NYSERDA 3rd Quarterly Report Stacks+Joules
NYSERDA Energy Efficiency and Clean Technology Workforce Training
Quarterly Report
New Collar Careers in Building Automation
This report is presented in two parts, split by the closure of schools and the institution of the stay-at-home order:
· May 16 to August 24, 2020
NYSERDA supported activities continued with Urban Assembly Maker Academy (UA Maker) & City As School/Lower Eastside Girls Club.
Urban Assembly Maker Academy
The UA Maker Stacks+Joules program finished the regular school year program with strength and great comradery. In the last weeks of school, one more student passed the EPA 608 Certification exam, bringing the UA Maker total to 16. We also used the time to help students set up Linked In profiles and update resumes.
We are currently working with the school to collect post-survey data on whether the seniors we worked with will be starting post-secondary education programs, what majors or areas of study they will be pursuing, and how many have or are looking for jobs. For the juniors we worked with, who will be seniors next year, we are collecting post-survey data on interest in pursuing further training for BAS careers and senior-year internships.
10 UA Maker students elected to participate in the Summer Niagara Bootcamp and had accomplished all prerequisites. Three were seniors and seven were juniors. Four were female and six male.
During our end of school year debrief, Nicole Cojuangco, the incredible computer science teacher at UA Maker who we worked with throughout the year, had this to say:
“What I would tell other teachers is that if you know that the system is flawed, and you know that the way we are doing things is not working, and you are looking for a real way for how to support the kids, like, this is it. This has been so powerful.” Nicole Cojuangco UA Maker
City As School/Lower Eastside Girls Club
The City AS all-female cohort also finished with great strength and enthusiasm. All eight of the remaining students passed the EPA 608 exam. We also used the time to help students set up Linked In profiles and update resumes.
We are in the process of collecting post-survey data on all of the participants, even those that left. Preliminary information suggests a high percentage of those that graduated are already enrolled in a post-secondary degree or training programs. Only two of the original 12 were juniors. Both have indicated that they intend to pursue STEM-related majors in the future (engineering and computer science).
Six City AS students elected to participate in the Summer Niagara Bootcamp and had accomplished all prerequisites. Four were seniors and two were juniors. All six were female.
During our end of school year debrief, Francisca Peral, one of our amazing seniors, had this to say:
“I feel like, what do kids want? They want a passion for something, or they want to look at what’s next, after college, after high school. Like, what am I gonna do? And I feel like with the program I didn’t feel as lost as I did before.”
Summer Niagara Bootcamp
16 students started the summer Niagara training on June 29th, meeting Monday through Thursday from 11:00 to 3:00 and going for five weeks.
Our initial set up included five laptops that were licensed with the Niagara Workbench. Jonathan Spooner had three of them in his living room in New York and Mike Conway had two of them in his dining room in Los Angeles. Students joined a Zoom video conference session daily and, after an opening full-group team-building exercise, were divided into five breakout groups. Each breakout group was connected to one of the licensed laptops. Students shared remote control of the laptop among themselves as they worked through exercised that drew them more and more deeply into learning Niagara.
By the start of the second week, our partners at Universal Supply Group, the company that was hosting the Niagara licenses for our use, extended their generosity even further by setting licenses for every student. This meant that in addition to the one shared remote laptop, each student had the potential to work on their own Niagara Workbench on their own laptop. Of course, this was only possible for those who had access to a Windows-based laptop. Five of the 16 students did not have a laptop that could work. We were able to accommodate these students by being sure to assign each to a different breakout group so they could take remote control of one of the shared laptops.
This was a group of incredible young people! The two school groups coalesced right away into one cohesive unit that was working together to master what is one of the most sophisticated technological frameworks that exists. Even though unstable internet connections and glitchy remote sharing applications posed constant challenges, they would not let anything bar them from achievement. At times we have Zoom video and audio going at the same time as the chat feature and group texts, phone calls, and Facetime. Their determination and flexibility were inspiring.
Towards the end of the second week, we started to have industry partners from NORESCO, Tridium, and Universal Supply Group start to join in. For each visit, students would start off by presenting what they had been working on and then seeking feedback from the visitors. We prepared the students to treat these presentations as a type of interview, where they were showcasing their knowledge, talent, and collaboration. Then the visitors, who had been prepped beforehand, shared real Niagara control logic and user interfaces from projects they were currently working on. It was a hit from both perspectives!
An unexpected takeaway was how learning to use the Niagara Workbench supported a deepening understanding of the mechanical systems that were being simulated. The activities that were expertly designed by Derek Otieno, Senior Software Developer at Tridium led students to build accurate simulations of controls for multiple pumps, boiler systems, air handling systems, and VAV boxes. IN order to understand the control logic being applied they had to understand how each component worked and how they all worked together.
The industry professionals who initially visited were so impressed and energized by the accomplishments of our students that many returned as many as three times and recruited colleagues as well. 15 industry professionals visited one or more sessions to observe, share, and sometimes even learn from the students.
15 of the 16 that started finished all 23 Niagara training modules. The one who did not finish was actually hired out of the program after only two weeks. Gael Gonzalez was hired by Dual Fuel Inc. as an Assistant Controls Technician at $18 per hour.
We are continuing to work with our industry partners to find or develop job opportunities for our graduates. While the uncertainty of the economic impact of the pandemic has had a negative impact on hiring, our partners at NORESCO, Tridium, and Universal Supply Group assure us that the exceptional talent and dedication demonstrated by our students will be sought after, and they are all working to make the right connections.
Exhibition of Mastery!
We are planning a virtual event to showcase the excellence of the 2020 Stacks+Joules graduates. Keep an eye out for a newsletter update and invitation coming soon.