training programs in STEM fields through mentoring, professional development opportunities, and technical assistance; to establish connections for colleges to identify new ideas and relationships through networking opportunities at program meetings and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) National Conferences; and to help colleges gain insight about support for building and sustaining new programs.” To learn more, click this link: https://www.aacc.nche.edu/programs/advanced-technological-education/.
The acceptance of this award is a by-product of the work RPCC will do on behalf of their Energy Partners In Innovation and Collaboration (E.P.I.C)-Consortium and the Energy Sciences Division to invest in STEM and Energy Technician educational trainings. This effort will be the first steps to tackle the workforce needs and skills gap that will come as the state transition to new clean energy jobs; all of which will help accelerate the overall state’s STEM efforts. This transition consists of various initiatives such as clean energy investments: the use of hydrogen, renewable energy, solar & wind energy, and biofuels to contribute to a sustainable future.
The grant will support River Parishes to create events; workshops; lunch & learns; and project-based learning initiatives with direct ties to our industry employer pool in efforts to yield more internships, professional development opportunities for our faculty, and student demonstrative showcases. A related objective is to host a “convention-style event” that encapsulates all those attributes with the goal in mind to “tap into Energy.” This will enable students to display real-world projects sponsored by industry partners, align industry partnerships and forward investments with our training efforts, and develop guest lectures and workshops series around emerging technologies.
Key factors for success will be strong team building, shared resources, effective partnerships, and good communication among colleges and with AACC.