Energy & Sustainability Project Practicum - 10 week consulting project for credit (498-0-20)
Instructors
Holland E Troy
Meeting Info
TBA: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
This class is a practical course focused on experiential learning. It is targeted to students who are passionate about energy & sustainability and are seeking real-world project experience. The course is almost solely centered on a 10-week, team-based consulting project for a corporate, non-profit or government partner of Northwestern University.
Student teams will be advised by the instructor but will work directly with the client organization. There will be limited traditional reading / lecture content and the topics covered will include project management and team collaboration.
The projects will be pre-selected by the instructor and students can rank their preferences for the projects. All projects will have a clearly defined scope and deliverables and the projects will include economic, technical and regulatory / policy aspects to the analysis. The projects will vary and could range from a government sponsored project about electric vehicle infrastructure to a new market entry analysis for a corporation in circular economy to building a sustainable water strategy for a food manufacturer.
Taught by Holly Benz, Clinical Associate Professor at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Director of the Master of Science in Energy & Sustainability Program (MSES) at Northwestern
Registration Requirements
This class is only open to students in the Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program.
Learning Objectives
Course Goals
● Provide "on the job" training on how to successfully manage and deliver a project
● Offer exposure to leading companies / organizations
● Ensure teams have strong project management skills and have put them to the test
● Hone problem solving abilities
● Improve formal presentation skills and collaboration
● Learn to work successfully in teams
● Test ability to consider economic, technical and policy aspects of a problem / opportunity
● Demonstrate aptitude to craft a compelling business case
Teaching Method
Format
● Work directly with corporate, government or non-profit client
● Includes individual, team and client facing work
● Requires clearly defined scope (agreed and sharpened with client and instructor in Week #1)
● Regular (weekly) meetings with team, client and instructor
● Mid-term progress presentation (to class & client)
● Final presentation (to class, client & other NU stakeholders)
Class will meet for two 90 min sessions per week, however, many class times will be dedicated to team working sessions.
While this course is for credit, students should treat it as a professional project with a "real" client. Most clients schedule a weekly conference call and the class time on Thursday can be used for the client call and / or team meeting. A meeting of the project team and the faculty advisor may happen in addition to (and in advance of) that call. The entire team is expected to normally participate in each meeting in a timely and prepared fashion, though other work is normally divided up between team members. The meeting times are flexible, however, it is your responsibility to schedule team meetings and to organize work as necessary.
Evaluation Method
Midpoint presentation (25%): Intermediate readout by student teams on progress (60% of grade from instructor, 40% based on client rating)
Final Presentation (60%)
Peer Rating (10%): Students will be graded (on a 10-point scale) by their team peers; the simple average of team mate scores will be used; each team member has a fixed budget of points to allocate (8 per team member)
Feedback & Participation (5%): All students will be required to provide anonymous feedback to their team peers, and live feedback on peer presentations at the midpoint
Class Notes
This class is only open to students in the Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program.
Class Attributes
Restricted to Students in Program Only